3 ways to cut down on costs as a malaysian car owner

One of the biggest costs that come with being a car owner is petrol. Malaysians are lucky in that petrol is subsidised by the government, but urban households still spend a high percentage of monthly expenditure on gas and other fuel, according to the DOS.

To optimise their budgets, Malaysians can opt to use credit cards to pay for petrol. There are plenty of credit cards that offer generous rebates specifically for this purpose. Citi Cash Back card, for example, offers 8% rebate on Shell fuel.

If you don’t have a petrol credit card, you can always use whatever credit card you have to earn points and reap rewards points. That way, you’re making the most of a necessary expense.  

If you’ve got a car that guzzles gas like no other, consider trading it in for a car with good petrol mileage. This means you consume less fuel for a certain distance. It also helps to switch to the lowest octane suggested in your vehicle owner’s manual. You might even consider getting a hybrid or electric vehicle to further reduce your petrol usage.

This serves a dual purpose. Annual road tax and car insurance premiums depend on your vehicle. Expensive cars with bigger engine capacities are charged higher rates for both these mandatory expenses

Cars with engines that are 1,000cc and below are only charged RM20 per year, but this figure can go up to RM1,641 and above if you drive a tank to work. Meanwhile, traditional car insurance takes car market value into account when determining premiums, so owning an expensive car will drive premiums up. 

Another option for lowering your insurance premiums is choosing a flexible car insurance plan. Since MCO has significantly lessened the need to drive around, you can opt for a plan that’s based on mileage rather than car market value.

For example, Chubb recently came out with a MY Smart Car Insurance that offers comprehensive risk protection for low-mileage drivers. It still covers loss or damage, third-party bodily injury and death, and third-party property loss or damage, but you pay less since you’re only charged based on how often you take the car out.

Based on the plan chosen, you can get car insurance coverage for up to 10,000 kilometres with the flexibility to top up before you reach your mileage threshold. Any mileage you don’t use can be carried forward to the next policy upon renewal.

Car insurance is mandatory for any car owner in Malaysia, but you don’t have to be bogged down by expensive premiums when you’re only taking your car out once or twice a month.