The cost of running a new car, not counting the purchase price, is nearly £4,000 a year – and older cars aren’t too far behind. Imagine if that came as an annual bill. You’d jump out of the driving seat and immediately try to slash the price.

Yet most motoring bills are drip-fed month by month, or each time you fill up. So it's easy to pay without realising that for most homes with a car, it's easily the second biggest cost after mortgage or rent.

Here are my 10 tricks to save motorists, bikers and van drivers big bucks.

1. Private parking firms can't fine you

Tickets at supermarkets or private car parks may be disguised to look like fines. But, in reality, they’re just invoices, a claim you broke a contract with the landowner. Like any invoice, if it's genuinely unfair, simply explain why and tell them you won’t be paying. The only way they can enforce it is by going to court. If that does happen (often it doesn’t), then a judge can decide.

With official council tickets you can be fined. Yet, even then, if you feel it's unfair, for example, if signage was inadequate, you’ve a right to appeal. So the next time you get that sinking feeling when you spot an unfair demand on the windscreen, fight back. Full help and template letters at www.mse.me/privateparking

2. Get 3% cashback at petrol stations

The Santander 123 (www.santander.co.uk/123) credit card pays 3% back on petrol spending (max £9 a month back), 2% in department stores and 1% supermarkets. It has a £2/month fee, but that's easily covered for heavy drivers.

Yet only do it if you’ll set up a direct debit to repay it IN FULL each month, or the 18.9% rep APR will swallow the gain.

3. "It's a pain doing insurance comparisons, but I saved £450 using your list"

My system takes a little time, but it's worth it – just think of it as an hourly rate. As @msticklemagical tweeted me: "It's a pain doing comparisons, but I saved £450 on straightforward renewal price of car insurance using your list – result!"

First combine comparison sites, as different sites search different insurers. To get the most quotes in the least time, use a few at once (do in multiple windows). For most people, www.moneysupermarket.com and www.tescocompare.com should do the trick. Then add www.aviva.co.uk and www.directline.com, two major players they miss. If you've more than one car, add Admiral MultiCar (www.admiral.com).

4. Ditch the car for a car club?

If you live in a city and don't drive often, car clubs, such as Zipcar.co.uk and CityCarClub.co.uk, can beat owning a car or taking taxis. You pay to join and only use it when required.

One the upside, you don't have to worry about maintenance and depreciation. They also cut usage, as you pay per trip – helping you question if it's worth driving for five minutes just to pick up some spuds when you could walk.

Though watch out for extras. A few minutes stuck in traffic may incur a nasty late fee, plus there are fines for extra mileage.

5. 20-year-old saved £1,050 just by adding extra drivers

Young drivers can pay astronomical rates. Adding a safe second driver can slash your risk and therefore price. As one 20-year-old tweeted me: "£1,600+ on my own, £550 with two named drivers." To find the cheapest, follow the steps above.

If that’s still too costly, you can get in-car ‘black box’ tracking from the likes of coverbox.co.uk and ikubeinsurance.com. With these, you either pay per mile or based on how and when you drive. Full help at www.mse.me/youngcar

6. Go on a petrol diet

Fuel is now an eye-popping £1.45/litre on some forecourts and some predict worse on the way. So try a trio of easy techniques: a) Ditch excess junk in your trunk, remove roof racks and keep tyres correctly pumped to make your car more efficient, so you use less fuel.

b) The biggest saving (up to 30%) comes from simply driving less aggressively – smooth gradual acceleration rather than piling it on, being aware of your road position so you can slow naturally rather than brake, and changing into a higher gear earlier. Full help at www.mse.me/petrol c) Don't fill up just anywhere. Bash your postcode into www.petrolprices.com to find your cheapest local forecourt.

7. Never automatically opt for third party

Most who want dirt cheap insurance choose third party. Counter-logically, comprehensive can be cheaper for some, as opting for it can statistically indicate to insurers you’re a lower risk, and that can outweigh the fact it's better cover. There’s no hard and fast rule, so do check both.

8. Jack up your roadside rescue deal

Use specialist cashback websites like Topcashback.com and Quidco.com. These work by giving you a cut of their cash earned for referrals. Sign up via them and incorporating the cashback, at the time of writing, you can often get AA basic for about £15 or RAC for £25 (cashback amounts change daily).

If you want to stick with your existing cover, try haggling. In a poll on my site, 73% of AA customers who tried said they succeeded, like this MoneySavingExpert.com user: "Rang AA and asked to leave, now paying £57, not £115."

9. Council MOT centres can mean fewer fails

A huge 40% of MOTs fail first time, often for trivialities such as bust light bulbs, easily checked suspension problems, handbrake tension, worn tyres and windscreen damage. So do a quick walk-around and, where possible, fix before the test.

For the MOT itself, if you've a long-term trusted garage, great. If not, council MOT test centres generally don't do repairs, so have less incentive to fail you. Many rave about them, like one of my site users, jemayhew: "Huge thanks. Last year ripped off £400 repairs. Today passed at council centre with only test fee to pay." To find your local one, go to www.mse.me/mots

10. Has your licence photo expired? You risk a £1,000 fine

Photocard driving licences started in 1998, and while the licence itself may be valid, the photo needs renewing every 10 years. Those driving on expired cards risk a £1,000 fine - the update costs £20. Urgently check the end date (section 4b) and if expired, sort it.