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?

That's a lot for a service, is it a diesel or a hybrid?

@Vetiver please share the insurance company!!!

It is all ridiculously expensive and I’m
not arguing with that. But if you really are a high earner you must have other very high costs if you would truly massively struggle to pay a few one-off bills coming to around £1500 total.

If you have a large mortgage or something, there’s your answer - others might not have. Or will have saved more, or simply will not be able to afford it and will give up their car.

Different circumstances is the answer.

I do believe cars, like every luxury and convenience, will eventually be for the 1% only. It is depressing.

@Bristolandlazy skoda 2019 petrol

I don't service my car - never have, I'll run it until it conks out as long as it gets through MOT's I'm happy

Just to add, I pay £640 per year to tax my car, £550 - £650 to insure £2000 to fill the oil and £750 per year on water.

I’m embarrassed I didn’t know I didn’t need to service it!

so could I just ask them to do the oil filter? What about the brake fluid how will I know when it’s due

Where the heck are you getting it serviced. Even my Nissan that we actually use the deal for only cost just under £200.

I think you need a different garage or a different car. Different makes and models do cost different amounts to service and insure.

Mine was £230 to insure this year, I use a local garage for MOT & service so that's about £150ish depending on what needs doing. Mines a year older than yours with two named drivers, I've got 15 years no claims, DH has 20.

Reduce the cover, higher excess, don't cover garden and shed stuff or bikes, be realistic about how much contents cover you need.

For the car service, try a local independent garage rather than a dealer. Even Kwik Fit would do an oil change and filter for less than that.

I have an 18 year old car...insurance £320. House insurance £275. Both with Hastings. Never failed its MOT.

Do you live in a mansion?! Ours is about £550 a year for a 5 bed house.

OP we save money every month for once a year bills so its there when the renewals come around.

Not if you have to reset the engine management system so that the service light goes out.

The house is relatively normal, but there is some nice jewellery and watches that need insuring out of the house. There are some paintings and things that also need cover. Fortunately, with our massively over priced home insurance, we’re also covered if either of us ever score a hole in one at the golf club and new to buy a round for everyone. Neither DH or I play golf.

Of both car insurance and home insurance have gone up then it sounds like your area has got more expensive to insure. My partners car insurance is over £500 the main factor his is job title ( carer /nhs) amd then it also went really high after he turned 40.. so he has just insured it 3rd party fire and theft. Mine is 400 ish i think but for business too amd I have a 17 plate skoda. It used to be cheaper for me to put DP on my insurance but not since he turned 40. ( which doesn't make much sense to me... but maybe there are lots of crashes with men having a crisis at 40? We have rudeness our holiday budget to pay for car. It is very hard for people on low wages.. hence lots do go uninsured I guess and then push the price up even more.. so it's a cycle that keeps going round

Or you just ignore the service light and write down when the next one is due. It’s only there to remind you to do it.

You can get a Bluetooth device and app that does that, fairly cheaply. It's not a specialist skill.

You’re a higher earner and can’t afford £83 a month for combined car and home insurance. What on earth are you spending it on?Why aren’t you putting £100 a side a month for car bills?

They seem high. My last service was £220 but I use a one man band who isn’t vat registered. He’s really good though and even lends out a runaround. So I’d say it’s worth getting recommendations. My car insurance is £350 on a 2litre diesel suv type thing (it’s fairly old!). I save £50 a month towards car stuff although that should really go up to £100 I think. You can save into pots with most bank accounts so I have specific pots for Christmas, car etc which helps a lot.

There's no point in sharing the insurance company, you've already said you've shopped around. You know that insurance is a totally bespoke product, right? Waste of time comparing to anyone else

But on the service of course you can save money, I'm surprised you think everyone sticks to suggested services, that's really not a thing for a lot of people. Are you using a main dealer?

I earn 40k a year and have DD at uni. My MOT, service and insurance is due this month. I have a payment plan with the garage so it’s spread throughout the year and my insurance I know is coming up so I can either pay in full (which I do to avoid charges) or spread that out too. Ditto my house insurance - I spread that out as no interest is charged. Anyone I know on minimum wage either doesn’t have car or it’s an old runaround. And insurance is based on several factors - I pay more as it’s kept on the street and I live in London. My fiend who lives in a low crime rural area and has a garage pays quite a bit less.

Where you live affects insurance price been driving 50 years, no accident, 3,000 miles a year but still get charged nearly £600 to insure my 20plus year old car........its a rip off

Fully comp £145. Having a full service and MOT shortly for £360 at a local independent garage who've looked after my car for 10 years (the car is 13). The car is an Audi A3. The service this time includes, brake fluids, pads, oil change, all the filters, spark plugs (they are every 4 years or so) plus the usual checks on suspension, steering etc. The MOT component is £54. A small service is £150. The service schedule says it should have a large service every 2 years but the independent garage base it more on miles driven and the wear on brakes etc.

double post - apologies.