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How much does it cost to run a small car?

A

AnnO'Neemus

Is so vanilla
I know this is a bit like how long is a piece of string, but how much does it cost to run a small car? Very rough ballpark figures?

I've only had one car before, when I was living in a country with almost non-existent public transport and I needed to drive to commute to work. In the UK, I've never had a job that requires driving, I've always either lived close to work, or I've lived somewhere with really good tram/bus transport connections. (Also, I've never had such a senior level job that comes with a parking spot in the building carpark, so I've never seen the point of driving 'to work' only to pay a fortune to park half a mile away and then walk to the office, when there's usually a tram or bus-stop much closer.) I've never actually had a car in the UK, so I've absolutely no idea.

There's a strong possibility that I might get a job that's relatively close to home, but a bit of a bugger to get to on public transport. If I drive, it's 3.5 miles, so around 15 minutes. It's not on the tram network and the trains are not reliable - the last person left because of changes to train timetables making the job untenable for them. By bus, I'll have to catch two buses, one into town and one out again, and it will take 45 minutes. So it's either 30 minutes commuting to/from work a day, or one and a half hours; one and a half hours that will involve walking in the rain and standing at bus stops getting wet. Also, all those hours add up. To 20+ hours a month, equivalent to three working days. I want to have some work:life balance after working long shifts in my last full-time job.

So I figure it's finally time for me to take the plunge and start driving.

I know there's another thread for buying a small car. But I was wondering about running costs. My insurance will probably be high, because of the inner city area where I live and because I don't have a no claims bonus. So I'm realistic and know I'll need a little 1.0l run-around. But what about all the other costs? MOT, tax, servicing, petrol. I know no one can predict whether or not I buy a lemon that will blow a head gasket after only a week, so it's pot luck to a certain extent, but what's the bare minimum I'm looking at? What do other people pay to run their cars?
 
I have a Golf, I get it serviced at least once a year (sometimes twice) that costs about £150 a go , insurance is about £650 a year, MOTs cost about £30 a year , Tax is £160 ? I think. Petrol will depend on how much you drive , a full tank in my car is about £65 , and that would probably cover me for about 300 miles driving. I pay for street parking , which is about £150 a year. Occasionally pay for parking elsewhere , maybe £2-3 an hour .

Eta , AA membership of about £150 a year.
 
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Sprog 1 has a 2010 Honda Jazz - it's got a 1.4 lite petrol engine.

She pays £136 a year in vehicle tax. Her petrol tank is 30 litres, which at the current petrol price here of £1.56 a litre is £46. A full tank gives her a 'should do' range of about 420 miles. If she does a long motorway drive - Glasgow to Bristol at 65mph for example, 380 or so miles - she'll get about 450 miles from a full tank, but if she does a lots of short journeys in Glasgow with lots of traffic, she'll probably only get 350 miles out of a tank, if that.

AA or RAC will cost about £100-120 a year, Insurance could be anything from £300 to £200 (pick a car you like on Autotrader, and use it's details to get a selection of quotes on one of the insurance comparison websites).

An MOT is £30, an annual service should be about £150-200 or so...
 
Within this discussion, for those who live in towns with car clubs at least, it would also be interesting to know the usage threshold at which owning a car becomes more expensive than using pay-as-you-go car clubs & traditional hire cars for proper weekends when required.

In my particular case, it’s far cheaper to use hire and club cars, but then I use my bike for most commuting and social needs so it’s a no brainer. But I wonder what would be cheaper for someone doing 2k miles a year…
 
I estimate that for my admittedly fairly high tax and not massively economical 2009 Mercedes b class (1.5l), it costs approx £2k. I have many years low claims and lowish mileage and live in a v safe area so insurance

Average costs

£250 insurance
£75 breakdown cover
£300 tax
£500 servicing on average (some years it’s less)

So that’s over a grand before I put fuel in it. A tank of fuel is £75 ish and I use one tank a month, more if I make long journeys in it (it is 2 full tanks to visit my dad for example). I must spend over £1k on fuel per year

I tend to do long journeys by public transport if I can to save costs and hopefully extend life of car, perhaps that’s a bit of a false economy

I am basically trapped in this car as I can’t afford a newer, lower tax and more efficient one. It’s unlikely to be replaced, but I hope I can get a few more years out of it as it’s fairly low mileage for its age
 
I've a Golf GTD 2.0, I get about 600 miles per tank, that costs about £70 to fill. Insurance is about £400 pa. Not sure about tax. Servicing averages about £170.

