AIBU in thinking that owning a car is very expensive?

[Plmoknijb123]

I’m not from the UK and am shocked at the cost of buying and owning a car here! AIBU in thinking car ownership in the UK is very expensive? Or am I missing something? And by expensive I mean it will cut into a family budget considerably.

Of course I know everything is relative, but I’m in London and from what I’ve researched it seems car ownership is very much a luxury.

The OP is specifically talking about London, not about anywhere else. In London insurance is huge - thefts of cars, break-ins, and general damage of dents, broken wing mirrors etc is universal. Hardly anywhere will have a garage or driveway, so insurance is also more for in-street parking. You also have to buy a resident’s parking permit to allow you to park in the street near where you live. And if you travel around and park you will have to pay for meter parking or a car park everywhere. All of that is very expensive.

The most expensive place that I've heard of to own a car is Singapore. Evidently, the Government only allows a limited amount of permits per year & they are hugely expensive !

I live in the congestion charge zone. Have never once thought of owning a car (and of course little need Unless your circs dictate needing one - mine don’t). Congestion charge alone is huge expense partic now the resident rebate has gone (or been paused?). Adding in all other costs and I agree op - it’s a lot. And out of reach here for the majority.

Oh, yes, congestion charge too.

I own a 12 year old car which cost me £6000 in 2012. I pay £350 a year insurance, maybe £250 a year for service/ MOT.
I had it when I lived in London...needed it for my job.
I love the convenience of a car...last went on a bus in about 1990. Dh has his own car.

UANBU

This is a silly post on what planet does a £2k car last 10 years but cost £600 to insure? Figures plucked out of thin air.

And why shouldn’t a £2k car cost £600 a year to insure? You know how insurance works right?

I'm running 2 cars
Tax on both £140 year
Insurance both £450 year
Fuel £50 month
MOT ?
Repairs I put £100 month aside

@MondeoFan

I'm running 2 cars Tax on both £140 year Insurance both £450 year Fuel £50 month MOT ? Repairs I put £100 month aside

What about resident’s parking? And the congestion charge? You haven’t put those in.

Yep, its expensive! I was fortunate enough to be able to buy my car outright after saving so I dont have any lease/ credit/ payment plan repayments but alot of people do. Thats usually around £200-£300 a month.
My running costs are £80 a month petrol, £60 insurance, £10 breakdown cover, £50 a month to cover MOT, Service, Road tax about £20 a month. So about £200 a month just to run it, without tyres, etc on top. I'd imagine if you have to pay for the car as well it's probably double.

It's like everything. It depends on your income and the choices you make.DH and I have a car each. We live rurally and the limited public transport would be extremely time consuming and impractical.

We bought our cars second hand, for cash, and chose a mid level Japanese brand known for low maintenance costs and longevity, rather than a fashionable premium brand like BMW or Audi.

Eg. Car 1 cost us £4,300 about 9 years ago. The car was about 4.5 yrs old when we bought it, it's a 5 door car suitable for a family of 4. During that time we have spent about £3500 on services, MOT, new brake pads and a new battery. I think it's about £500 a year insurance.

On that basis 10 year ownership works out around £1,200 a year and that's assuming the car is worth nothing at all now (unlikely). Obviously any fuel cost is hugely variable, I consider that as a separate cost per journey.

To me that cost isnt in the "luxury" bracket.

I am surprised at how many people manage to find the money to buy & run a car in the UK, given the cost of fuel, insurance etc, & how low wages can be if people are on the lower end of the jobs market. DH & I have never had a car, manage ok with public transport. I have a hidden disability (I'm partially sighted & have nerve damage/pain) & we have a child. Not in London & no family nearby, we don't ask for lifts. Occasionally we use a taxi, maybe once or twice a year, before the pandemic started.

