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?

And if their house burns down then they’re fucked.

Why wouldn’t you insure your most valuable asset?

You are being ripped off

Some on this thread have said they don't have house insurance.

Only a moron wouldn't insure their home. Do they think they can do a Gofundme to raise enough money to buy a new house or something equally ridiculous if theirs burns down?

Well, firstly, I’m leasing two cars through my LTD company so I don’t actually have to pay for the service or the vehicle tax (or even the tyres or brakes if they need replacing), and so even though the monthly payment is high, that and the fact that they’re electric cars so I pay approx £3 to charge them over night instead of paying for petrol, mean that overall I’m probably better off than when I owned my cars outright (only last year) and paid for all of that myself. And as PPs said, you don’t have to do the services, not at main dealers .

If you are a high earner, but can't easily afford a predictable recurring annual expense of £1515, then perhaps you are also a high spender?

The secret sauce is to be a high earner but spend like a middle earner. Save or invest the rest.

After a few years you won't sweat the car insurance or servicing.

Cars do need servicing. Ignore the mechanics on here telling you otherwise 🤣🤣 you can cut them down a bit from yearly, but they are worth it for keeping things running smoothly.

That said. Over 500 quid is insane. You should be able to get all that done for around 300. Find an independent local garage 😊

Im unemployed, my car is ten years old and I just renewed my insurance on Monday for £126 it hasn't been serviced since the service plan expired. We cut our cloth. Happy to help

You could take the risk of not having contents insurance (my parents used to do that due to cost in the 70s), but not having buildings cover when you outright own the property is … bold.

By the way I don't think you are being unreasonable to investigate this. You are being very reasonable.

Or a wet belt??

Those figures sound similar for me too. But we are on a very average salary with 2 young kids. Its hard!
I always channel my inner Dory: just keep swimming!!!

I’ve never paid for my car insurance yearly and I’ve never had my car serviced. Not in a million years would I pay over £500 for something to do with the car that wasn’t mechanical!

You need to shop around for car servicing and insurance - use the comparison sites. Do not just accept the renewal price. I just paid £170 for a full service and MOT on a similar car to yours. My household insurance is about £400pa and my car insurance is about £300pa.

Aren’t you supposed to get it serviced annually?

@PeoniesAreMyFavouriteFlowers Its recommended but not a legal requirement like MOT.

A B service that should be done yearly , oil , filters , cabin filters , maybe break pads , more if the gear box need servicing or AC , a normal price

If it was a major service did you have something like a cambelt done as you car is probably about the right age for this which would explain the high price

And your insurance prices will depend on postcode, house construction / rebuild cost / contents value, vehicle make / model, drivers histories and where it’s kept / how it’s used.

You can’t compare apples and pears.

Omg no it’s not you need filters changed , brake pads , cabin filters and fluids check , you also need gearbox services of a auto every 20 to 30k miles . No wonder second hand cars are awful if people think all they need is oil

That's a small service. For a full service they should be doing a lot more, and charging a lot less. Ring round and don't use main dealers - they'll charge you more plus tell you there's additional work that 'needs' doing.

My top tip is to dress a bit scruffily when you drop the car off and say something like ‘I hope it doesn’t need any work doing because I haven’t got any money’ and it always passes its MOT 😉

There are areas where it's very difficult to get home insurance. There are only a few providers that still cover our town due to flood risk (even though in this particular area it's not an issue, we fall into the same postcode area as parts that have flooded multiple times in recent years) and if you can find cover the premiums are high. Ours for buildings and contents is currently about £900 for the year. My mum (in rented) can't get contents cover for a price it's actually worth paying, as she doesn't really have much stuff and none of it is very valuable, so has just accepted the risk.

There is a big difference though between a skoda Fabia and a Skoda Kamiq.

My 2017 fabia just cost me around £400 to re insure. But I only have 6 years no claims after I got found at fault for an accident. DH's skoda spaceback with full no claims just cost £290

Are you using the main dealer to service?

We do service, it's good for the car to do so, but we don't use the main dealer, it's about double the cost of our small, independent garage.