To want to know, how much a month do you think it costs to run your car ?

[Kittencuddle]

Not talking about petrol

but tax
mot
insurance
general maintence and repairs

just a a rough guide ?

DH likes spreadsheets (although actually now he has an app for this 🤔) and reckons that all in our reasonably priced Korean cars cost 300€ each to run if we buy discounted new (surplus imports or ex showroom display which usually knocks a couple of thousand off the new price with lots of "free" extras), drive 15,000 km per year and keep them ten years.

That includes everything - purchase price, tax, MOTs once required, insurance, occasional repairs once out of 7 year warranty, servicing at the dealership when in warranty and the local cheaper garage afterwards, tires, and fuel and possibly other things I've forgotten...

Running a car is expensive... We actually discuss moving somewhere we could manage with one car sometimes as it'd give us a higher housing budget, but unfortunately where we live housing is even more expensive and an extra 300€ per month isn't enough for the same sized property in a location near shops and a train station...

£20 per year tax
£190 per year insurance
£40 MOT
Costs approx 14p per mile for fuel

Wow @MeanderingGently what do you drive?

Tax is £165

Insurance is £250

MOT £40 +service £150 (being generous)

Breakdown I think is £100

So that's about £725 for the year, so £60 odd a month

I budget for about an additional £500 of work/new tires but rarely if ever spend that much.

So I guess £100 a month but can be cheaper. Lots of insurance deals offer breakdown cover and services can be cheaper, some cars are lower tax etc.

@AffIt it's a 3 litre petrol car 😂 DHs is also £500+ a year to tax. Just paid both last week, I think it's £520 each? Crazy!

Business Insurance £215
Tax £25
RAC inc in insurance
Tyres £60
General Maintenance £50
No Finance

tax = £0
mot = £4
insurance = £30
general maintence and repair = £5

I have a Hyundai i30 (paid cash) a brilliant car.

No tax, always passes it's MOT, cheap insurance and no problems to fix.

£20 tax a year
No monthly payments
Save £70 a month for the MOT/ repairs. Will assess after next MOT as will most likely increase that.
Very economical on diesel, so between £20-£30 on fuel a week. Travel into our closest city multiple times a week for work.
Bought it new 9 years ago and paid it off.

Much cheaper than actually getting a new car on hire purchase or PCP.
So it will driven to death us part.

From memory insurance for the year is under £300 and includes breakdown.

Tax £12
INSURANCE £54
MOT just passed cost £280 as needed work to it.
£60 For full tank of petrol

Wee 2014 vauxhall Corsa. Still cheaper than public transport. Use it to and from work and hospital appointments etc.

Per month I spend approx £60, 15 year old Peugeot 107 owned outright:-

Tax: £1.66
Mot: £4.40
Insurance: £12.50
General maintenance and repairs: £40 on average

£65 insurance per month for my Golf
£13 tax per month

service appx £200 p/a
mot £50
I put £30 a month back to cover these.

So thats £110, plus £150 petrol, so £250 is a rough amount.

I bought the car outright so no finance. Honestly the biggest kicker is a repair. I needed 3 new tires at one mot, another had a puncture not long before. I’ve needed a new cambelt, brake discs and pads. None of these things are cheap! Oh also a new battery. So always a good idea to put a little money aside or have an interest free credit card for anything that’s unavoidable.

It’s about £100 a year for me. 3 year old car.

Sorry £100 a month!!

How does insuring a lease car work? If you don't own the car, what happens if there is a difference between the value the lease company say the car is worth if it was written off and the value the insurers give it?

I can tell you how much it costs to run my car but its a 'how long is a piece of string' question as it can vary hugely depending on the car and how far you drive.

Tax is £0 to £500+ per year.
Insurance is from around £200 per year to 'the sky's the limit'
An MOT is about £50 per year and servicing probably averages out at around £200 when you account for the different ones, belt changes etc costs more but if you only need an oil change it will be less.
Repairs can vary enormously. I know MN likes to buy cheap cars that run for years without needing much more than a windscreen wiper but if you face bills for new gearboxes or engine work, it can be thousands.
Then there's the cost of buying the thing, plus interest if you need to borrow the money.
And the cost of parking and any fines/tickets.

I think it's difficult to run a car for much less than £200 pm all in and that would be if you had a small petrol or hybrid with low tax and insurance, were lucky to avoid big bills and kept it for a few years to spread the depreciation.

If you drive a larger car that's more expensive in any way possible it could be £1000+ pm.

It depends on your age, make and age of car and how much you drive it.