How Much Does It Cost to Own a Car?

Owning a car can be expensive, but when you know exactly what costs are involved, you can see where you can make some savings. Everything from the type of car you have, to how you drive can affect the costs of owning a car. Below, we investigate how much it can cost to own a car and how you can make some savings.

Purchasing

The first cost associated with your car will be to buy it. Some people choose to buy their car outright whilst others will get car finance to help fund their purchase. This means you don’t need to save up the full amount to buy the car, but instead, you can split the cost over a few years with monthly payments. If you choose to go this route, you should factor in the monthly payments into your car budget.

Fuel

Fuel costs have risen in recent years, and the average annual cost to fuel a car is now above £1,400. How much fuel you actually use will depend on the car you have and also your driving habits. Obviously, the more you drive and the further you go, the more fuel you will use. You should check the fuel efficiency of your car to help determine how much you will spend on petrol. You can also usually save some money by buying fuel at supermarket petrol stations, which often cost less. Supermarkets will usually also have loyalty cards, so you can collect points when you get petrol and use them to make other purchases.

Maintenance

Your car will require varying amounts of maintenance. It’s advised to at least get an annual service for your vehicle – this will help to keep it in good condition. Regular servicing can also help to identify any potential faults, so you can get them fixed before they cause a bigger, and more costly, problem. A full service can cost anywhere between £150 and £350, depending on the size of the car and the garage you go to. If your car is new, the service may be included in the warranty.

Whilst regular services aren’t mandatory, annual MOTs are for any vehicle aged over 3 years. Depending on your car and where you go to get your MOT done, the test can cost anywhere between £70 to £150. This check is to ensure your car is safe on the road and you cannot legally drive the vehicle without a valid MOT certificate.

You can find out what’s the difference between a service and MOT by reading our blog.

Your car will also need smaller regular maintenance over the time you have it. You will probably need to change the tyres at some point to ensure they are safe and have the legal amount of tread depth. You will also need to top up your screen wash and may need to change various parts like the windscreen wipers and the headlight bulbs, although these will be smaller costs.

Tax

Most cars will have to pay car tax, or “vehicle excise duty”. The amount you pay will be determined by the amount of emissions your car produces. The lower the emissions, the cheaper the tax will be. There are different bands, with vehicles that produce 0 emissions (such as electric cars) having no car tax. The most expensive band is for vehicles that produce over 255g CO2 per kilometer and the tax for these costs £2,365. However, most standard vehicles will be between £25 and £190.

You can find out which band your vehicle falls into on the government website.

Insurance

Every car needs to be insured to be able to drive on the roads. You can pay your car insurance as one annual sum or you can split the cost over 12 months. How much you pay will depend on various factors, including the car you drive, how long you’ve been driving, your age, where you live and if you’ve ever made a claim before. The average cost for car insurance is around £400 per year.

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