To wonder how the hell people are paying for this?!

[Ifrreoo]

I have an average car and cost to service it is 525. My home insurance has gone up to 450 and my car insurance is 540 (yes I’ve called round endlessly). I have 18 years no claims.

I am a higher earner. I am going to massively struggle to pay for this. I don’t understand how someone on the average income could afford this? Am I going wrong somewhere? Why am i struggling to make ends meet? How do others do it?

I have a small cheap car (also simple - pre most of the recent hi tech stuff) Makes everything cheaper including insurance and repairs / servicing. It’s 13 years old now but that’s why I’m not replacing it. I find the make of the car makes a big difference. I also use excesses on both my insurance and breakdown cover to get costs down.

Rumour has it that there is an increasing number of people drive without insurance or tax, under a false name, a borrowed licence and false number plates

Shsh. Don't tell anyone.

It's an epidemic now, as well as avoiding insurance, tax, licence and MOT, also to not pay congestion charges.

There's huge numbers of plate suppliers who are complicit in avoiding charges that honest motorists pay up.

More than 130 official suppliers willing to sell cloned UK number plates, experts find | Motoring | The Guardian

People may think it's a 'victimless crime' but you don't want to be involved in an accident with someone who doesn't have insurance, especially if you're injured.

Do you mind me asking why it’s so much? Are you living in a mansion?

It is strictly true in as much as if you have the MOT done early and it fails on something deemed ‘dangerous’ it’s flagged on the government database and you’re at risk of being stopped and given a fine and penalty points if you carry on driving in the belief that the existing MOT is still valid. It’s not ‘oh I’ve still got a month to get it fixed before the original MOT runs out and I’m covered until then’.

I'm disabled and have to survive on benefits, so definitely not a high earner.
I'd give anything for my house insurance to only be £450.
Last year I moved from a 3-bed house in Birmingham where my insurance was around £250, to a 3-bed bungalow in Derby and my insurance is now over £900.
The value of the bungalow is only £10k more than the house was, and I was led to believe Derby would be a cheaper area.
On top of this, in Birmingham, because of my benefits status, I didn't have to pay council tax, but moving to Derby, I'm now having to pay around £1k.
Without all the current increases to the cost of living, just these 2 bills amount to around £2k, which is about £40/week.
I also run a car, but only have to cover fuel because it's a Motability car (I forfeit my mobility benefits, around £80/week to have the car), but even that is costing an extra £5-6/week.
How can I afford to pay these additional bills? I have had to cut back on almost everything. I only put one light on at a time around the house, wear extra layers rather than put the heating on, I've had to cut back on going out to use the car less, but this affects my mental health, I've had to cut back on what I can buy in the supermarket, and with prices constantly going up, I'm able to buy less and less every week. I cut my own hair, batch cook, grow my own fruit and veggies, the list goes on, but I'm still finding it really hard to make ends meet.

Did you take it to a dealer or unscrupulous garage owner to service? Sounds like you paid the woman tax (he saw you knew little about cars and charged you inflated prices for what you didn't need) unfortunately happens quite a but. Luckily my eldest son is a trained mechanic and my dad can put his hand to most things to verify what works need doing!

Could you maybe list what was on the service, it will be on the invoice, then it is easier to tell if you have been ripped off, if it included something like a cambelt then it would have been a good price.

Are you having it serviced at a dealership? If so just get it services at a local garage and it'll be half the price.

I have different pots in one of my accounts for various annual and ad hoc expenses and just add money into them over the course of the year. When things like services, insurance etc are due the money is there waiting.

I also chose to stay in a cheaper house because I prioritised being able to do all the things I want to do and having plenty of disposable cash.

That's a really expensive service, get it done by a little independent backstreet garage, will cost much less.

The main thing that needs checking on a service is the timing belt, if that is worn and breaks, generally the car is a write off as it destroys the engine internally.

Other things, like brakes, have sensors to warn when they need attention - but its wise to get them checked, and may be a condition of your insurance.

The MOT absolutely remains valid. As I said, if you resolve the dangerous issue then you can carry on driving until expiry.

I think a lot of people aren't great at understanding the impact inflation has had on eroding value of pay. You get people on here regularly saying "im a higher earner" who are on less than 50k. 50k today is not that high relative to costs. People who's pay has kept costs with rising inflation have seen their wages rise significantly over the last decade. Pay in roles like mine have not far off doubled in the time (its a highly skilled in demand profession).

As a country most people are worse off in real terms. Costs have risen by much more than their pay has.

The main thing that needs checking on a service is the timing belt, if that is worn and breaks, generally the car is a write off as it destroys the engine internally.

The “checking” of a timing belt is usually a paper exercise. Asking the customer when it was last changed and advising when it’s next due or indeed if it’s overdue. We’ll generally recommended a change if there’s no history of it and the car’s exceeded its first interval. Most used belts look absolutely fine when they come off and in fact so do most broken belts (other than the broken piece 😁) so a visual inspection is not a great indicator of condition and there is often significant work involved in just uncovering a portion of the belt.

Insurance is based on where you live as well as age and how often similar cars have been involved in claims. Ours, with decades of no claims, is just under £1000. My mother's car is over £1000.

50k is still well above the average though

What if you're burgled or have a fire or gas explosion?

Well yes, but it’s only valid IF you get the dangerous fault (s) repaired. The PP implied that you could get it MOTed 4 weeks early and you’d have 4 weeks to get it fixed because the original MOT would still be valid.

It’s still valid even if you don’t get it repaired. If you get pulled over you can’t be done for no MOT because it still has a valid one in place. You WILL be done for dangerous condition which is a completely unrelated piece of legislation in as much as it has nothing to do with MOT status. The car could’ve passed an MOT the day before and still fall foul of this.

I have a 3 year old car and my full service was £150 at a reputable local garage, as opposed to £275 via a dealership.
At that price can we assume you have a very high spec car that requires specialist treatment and expensive replacement parts such air filters? Or electric/hybrid?
With the insurance, again some cars are considered more desirable to thieves (as more of them get stolen) and postcode crime rates all have a bearing. Each assessment is unique. I think RangeRovers top the theft list.

At that price it’ll be a fairly small service. I’d be interested in seeing what was done for £150.

Well my salary is mid 40s and I don’t have a car and know that I couldn’t afford to run one if it was suddenly forced on me. But people prioritise different things - and some people are comfortable with a lot of debt.

Your car handbook will say what the service interval is.
Take it to an independent garage - ask on Nextdoor (nextdoor.co.uk/) and usually there will be one that is recommended by nearly everyone.

Take it for a minor service if it's not doing much mileage and get them to recommend when to have a major service.

Get them to do the MOT etc.

Both our cars, nothing flash are insured with business travel for £400, that’s for both. We use cash back sites to get some of that back too.
Our service and MOT is £200 for each car at a local garage.
Our home insurance for a 5 bed house, approx 2800sq ft with my engagement ring and a valuable musical instrument is £22 a month.
Use comparison sites, never auto renew, don’t use car dealerships for services. As a higher earner those three bills should be the least of your outgoings really.

Yes this is what I do, the cost is evened out over three or four years regardless of what service is required.