Your car could be one of your most precious investments. However, maintaining it and keeping it at its optimal condition could be costly. There are a lot of factors that affect the monetary demands to maintain your car. Your driving habits, the type of your car, and your car's engine performance could be some of these factors. To help you get a good grasp on what really are the things that leave your wallet empty, below is the list of “must do tips” in driving, maintaining, or buying your car:

List your options first to know what car you really need. Taking some time to make a list of the things you'll use the car for will help determine the difference between your true needs and your wants. It's important to remember that each additional want you add above what you really need will cost you not only at the time of purchase, but in most cases well down the road with an increase in maintenance and operating costs.

Take steps to reduce your operating costs. Once you have a car, taking some simple steps can reduce your operating costs by hundreds of dollars. For example, if you reduce your gas consumption by $20 a week, it will save you over $1,000 a year. By just simply changing some driving habits and paying more attention and care to their cars, most people can easily save this amount (and often much more).

Drive the speed limit. Cars use about 20% more fuel driving at 70 miles per hour than they do at 55 miles per hour.

Avoid using air conditioning whenever possible. If it is not necessarily hot, opt to just not use your air condition. Air conditioning reduces fuel economy by 10% to 20%.

Avoid driving on rough roads. Driving on roads made of dirt or gravel can reduce fuel efficiency by up to 30%. Always go for well paved roads whenever possible.

Travel light. Make sure to remove all excess weight from your car. Do not use your car trunk as a storage space. This adds unneeded pounds to the car's weight, thus reduces the car's fuel efficiency.

Drive easily. While driving, always try to accelerate gently, brake gradually and avoid unnecessary stops. Gunning engines, quickly accelerating, and abrupt stops are fuel wasters.

Avoid stop and go driving. Traffics could be one of the most gas-consuming driving situation you may be into. When you are stuck in a traffic, try to maintain a crawl. When approaching hills or steep slopes, accelerate before the hill. Accelerating once on the slope will consume much more gas.

Service your car regularly. When you do this, be sure to pay special attention to oil and filters. Blocked air flow from clogged air filters will increase fuel waste. Also check your car's alignment since this can cause engine drag which will also increase gas waste.

Calculate your car's fuel efficiency. From time to time, take time to calculate your car's fuel efficiency. A loss in fuel efficiency is an indication of possible mechanical problems.