My other car, 1.8 Astra Bertone, insurance is about £700, I get about 35 mpg. But only buy petrol as I need so no real idea of costs. Servicing is about £100 per annum. No idea what the tax is.
 
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We paid £110 yesterday for a service on the 500 and £50 for the mot.
I've just renewed my insurance on the Mazda and Alfa ( close to central London, very high risk area ). £500 for a joint policy.
PS petrol the Mazda does about 35/40MPG, the Alfa doesn't.
 
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It also really depends how new the car is. For newer cars you lose a lot of money in depreciation, for older cars less, but they're cheaper because of the maintenance costs. If you buy a car for £1000 you can't be at all surprised if it costs that much again to service it in the first couple of years. I guess there might be a sweet spot between 'too old to depreciate significantly' and 'too young to need £500 every MOT', but I don't know were that is.
 
While a car is a money pit, it's also worth thinking about the money you save by owning a car, which might reduce the depth of that money pit.

Is it easier to access cheaper shopping options - the massive Asda 5 miles away rather than the little Morrisons down the road?

Going out for the day - if we fancy going to the beach for the day (Barmouth is our closest, Weston is probably the same) for a family of 2 adults and two kids, we're not going to get any change of £100 on the trains/buses. It's about £35 in petrol...

E2A: it's actually £136 for the four of us to get to Barmouth and back next weekend (not including the £15 taxi at each end because buses don't go near our house, or indeed function at those hours), involves about 4 changes each way, and takes 9 hours there and back - it's 97 miles, and it takes about 2 and a half hours each way to drive.

When you own a car, you do tend to become car-centric: the money you buy it with, tax it with, and insure it with is sunk into the car - you don't get it back if you walk, or use PT or a push bike - so you'll use it for most things with fuel as the only real variable.
 
i'd say the insurance might be higher than has been suggested here if you've not had insurance in the UK before.

don't know how far you can get seeking quotes on a currently non-existent car, but may be worth trying with a hypothetical 'i am seriously considering buying this one'

are ULEZ / congestion charges / parking permits going to be a thing where you are?

and 15 minutes for 3 and a bit miles in an inner city area might be optimistic at peak hours (although if you're doing an orbital journey, it might be)

second hand car prices have been distorted by ULEZ anywhere near them - older / non-compliant diesel cars can be got that bit cheaper, petrol cars that are just within compliant are more in demand.
 
For insurance, when getting quotes recently, one question which kep popping up was do you own this car. you can describe your job in two different ways and get two different quotes. Parking on road or using it for work or just to commute will push premiums up

Ok, we are odd; we frequently have days out by bus or by train eg. We are about 25 miles from home today but still used the train. That said, we have superb bus and train connections at home.
.
 
Insurance #2. Don't over estimate your mileage for the insurance quote, try and keep it down but don't under do it. The Mazda is insured for 5000 PA, the Alfa just 1000.
Every little helps when it comes to keeping insurance down.
 
I reckon about 1000-1500 a year if you do it on the cheap. Insurance, tax, MOT, repairs, servicing. Excluding petrol. Also excluding vehicle depreciation if you buy a more modern car.

Get something small and reliable and economical and about 15 years' old and it's def possible on £1000.

For me anually it's about...
£400 insurance
£250 tax
£55 MOT
£50 servicing (I do it myself).
£100 cleaning (could do it myself for £10 but cba)
£100 tyres brakes wipers yada yada (I buy part-worn tyres not new ones).
£150 repairs (some done myself but not all. was more the first year, less the second year... not consistent. If it's a older car try and buy a car where someone has done the work before selling it rather than one they are selling because they dont want to do the work!)
£5 parking. I hardly ever pay for parking. Like almost never.

Having a car and being able to go wherever I want whenever I want as fast or slow as I want. Totally priceless.
 
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Riklet said:
Having a car and being able to go wherever I want whenever I want as fast or slow as I want. Totally priceless.
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Just this. Wanted to drive from about 10 years old. Was my burning desire as a kid.. not getting married etc. just wanted to drive a car. And still love it actually, just as you say... :) :):)
 
My mate is a bit younger than you but lives in your postcode.

