Having a car is costly, but these Android apps can help you save money. Save money on gas, trips to the mechanic, and more. Owning a car takes time and money, which is not a secret. Aside from the costs of keeping your car in good shape, you also have to charge high prices for gas and parking costs.
You might even have to pay for traffic tickets, accidents, and car rentals if you’re unlucky. After all this trouble with your money, you need a break. These smart Android apps can help save money on some of the expensive costs of having a car.
Car Scanner
Do you ever wish you could carry a mechanic in your pocket? You’ve been looking for a small diagnostic tool, and a Car Scanner is it. To start, you’ll need an OBD2 sensor that works with Bluetooth. This BAFX OBDII scanner is a good choice if you don’t already have one.
If your car’s “Check Engine” light comes on, you don’t have to immediately make an appointment with a mechanic. When you plug your OBD2 sensor into your car’s port, it should connect to the Car Scanner automatically. The program retrieves the data to inform you precisely what’s wrong with your car, allowing you to save money by attempting to fix it yourself.
Car Scanner not only shows error codes but can also measure how well your car is running. You can use the app to check your gas mileage, test your car’s acceleration, check the engine’s performance and sensors, and set the app’s display to show specific gauges.
Upgrade to Car Scanner Pro if you want even more features. The app’s paid version removes ads and lets you use more diagnostic tools. You can pay $4.49 to get the Pro version for life or a little less for a three-month or yearly subscription.
WinIt
Walking back to your car after a night in New York City, you find a small piece of paper stuck between your windshield wipers. You see that you’ve been given a ticket as you open it. If you get a parking ticket in New York City, you should know that you can fight it with an app.
WinIt is good at fighting New York City parking tickets. Just take a picture of your parking ticket and upload it to the app, or look for tickets with your license plate number. Once you send in your ticket, you can add any proof you want, and WinIt will take care of the rest. WinIt will start charging you half of what you would have paid for the ticket if you win your case.
GasBuddy
It seems like the price of gas is always going up. With GasBuddy, you can track which places have the best prices. If you tell GasBuddy where you are and what kind of gas you use, it will find the gas stations in your area with the best prices. You can even sort your results based on whether a gas station has bathrooms, fast food, or a car wash.
GasBuddy always has your back because it will tell you when prices are about to go up. GasBuddy doesn’t just find you the best gas prices; it can also track your car’s movement and tell you if the way you drive is wasting gas. You can also type in the make and model of the car to see if it has been recalled.
Scoop
Why don’t you carpool with a coworker or neighbor a few days a week instead of driving to work each day and wasting gas in traffic? If you type in where you work, Scoop will find people in your area with the same daily schedule as you. The more folks who carpool together, the better. Everyone will share the cost, saving you money in the long run.
Unfortunately, Scoop isn’t yet available everywhere, but the app is being updated often. To find out whether there are any Scoop consumers near you, you’ll need to put in where you live and work.
AutoZen
If you have an older car, you probably wish it had a Bluetooth touchscreen infotainment system like the ones with new cars. If you put AutoZen on your phone, you won’t have to buy a new Bluetooth system, which will save you money. Instead, you can make calls and send texts without using your hands by just using your phone.
Once you’ve found the best car phone for your device, you can mount it and open AutoZen. You can send messages, call friends, play music, and use your GPS with a simple voice command.
You can always pay for the app’s premium version and use the “Do Not Disturb” feature if you don’t want to get calls or texts while driving. This app will save you money on expensive car electronics and keep you from getting tickets for talking on the phone while driving.
Lifetime is a one-time payment of $13.99 that gives you access to much extra content for life. Or, you can try the app for free for seven days and then sign up for one of AutoZen’s plans (annual, six-month, or annual without in-app navigation).
Turo
Let’s say your car breaks, and you can’t get around town for a few days because it’s in the shop. In this situation, you might choose to rent a car from a travel website. But that’s not the best choice from a financial standpoint.
Instead of spending hundreds of dollars on a standard rental car, use the Turo app to find a car. When you open the app, you’ll locate dozens of cars for rent from regular people. Even better, the prices are much lower than a rental company charges. Turo is an excellent way to earn money by renting your car to tourists in your area.
SpotHero
If you don’t plan for parking when you go to a big city, you’ll probably have to pay a lot of money to park in a place that isn’t ideal. You don’t need to drive all over the city to find a good parking spot if you use SpotHero.
SpotHero lets you choose your parking spot ahead of time, so you pay less. Just type in where you want to go and how long you’ll need to park there. The application will then show a map with all the parking spots and how much they cost. You can use the app to pay for parking and skip the line at the parking garage.
Dash Cam: Driver
Installing a dash cam in your car can help to protect you in case of a hit-and-run or any other accident. Insurance companies like proof, which you can get with a dash cam. But what if you lack the cash to buy a high-quality dash cam? Instead, use your phone!
The Driver app can be used as a free dash cam if you have a mount to put it in a while driving. There’s no need even to start recording. When you start driving, the app automatically starts to record. The app can record with two cameras at once, delete videos automatically to save space, and let you use other apps, whereas the Driver records in the background.
If you pay $4.99 monthly for the DriverPremium subscription, you can use the DriverCloud to store all your prospective dash cam recordings. With Cloud Sync technology, you can watch your videos from any browser, and trips are accessible for up to 90 days.
