How much does your car cost you per month?

ClarkeKent

I don't drive, in my 30s, but spend around £50 on public transport getting around per month.

I know this would be alot less than how much a car would cost to run.

But just got me wondering how much a car costs to run for the average person?

All inclusive: petrol, insurance, breakdown cover, MOT, repairs....

Pixie5740

How long is a piece of string? It depends very much on what car you get, how many miles you're driving, how competent you are at doing work on the car yourself, would you have to pay for parking at work, to park outside your home, anywhere that you're going via public transport really.

Nasqueron

No such thing as average really, how much fuel you use depends on mileage, type of driving, type of car (ditto insurance). How old the car is and how it's treated affects repairs, MOTs etc

I spend about £60 to fill the tank and I'm averaging 49mpg on my car's computer tracking = 538.9 miles with optimum driving. For my commute that would be around 38.5 days driving or about 7 1/2 weeks between refuelling though other trips like the supermarket plus the fact I cycle a lot so in reality it's not that!

Insurance - around £29 a month

No MOT (car is not 3 years old yet) but you can get that done cheap. Add on service (about £300), maybe new tyres every couple of years (more/less depends on mileage) etc

daveyjp

http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/running_costs/

Gives a good idea for new cars.

PasturesNew

There is no meaningful average.... but here are some ballpark figures for mine:

I bought my current car 2nd hand 6 years ago. If I deduct its current value that means it's cost me £5k to own it (depreciation). That's £70/month.

Car tax is about £10/month.

Service/MoT once a year is £10/month.

Insurance is "cheapish" as I've been driving forever, so say £25/month.

I've been lucky it's never needed any repairs to date, but it's got through some tyres and wiper blades and a battery - say, on average, £5/month. It'll probably need an exhaust at some point

So that's £120/month just to have it sitting, waiting to be used.

To drive it costs about 12p/mile in fuel alone. Then you often have to pay for parking when you do arrive...

Iceweasel

I do approx 15K per year and it works out at 42p/mile taking all expenses into account.

Fuel costs are only 10p/mile

I wish £50 a month covered my travel costs.

motorguy

The biggest motoring cost is (most usually) depreciation.

For even an average car, you'd need to allocate £100 a month to depreciation, just to enable you to replace it like with like when you want to change it.

The biggest caveat around that is probably if you run a "banger" - ie, something say, £1000 or less, then you'll probably avoid depreciation to a greater extent.

iolanthe07

Most of us run cars for the sheer convenience that having a car brings, understanding that there is a cost penalty over using public transport.

Smartsaver7

We have two taking the largest and dividing by 12 assuming no repairs
Mot and service about £30
Insurance £35
Tax £29
Petrol around £60
Parts like tyres £10
Car wash when really dirty £2

EssexExile

The AA reckoned it cost £12 a week to run a car. I'm not sure how I managed it plus the smoking & drinking all on £5 a week wage. That was a while ago mind.

lincroft1710

OP although perhaps exaggerated a bit, this thread may suggest that not buying a car isn't a bad thing

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5551822

Also remember that as a pedestrian you can ignore No Entry, No Parking, One Way, and No Left/Right Turn signs. You can also ignore double yellow lines. You also don't have to try and find a more reasonable premium when your insurance is due for renewal, nor worry whether your vehicle tax is due this month or next month. And there is no going to the MOT test centre once a year and hoping heart in mouth, it'll pass.

You also don't need to worry about depreciation rates, fuel price increases, vehicle tax increases or delays on the M25. Nor the fact that Mr Jones' Yaris is newer than your 370Z.