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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU in thinking that owning a car is very expensive?

116 replies

Plmoknijb123 · 03/02/2021 21:40

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.

OP posts:
daisypond · 04/02/2021 12:32

@hammeringinmyhead

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.

So you can’t be in London, then? Which is why it’s not expensive. The OP is in London with high insurance rates, nowhere to park the car, having to buy a resident’s permit and pay for the congestion charge.
hammeringinmyhead · 04/02/2021 13:23

No, I'm not in London, and I caveated with my low insurance costs because it'a not a "luxury" in places where the last bus is at 5.30pm. Just pointing out that it's not expensive "in the UK".

NightIbble · 04/02/2021 16:15

Cost is one of the reasons we don't own one but we live in a London suburb and can easily get around by public transport. We get an Uber occasionally if we need one and find it easy even with a 3 year old. We have never had one so if we suddenly had to budget for one we would find it very difficult.

RubyGoat · 04/02/2021 17:24

@mootymoo - it must be a real struggle to live in an area where there is little or no public transport. But, it's one of the reasons why DH & I chose to live where we do. I don't think we could afford to run a car, people are generally shocked how little money we manage on, & are then also shocked we don't have a car. We had to move house a while ago & our options were really restricted because there was no public transport in a lot of the places we could afford.

CrotchetyQuaver · 04/02/2021 17:37

I have to have a car, I live rurally with no meaningful bus service. I simply couldn't manage without one. For me and many others in similar positions, it's a necessary cost that has to be paid for somehow.

speakout · 04/02/2021 18:15

CrotchetyQuaver
I have to have a car, I live rurally with no meaningful bus service. I simply couldn't manage without one. For me and many others in similar positions, it's a necessary cost that has to be paid for somehow.

Totally agree. Public transport for rural communities has been neglected for years. Winding down non profitable routes. has left many places stranded. Covid has deepened the situation.
A car- or acces to a car is essential for many communities

Maryann1975 · 04/02/2021 18:30

Second hand car costs around £2000, lasts 10 years so £200 per year
On what planet does a second hand car that costs £2000 last 10 years! You would be exceptionally lucky for that to be the case or have spent an awful lot on repairs and maintenance work for the car. He older the car, the more bits need fixing.
We save £100 a month to cover car costs. We don’t use it all, so what we don’t use just builds up so there is a bit of money to out towards the next car.

We couldn’t manage without a car, live on the outskirts of a town, with no public transport to get to the Town centre from here due to council cut backs. I guess it is a luxury to have a car, but it’s an essential luxury I think.

BackforGood · 04/02/2021 19:42

Lots of answers from people who aren’t giving the cost in London!

Well, no. I realise this comes as a surprise to some people on here and in the National media but not everyone lives in London.

The title and the opening post are suggesting it is expensive to own a car in the UK. People (in the UK) are giving their viewpoint.

daisypond · 04/02/2021 20:56

The opening post says the OP is in London.

BackforGood · 04/02/2021 22:24

It does, as an aside. The question is about if it is expensive to own a car in the UK

hammeringinmyhead · 05/02/2021 12:56

@BackforGood

It does, as an aside. The question is about if it is expensive to own a car in the UK
Exactly.

If the OP is in London then yeah, it probably is a "luxury" because you can use the tube/trains/buses - if you feel so inclined to risk it at the moment. Groceries can be delivered - if you can get a slot. If you want to go to Cornwall for a week you can rent one.

But we're not all paying a ridiculous price to own a car "in the UK" vs. "In Germany". I lived in Lyon for a while and a car cost a bomb to own.

Luke423 · 05/02/2021 17:45

A two grand car ain't going to last you ten years, not at the budget you've suggested....twenty years ago maybe but modern cars are full of complex shite that is very expensive to replace.

BackforGood · 05/02/2021 18:11

A two grand car ain't going to last you ten years,

Possibly not, but if you spend £200 - £500 on an older car and it lasts you 4 years (of which I've had several) , that's the equivalent.