She passed her test last year, car is very low insurance group. Costs her £120/month to insure.

I'm wondering which 3.5 mile journey in Manchester you think will only take 15 minutes. Traffic is mental everywhere ime.
 
My small cars cost about :

Car Insurance £250
MOT £42
Road tax £170
Breakdown cover £110
Petrol over the last 12 months £1,095

Which leaves a big lump which how much it costs to buy the car in the first place (you could spread this over the time you have the car minus what you get back if you sell it), and there is servicing / repairs which can add up.
 
Another vote for considering cycling if possible. My commute is 3.7 miles and takes me 20-25 minutes.

Advantages:
Massively cheaper than running a car, my running costs are basically brake pads every six months and a chain and cassette, gear cables and a pair of tyres every year, so maybe £150 over the year. I do it myself so add a bit for shop labour if you don't want to do that.
Keeps you fit and healthy without having to consciously build exercise into your day somewhere else.
Usually makes you feel good, out in the fresh air getting the blood flowing etc etc rather than sitting on your arse in an air conditioned box.
Absolutely zero parking stress.
Environmental smugness.

Disadvantages:
Sometimes it can be stressful if drivers are being twats, you can minimise this with a good route that avoids too many traffic-y pinch points - a local bike shop might be able to help with that.
You get wet and cold sometimes, but again can be minimised with mudguards and decent cycling waterproofs, and tbh you do just get used to it and it becomes less of a drama the more you do it.
 
Insurance will be the biggest variable, pick a car in the street (like a corsa or Yaris) and use the registration to get some quotes from a comparison site.

If it’s 3.5 mikes each way how would you feel about a decent electrically assisted bike? A good one will cost you about the same as a ropey little car and the other costs will be much lower.

But winter.
 
If I could cycle in safety to work in about half an hour I would, but the road is just too dangerous and there are too many hills.
 
I can give you the lifetime costs of running a small car.
Mrs Q bought herself a 2007 1.2L Micra in 2009 for £4500, she sold it for £450 in 2023 14 years later so deprecation cost her £4K over 14 years. (she paid in full so no loan payments)
I scanned in and kept every single document relating to its visit to the garage so I can provide 14 years worth of exact figures and what it was spent on. (Sad eh)

2010 £728.64 Service & MOT, 2 New Front Tyres
2011 £475.23 Service & MOT, Front Discs & Pads, Fan Belt
2012 £656.87 Service & MOT, 2 x Front Suspension Arms, 4 New Tyres
2013 £654.83 Service & MOT, Front Pads Only, 1x Front N/S Suspension Arm (I suspect Mrs Q lost a fight with the kerb rather than wear & tear her denials to the contrary)
2014 £699.38 Service & MOT, 2 New Front Tyres and a BIG scratch on passenger door (Some arsehole with a sharp object in a car park)
2015 £566.42 Service & MOT, Rear Drums & Shoes, Replacement Electric Window Motor in Passenger Door
2016 £963.93 Service & MOT, New Battery, New Wiper Blades, New Exhaust, Fix Leaky Tyre
2017 £517.81 Service & MOT 4 New Tyres, Replace Track Rod End & Anti Squeal Shim
2018 £515.93 Service & MOT, Front Discs & Pads
2019 £733.04 Service & MOT, Catalytic Converter, Both Rear Wheel Bearings, Replacement Locking Nut Set.
2020 £577.28 Service & MOT, New Battery, NSF Wishbone
2021 £304.49 Service & MOT, Replace Handbrake Linkage
2022 £867.64 Service & MOT, 2 Rear Tyres, Both Rear Brake Cylinders

In it's final year it cost her £150 in Car Tax and a little over £200 in Insurance. Mrs Q is 61 year old secondary schoolteacher with 35 years of no fault driving behind her so she is pretty much the Insurance companies dream customer. The Yaris is costing her £900 however this is due entirely to the presence of our youngest daughter a 21 year old student as a named driver.

She only used the Micra (and the Yaris) for the 14-15mile(ish) round trip to the school where she works, the gym and doing the shopping so her petrol bills in a car that could manage near enough 40mpg was not excessive.
 