Yanbu
My car is owned outright and costs me 45 pm to sit on the drive.
Petrol and repairs are extra.
I keep it as its fab and I don't want to get a loan for newer.
Next car I get will be Much lower in tax. I pay 21 monthly 🙄

My car is an old banger that cost £500 (although I wouldn't recommend it unless you like deicing your steering wheel and getting very good at deciphering which noises are dangerous), but before that I paid £110 a month hire purchase for a 2 year old car. Tax is £140 (I think) a year. My insurance is very high, £950, but that's because of a previous theft and the area I live being generally expensive for car insurance. I spent (in non-Covid times) £400 a month or more on petrol, so high mileage and I've needed new tyres more often than the average driver. So it's very expensive for me, but non-negtioable because of my job (and, if I were to do it via public transport, it'd be twice as much).

My friend bought a car for £1000, old but a fully serviced Volvo in amazing nick which has lasted 3 years so far passing MOTs every time. Low tax, her insurance is £350 a year, and she only goes to and from her workplace which is 15 minutes away by car, so uses 1 tank of petrol a month. Much, much cheaper for her than public transport!

Depends on the car, how much you'll use it, what the tax band is, how much your insurance will be, how many miles you do...

In London definitely a luxury and if you are wfh even only part of the week long term, time to consider getting rid, or having a small car. Probably now with wfh becoming the standard for more people (though not all by any means) there are many other places where a car could be got rid of and money saved.

Exercising by short journeys being walked soon adds up and helps.

Second hand car costs around £2000, lasts 10 years so £200 per year

I would guess less than 1% of motorist could get costs this low. Based on doing 15000 miles per year in three different second hand cars that initially cost several thousand, I would say the baseline expense of owning a car (not including fuel costs) is about £100 a month. A more realistic number would be £200 a month.

If you only use a car at weekends for non-essential trips, and don't pay someone else to do the manufacturer-specified servicing, you can probably spend less.

Public transport would cost me more, not to mention the extra time it would take.

My partner has a vehicle which is over 40 years old

Cost to buy out right then
Tax exempt
MOT exempt
Insurance £150 per year
Repairs ongoing, but that is one of his hobbies
Fuel is expensive, because the Government adds tax onto all fuel

@Magp1eMuse

My partner has a vehicle which is over 40 years old

Cost to buy out right then
Tax exempt
MOT exempt
Insurance £150 per year
Repairs ongoing, but that is one of his hobbies
Fuel is expensive, because the Government adds tax onto all fuel

It just hit me that cars I grew up with will soon be considered classical😐

When you’re in London I think the expense comes from having to pay the extra for a parking permit. I lived in London (zone 4) and had a car for most of my time there. When I didn’t have one, I still hired one for day trips etc.

Apparently the average cost of owning a car in London is £3,436. However that research was done by Zipcar who hire out cars, so could well be biased!

Lots of answers from people who aren’t giving the cost in London!
I live in zone 1 but just out of the congestion zone. I don’t have a licence but have a wonderful cargo bike which takes my daughter to school, to ballet etc in a much quicker time than a car or public transport would.
Please don’t discount the cost of ULEZ in October. It will hit older cars really hard, you won’t be able to drive or park them in London in the m25!
We do own a vintage car. It’s a historical vehicle so is MOT (we still get), tax, and ULEZ exempt. Parking costs us £250 a year.
We bought her for 15k and will spend another 10k on her this year.
It’s an incredibly expensive hobby. I would not recommend it. My boss asked if he could just burn my money instead.
But she’s an old beauty and holds her value (but currently won’t start due to the cold spell which seized her starter). Definitely heart over head in our case.
We try and use her weekly but honestly it’s mostly fortnightly in lockdown.

@Magp1eMuse snap!

@LegoCaltrops

There is no public transport in many places so we have to prioritise paying for a car, I simply cannot get to work without one (well in theory I could take a 49 minute bus journey, then a 30 minute walk then a 20 minute train followed by another 20 minute walk. By car it's 20 mins.

I calculate my car costs £100 a month plus petrol to run but I own outright so I save an extra £100 a month to cover repairs/replacement one day. If the bus that was direct (got cancelled in council cuts) still existed it would cost £28 a week just for transport to work, about the same as my car, but I still have the car for other journeys and it's not every 2 hours like the bus!

Life is very difficult without a car where I am. I don't think it's expensive - husband used to commute 20 minutes on the train and we worked out that annual running of the car was exactly the same as a season ticket.

I am 36 though and paying about £220 a year for insurance, plus the car is only £20 tax.