Getting Tanked

Gasoline prices and insurance rates: expensive aspects of owning a car.

As if the price of the car itself isn't enough, insurance rates are more expensive for those younger than 25, and with one false move, already expensive rates can skyrocket.

However, insurance companies give breaks to good students and drivers with clean records.

"By taking advantage of all of the offered teen discounts and avoiding accidents and tickets, teens can get a fairly decent rate," said Dan Trubac, a State Farm agent.

Trubac said that three discounts save teens up to 40 percent on car insurance.

The good student discount applies to students who have a B average or higher. The Steer Clear discount involves watching an informative DVD about defensive driving and taking a test. These two discounts each save teens 15 percent. The driver training discount involves behind-the-wheel instruction and coursework, which saves teens 10 percent.

Trubac said that the most important factor is avoiding accidents and tickets because they can have severe consequences in a teen's ability to get affordable auto insurance.

If a teen gets in too many accidents and/or receives too many tickets he or she might qualify as high-risk and thus be canceled from the State Farm account.

"Sometimes the entire family may have to switch insurance or sign an exclusion stating that the teen will not drive the parent's car," Trubac said.

Qualifications for high-risk insurance vary.

"DUIs also affect insurance and often result in a canceled account," Trubac said. "The teen with the DUI may need to pay six to seven times more for insurance."

Samantha Rosenbach, a senior at Faith Lutheran Junior-Senior High School, got in an accident that resulted in tickets for both drivers.

"One night I was making a U-turn on a fairly dark street," she recalled. "I didn't see a black Mustang that had the right-of-way because he didn't have his lights on."

Rosenbach, like many teens, went to traffic school and took other measures to erase points from her driving record so she would not be charged higher insurance rates.

Insurance isn't the only expense to driving a car.

Teens spend about $40 to $60 for a tank of gas as they cart themselves, siblings and friends around.

"I shell out $65 once every two weeks for my car," said Henry Liu, a junior at Faith Lutheran. "My mom, however, drives a Toyota Highlander hybrid and gets 37 miles to the gallon and 41 miles for the highway."

Andrea Jolls, a senior at Faith Lutheran, said she spends a lot for gas also. "My best friend lives pretty far away and doesn't drive, so if I want to hang out with her I have to go way out of my way to pick her up."

There are several things people can do to save gasoline and stretch their buck.

The first thing is maintenance.

"Checking belts and hoses and making sure tires are properly inflated is a good start," said Michael Geeser, spokesman for AAA Nevada. "Also make sure you know where you're going so you don't have to drive around looking for your destination."

Geeser also recommends lightening your load. "Remove needless items like golf clubs or cases of soda you might forget are in your trunk," he said.

Ali Williams, a senior at Faith Lutheran, has her own way to save. "On nice days I usually drive with my windows down to avoid using the air conditioning, and thus, (saving on) gas."

Another option for saving gasoline is to drive a fuel-efficient vehicle.

"I drive a 2006 Civic and it's only 30 bucks to fill up my tank," said Cheyenne Sandler, a senior at Palo Verde High School. "My car has great mileage actually."

AAA's Web site also offers some tips.

"The fuel finder ... is an online tool that allows you to put in the start and end location of a trip, the make and model of your car, and the computer will tell you how much you have to pay for the trip," Geeser said. "It won't necessarily save you money on gas, but it will help you budget the money."

To find the gas stations near you with the lowest prices, AAA's Web site offers a gasoline price finder. By typing in your ZIP code, the site provides a map with gas stations and their prices within a 10 mile radius.

Slowing down also can keep a little dough in your wallet.

According to the AAA Web site, every five miles you drive over 60 mph, you pay about an extra 20 cents per gallon. The site recommends giving yourself extra time to get to your destination and maintaining a steady speed to get the best bang for your buck.