We sat with Nick on his journey home to show him how to drive more efficiently.

View more images of us teaching Nick to drive green

We’ve asked Nick what his daily commute consists of and how much he spends – now we’re going to save him money by driving green and finding the best deal on car insurance.

Ten ways to drive green

Nick has promised to learn our top ten fuel-saving tips to lower his fuel consumption and make the following annual savings:

1. Reverse into a parking space – save £100
2. Turn off air-conditioning – save £94
3. Lighten the load – save £56
4. Change gear between 2,000 and 2,500rpm
5. Drive at 56mph on the motorway
6. Avoid harsh braking and accelerating – save £250 with tips 4, 5 and 6
7. Close windows and remove roof racks – save £216
8. Avoid speed bumps and built-up areas – save £93
9. Check oil level – avoid paying £1,400 on potential repairs
10. Check tyre pressure – save £93

Nick could SAVE £20 per week if he follows our money-saving tips.

Spending totals

Here’s where Nick’s money went during the last two weeks:

Monday 15 September
• Fuel – £39 (Asda in Bromley)
• Food – £2.50 (McDonalds in Wimbledon)

Thursday 18 September
• Food – £1.40 (Local café)

Total spending – week two: £42.90

Wednesday 24 September
• Fuel – £51.23 (BP in Addington village)

Friday 26 September
• Car shampoo and sponge – £8.99 (Halfords)

Total spending – week three: £60.22

Nick has successfully cut his weekly spend to £78.78, down from £83.90.

How to save £270 in half an hour

We think almost £80 is still far too much money to spend on a car in one week – so we cut Nick’s annual motoring costs by £140!

Here’s what he would have been paying:

• £595 on car insurance (renewal quote up from £465)
• £210 on tax
• £50 on MOTs

Now he’s paying:

• £350 on car insurance
• £210 on tax
• £25 on MOTs

Nick’s insurance premium was set to rise to £595, but with a bit of shopping around we reduced this to £350 – by switching to an online account with the same company.

For more information read our guide on getting cheaper car insurance.

We also managed to cut the cost of an MOT in half.

This cuts £270 off Nick’s annual motoring bill and reduces his weekly spending average to £73.59. Come back next week to see if he can drive this down even further.

Fuel efficiency

Nick usually gets around 28mpg out of his BMW 3-series, but he’s pushed this to an average of 30mpg in three weeks.

Will he get more miles out of his motor with our green driving tips? Check back next week to find out.

Video: Cutting costs

We show Nick how to cut the cost of his commute:

Come back next week to see if Nick took our advice onboard – and how much money he saved.

View more images of us teaching Nick to drive green

How do you save money on your motoring? Have your say on the Auto Trader Blog

Are YOU spending too much on YOUR commute?

Auto Trader is looking for motorists who are spending too much on their car – are YOU one of them? Want to slash your motoring bill by up to half?

Email editorial@autotrader.co.uk with ‘Cut car costs’ as the subject and you could be featured on the Auto Trader website in the near future.