How much do cars cost?

[Butterpie]

I'm considering learning to drive. Around how much is a cheap car to run? Mainly local short trips with the odd longer run to visit family. We probably would only use the car every other day, if that. I just keep having to ask for lifts since I had DD2 and it is starting to get embarrassing.

I know it is difficult, but I have no idea if it is in the tens, hundreds or thousands.

I am 25, we have two children under 5 and DP, but it would be me getting the driving licence. We live in the North East, in a suburban semi, if that matters.

It depends on the car you want, the mileage you'll get out of it petrol/diesel wise and how much you will use it.

Smaller cars are cheaper to run, less road tax and easier on petrol/diesel.

What car would you be looking at getting? New or second hand?

Learning and test - at least £200, probably nearer £1000 as you're learning late and have no family car to practice on.

Cheap car - a decent supermini that is unlikely to have anything wrong with it/fall to bits 10 minutes after leaving the dealership - £2000 upwards.

Tax - around £100-£150 a year.

Insurance - new driver, no NCB - hundreds. This one is very easy, go onto the Tesco insurance website and stick in your details as well as your theoretical car, you'll get a price.

Fuel - £1.20 a litre, which will get you about 10 miles or so depending on MPG.

Servicing and MOT - if you're lucky or dangerously slapdash, a couple of hundred quid a year. Depending on age of car and chance - may be much more.

All v ballpark, but gives you an idea.

For a low price car steer clear of dealers - they are usually trade ins that are on their last legs hence people trading them in for higher priced newer cars. Think about repair costs - you can buy even BMWs cheap (old) but they are pricey to repair(well, not too bad compared to some because of the amount of parts in scrap yards etc.) - I always find Ford or Vauxhall the best. Insurance is the biggest cost - look on parkers for insurance groups of different cars.

Wild generalisation about dealerships and trade-ins there, ASLD. Once bitten?

Our car was £6k, was the very top of our budget and was the youngest car with the lowest mileage we could get. It is fairly high up on road tax but we get pretty good mpg out of it. We have just renewed the insurance at £480 which I think includes the breakdown cover (though that is only around £25 on its own). That is with 3 years no claims. Since we have had teh car (3 years) we have replaced all the tyres, had 2 flats (one totally ruined, one was repaired at low cost), had to replace a wing mirror because some twats decided it would be fun to trash it and of course spent a fair bit each service and MOT. Tyres were around £70 each. An MOT is about £50 but then if anything needs doing that is on top and with second hand cars you usually end up haivng to replace break pads and teh like.

So it is definitely saving up for a nicer car then?

All cars go through consumables. A newer car is less likely to need costly repairs, especially if you manage to find one with some manufacturer's warranty left to run. But the forums are full of people who needed engine rebuilds or a new gearbox at 3 years one month, it's just a question of chance.

Tbh this is all a little difficult without any idea of your budget or intended car.

I have no idea! I earn around £500 a month after essential bills, I'm just wondering how long I need to save up for before I can get a car, but I don't want to get a really cheap one, then have to be paying for repairs all the time.

I just want a car that goes, tbh. Five door would be good as I have children to be getting in and out, but it is not vital. Equally a big boot would be useful but again not vital.

Darn, I would have given you mine! It was lovely and from new but virtually worth nothing when it came to trade in.

Unless you know a handy mechanic or someone looking to trade in a reliable runner, I'd recommend a car supermarket for a cheap car a few yrs old - that's when it's taken it's biggest drop depreciation wise.

If you aren't going to do lots of miles/motorways, then go for a smallish engine 1.5 and below as it will be cheaper to insure and tax.

This is a very good site for car reviews, running costs etc.

I'm basically looking for a little "mumcar"- just to pootle around taking the children out and about, to the supermarket, doing the odd trip in tghe local area for work, maybe dropping dp off sometimes, etc

Ha wish it was just the once. Had a gear box go in one within a month (£2,500) - car was only £3000 in the first place! My fiesta I (was) selling a mechanic came to view and said the big ends were going - I've only had it a few months and done 100 miles max. in it. Even worse was I went back to the garage I had it's MOT done at (£400 repairs) to check it out, he said he noticed it when I had the MOT repairs done (but didn't bloody tell me!). Best car I ever (well, DH) bought was an old Ford Sierra estate, £275. Solid as a rock. Old private seller fiestas, escorts etc. are always a good buy, pick an older shape with good history etc. over a newer shape without. We have a new ford mondeo now (expensive parts though) but if I needed a cheap car now I would buy about a N reg fiesta or something that was well looked after.