MickiQ said:
I can give you the lifetime costs of running a small car.
Mrs Q bought herself a 2007 1.2L Micra in 2009 for £4500, she sold it for £450 in 2023 14 years later so deprecation cost her £4K over 14 years. (she paid in full so no loan payments)
I scanned in and kept every single document relating to its visit to the garage so I can provide 14 years worth of exact figures and what it was spent on. (Sad eh)

2010 £728.64 Service & MOT, 2 New Front Tyres
2011 £475.23 Service & MOT, Front Discs & Pads, Fan Belt
2012 £656.87 Service & MOT, 2 x Front Suspension Arms, 4 New Tyres
2013 £654.83 Service & MOT, Front Pads Only, 1x Front N/S Suspension Arm (I suspect Mrs Q lost a fight with the kerb rather than wear & tear her denials to the contrary)
2014 £699.38 Service & MOT, 2 New Front Tyres and a BIG scratch on passenger door (Some arsehole with a sharp object in a car park)
2015 £566.42 Service & MOT, Rear Drums & Shoes, Replacement Electric Window Motor in Passenger Door
2016 £963.93 Service & MOT, New Battery, New Wiper Blades, New Exhaust, Fix Leaky Tyre
2017 £517.81 Service & MOT 4 New Tyres, Replace Track Rod End & Anti Squeal Shim
2018 £515.93 Service & MOT, Front Discs & Pads
2019 £733.04 Service & MOT, Catalytic Converter, Both Rear Wheel Bearings, Replacement Locking Nut Set.
2020 £577.28 Service & MOT, New Battery, NSF Wishbone
2021 £304.49 Service & MOT, Replace Handbrake Linkage
2022 £867.64 Service & MOT, 2 Rear Tyres, Both Rear Brake Cylinders

In it's final year it cost her £150 in Car Tax and a little over £200 in Insurance. Mrs Q is 61 year old secondary schoolteacher with 35 years of no fault driving behind her so she is pretty much the Insurance companies dream customer. The Yaris is costing her £900 however this is due entirely to the presence of our youngest daughter a 21 year old student as a named driver.

She only used the Micra (and the Yaris) for the 14-15mile(ish) round trip to the school where she works, the gym and doing the shopping so her petrol bills in a car that could manage near enough 40mpg was not excessive.
Click to expand...

:eek: Those are seriously expensive services for a Micra.
 
Spymaster said:
:eek: Those are seriously expensive services for a Micra.
Click to expand...

Aye all that (dealer?) service history and it still sold for £450?! It must have still been worth 2 grand easy. Depreciation on a 2007 car that runs shouldnt be that bad surely...
 
Spymaster said:
:eek: Those are seriously expensive services for a Micra.
Click to expand...
Full cost spent that year not just the service which was usually £150ish to £200ish the scratch for example cost £180 to paint out. We didn’t want to claim off the insurance for it since by the excess was deducted we would only get back like £50 and it would impact her premiums for years
 
Riklet said:
Aye all that (dealer?) service history and it still sold for £450?! It must have still been worth 2 grand easy. Depreciation on a 2007 car that runs shouldnt be that bad surely...
Click to expand...
Went to WeBuyAnyCar we could have got a fair bit more if we had sold it privately but just wanted it gone before the next MOT came up.
The Toyota dealer we bought the Yaris from wouldn't take it.
EDIT it was serviced and maintained by reputable local garage but not a Nissan main dealer
 
MickiQ said:
Full cost spent that year not just the service which was usually £150ish to £200ish the scratch for example cost £180 to paint out. We didn’t want to claim off the insurance for it since by the excess was deducted we would only get back like £50 and it would impact her premiums for years
Click to expand...

You've still spent more on the Micra in the last 3 years than I have on a 6 series BMW.
 
Spymaster said:
You've still spent more on the Micra in the last 3 years than I have on a 6 series BMW.
Click to expand...
We'll see how we go on with the Yaris but perhaps I should suggest a BMW that next time round. The fact that we expected the cost of keeping the Micra on the road to just keep rising was a major driver in replacing it.
When we were looking for a replacement for the Micra, the first place we visited had an Audi TT convertible which she rather liked the look of.
One of the main criteria for a replacement though was something Youngest Q could borrow on occasions when she was home from Uni. I suspect that the insurance would be OK with Mrs Q driving such a car but for a 21 year old who passed her test last May then the insurance would probably cost more than the car.
 
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