Luke423 · 06/02/2021 06:11

Maybe. That said, with a £200 car you've got a better than average chance of getting one that'll conk out in the middle of nowhere at 11pm or start spewing green water on a hard shoulder somewhere. On top of that it might not be all that structurally sound either. I've also had some absolute corkers of cheap cars but I also know enough about old cars to know what to look out for. I also know someone who bought a cheap Metro because the owner told them "aye, its a grand car" only for the suspension to collapse a few weeks later. Old cars are a minefield.

camelfinger · 06/02/2021 06:37

I live in outer London where most people have driveways for one car, and off street parking is free. No idea about insurance but lots of catalytic converters get stolen so if inagine it’s quite a lot.
We have excellent public transport (not as good as central london obvs but I think it’s good). I cycle to work.
I’ve occasionally looked into getting a car - it was about £200 per month to get a lease one which is apparently a good deal - I still though that was quite a lot so didn’t bother. I definitely spend much less than that on Uber and hire cars (especially now!) I like getting a shiny new hire car that we return muddy.
It is a luxury if you don’t really need it. It’s a necessity in rural areas but that why we’ve decided to live where we do. I think cities with lots of cars are very unpleasant so it’s right that motoring is expensive. Just think if we added up all the money people spend on cars (and public transport) in the whole country - that would get us an amazing public transport network! Would never happen though.

lojojomo · 06/02/2021 06:59

I think it's a crazy waste of money too. I don't have one. I am lucky to be able to arrange my life so I don't need one anyway I bought a house two minutes from everything train, market, theatre, country walks etc -- and go about my life on foot.

speakout · 06/02/2021 07:03

lojojomo

You are lucky to be able to do that.

Transport in rural areas is generally very poor in many parts of the country.
Uness we all move to urban areas or cities, it isn't simply a case of "arranging" your life so you don't need a car.

lojojomo · 06/02/2021 07:19

I didn't say it was simple. I said I did it.

speakout · 06/02/2021 07:21

lojojomo

I am glad you were able to do that.
For many of us a car isn't a "crazy waste of money"- it is a neccessity.

Mybobowler · 06/02/2021 07:30

If someone can find me a £2000 car that'll last me ten years, I'll pay a finders fee. OP, yes, cars are expensive and I'm yet to figure out the most cost effective way of buying one. Why waste money on a depreciating asset vs how can I afford the repayments on a PCP, let alone on something I'll never actually own? Minefield. I should move into a city and get a scooter.

PurBal · 06/02/2021 07:37

I would say YABU but mainly because it's much cheaper than Singapore... Once you factor in driving license, COE (the right to own a car, only so many issued each year) think I worked out it was £60k for something like a honda civic. Plus around £200 a month for ERP (tolls), parking and petrol, which given the amount of driving it's possible to do given the size of the country is a lot.

LakieLady · 06/02/2021 07:46

Cost depends on how lucky you are with the car you buy, tbh. I had a Passat that I bought for £450, as an interim measure until I found something better. I had it for 3 years and it never needed so much as a tyre, and when some suspension thingy gave up the ghost and was going to cost £450 to fix, I scrapped it. My motoring for those 3 years was very cheap (£200 insurance, £180 tax, £56 MOT, so under £10 pw plus fuel). As I was getting paid 45p a mile for work mileage of around 300 miles a month, I might well have been motoring for free.

The worst car I owned was also the newest and most expensive to buy. It was a diesel turbo and had 3 repairs that cost almost £3k in total over 2.5 years. It's put me right off modern diesel engines with all the complications. I'm sticking to old petrol Audis now.

My late DP had an old Audi that ran for 3 or 4 years before it failed its MOT. He came home horrified at how much it had cost him to get it throught the test. He wouldn't tell me initially, he said I'd be livid.

It was 60p for a bulb. Bloody wind-up merchant.

redcarbluecar · 06/02/2021 07:49

Yanbu, although I don’t know anything about Europe costs. Biggest expense I have. I do hammer mine with the mileage tho.

LakieLady · 06/02/2021 07:52

I should have added that, given that it would cost me £3.20 each way to travel 2.5 miles to the nearest supermarket, and the same plus a £7 train fare to get to the nearest town with an M&S, hardware shop, shoe shop etc, a car isn't that expensive.

And I don't live in the middle of nowhere, it's a town of almost 20,000 people, barely 50 miles from the centre of London.

Pinkywoo · 06/02/2021 08:11

It depends where you're from, my Italian in-laws were shocked at how cheap cars are here. The insurance may be cheaper there but the actual car is 2-3 time's more.

Whether it's worth it or not depends on where you live. When I lived in London I didn't know anyone with a car, they all used public transport as it is so regular there, but where I am now buses stop at 6pm and are very infrequent. Where my parents live there are two buses a day!