Nissan Micras are good first cars. I loved my little blue one and would have kept it if I'd not have needed a bigger car for a third child.

Ooh, there's loads of Nissans about round here (near the factory) I bet there's quite a few second hand...

Good idea. Great cars and the old-shape ones (cartoon face) are pretty bullet-proof.

The AA said a couple of years ago that the 'average' car in the UK costs around £100 a week to run.

Depreciation is the single biggest cost.

I live near there as well .

My friend passed her test earlier this year and has a fab little N reg bottle green Micra. She bought it off an old lady who used it twice a week to go to the shops and back.

I would go for a Ford. Every time. We bought a Ford Mondeo (1996, N Reg) 5 years ago, so a 9 year old car. It cost us £750 and we have only had to give it new tyres in that time. We haven't even serviced it. It has never broken down, never caused us any worries.

We bought a Ford Galaxy (1998) last week for £850.

I had the old style micra for my first car and it was great. Really cheap to run and not too expensive if something did break. Gave it to a friend when we got a newer car and it was still running well and would have gone on for ages when some twat decided to take it for a joyride and trashed it. Would definitely recommend it as a cheap run around (and likely to be a few second hand round here as well!)

I personally would also avoid the car supermarkets, had a very bad experience with what appeared to be a good deal car.

I agree with ASLD, look for private seller, smaller car not too high mileage (average 5-8k a year)

I currently run a 10 year old Megane hatch (called Ellie! ), and she's the best car I've ever had. Just had her MOT, £150, needed 1 tyre (£50) and ball socket joint for suspension (£50) plus MOT £50. She cost me £2295 3 years ago, probably worth about £850-£1k now, a little expensive on the tax as she falls into the higher tax bracket for pre-2001 cars, but all in all a good runner. I get 35mpg-ish round town, and best part of 50 on a run.

In comparison to the cars I've run previously, I'd advise smaller rather than larger, (cheap tax, insurance, good economy) and try and find a good independent mechanic who can give you the low-down on the car before you buy it.

Take someone who you trust with you when you go to look (I say look, not buy), and if you have any doubts at all, walk away. Ask to see receipts for work done, and check VIN numbers too (all sounds obvious, but better safe than sorry )

Jus a quick word in defence of one car supermarket. Car Giant in White City in London were fab for us. Got a great deal on a year old MPV. Much cheaper than anywhere else, guaranteed, checked over, insured for a week on the premises. It was chosen from a huge range of MPVs, paid for and driven away within 4 hours. Had it a year now and it's perfect.
They have a good reputation although nearly all the cars are under 3 years old so not great if you want a cheaper buy.
I hate buying cars but this experience was painless.

it depends hugely on what your budget is,

it also depends on how long its going to take you to pass your test,i had 6 lessons and passed second time (i had my own car to practise in also)that cost me about £250 including my tests,but 6 lessons is really not many, i think the average is about 15 lessons at £25 an hour, then your theory test cost and your driving test cost (and of course an extra test if you fail either)

we have a 1998 vauxhall vectra, it cost me £850 last year, i love it!
it hardly costs us anything to run,we pay our insurance monthly (£12) you can buy savings stamps at the post office for the tax so you dont have a big payment to find every 6 months (our tax is £130 for 6m), tyres last about 15000-20000 miles and are £35 each for our car,£10 of petrol gets us about 110miles,so plenty to nip to the shops and back a few times in a week,
the mot this year cost me £56, which isnt bad considering i have done 37000miles this year!
so in a year (including repairs, new bit of exhaust and new suspension mountings) its cost us about £500 + petrol costs to run,plus the initial £850 to buy it.

corsa's are pretty reliable,and one of the cheapest to insure,parts are also cheap,and easy to get.

have you driven before? i would go for a lesson or 2 and ask your instructor to tell you honestly how long it will take you,some people pass after a few lessons,some take over 100 lessons and still havent passed(my dad used to be an instructor) i would concentrate on learning,then pick up a cheap (£500 ish) run around to start off and see how you get on,you can always upgrade later!
sorry this turned into a bit of a long one