How much can it cost to have a car?

[lorenika]

Hi!

We?re thinking of buying a car as I?ll be attending university next year (quite far from here) and I thought it would be easier and cheaper to drive there. But I have no idea how much a car can cost (monthly)... Could anyone give me a rough idea? How much do you think I would spend per month in car insurances or other similar costs? I?ve tried to check car insurance costs online but they ask me all sorts of details (even the car details, which I don?t have yet!), so I?d rather not give them any information... Could anyone help me?

Thanks!

[felt-tip]

depreciation + insurance + tax + MOT + fuel + servicing + the occasional unforeseen expense = ?3000 pa at least.

have you looked into streetcar?

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Insurance depends on how big your car engine is, how old you are and how many years' no claims bonus you have, so it's a little hard to say what you should pay without further details.

You need to factor in Road Tax, MOT, Breakdown Service, petrol, oil, annual service plus possibly a six month oil change depending on age of car, and an emergency fund to replace parts (eg, I've just had to replace my exhaust). Also if you will be driving in central London, there's the dreaded Congestion Charge.

Don't buy a car approaching 80,000 miles, that's when everything starts to go. Either buy well before or well after when major things would already have been replaced.

[PeckhamRose]

How far is "quite far"?

Get a motorcycle!

[sazzle]

My brother gave me his old car for free. its a 1996 renault clio.

I pay ?400 insurance p/a i have never had my own insurance before, it was reduced by adding another driver and fully comp was cheaper than 3rd party for a crap old car. I am with elephant.

?9 for AA a month

?120 tax i think pa

?10 a month petrol, but i dont go far.

?50 MOT? i think

?200 repairs following MOT, for worn brakepads etc.

Hope this helps!

[????]

If you're working it our properly you should also include

depreciation

Finance cost (or 'opportunity' cots if you're a cash buyer)

[Jeremy]

Sazzle's summary sounds good, my car is almost as ancient, and insurance/tax/mot/servicing works out at around ?1000 a year. Depreciation obviously not a concern for me. If you're going to be doing significant mileage, petrol will be your largest expense (~15p a mile?)

[womanofdulwich]

Having a car will be easier but a lot depends on how often you come home. If you stick to just going up there begining of term and coming back end of term then it would not be worth it. If you did have a car you would use it more than that though-it might be a good way of making friends- or being taken advantage of! I would have thought you would be in a minority having a car, and if you plan your journeys home by train in advance it is quite cheap - or going Natioanl Express Coach is even cheaper.

[PeckhamRose]

Great point. When I was commuting to Leicester for my MA I would buy coach tickets in advance and they were mighty cheap. MegaBus has great offers, too. But that was before MegasBus started.

And cars over a certain age don't require road tax I think. Mine you then they're more expensive to fix?

Hybrids mean you don't have to pay congestion charge (which is absolutely ridiculous of course!)

[ruffers]

lorenika Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Hi!

I?ve tried to check car insurance costs online but

> they ask me all sorts of details (even the car

> details, which I don?t have yet!), so I?d rather

> not give them any information... Could anyone help

> me?

>

> Thanks!

Use these sites to get an idea of how much insurance will be for different cars, make the car up. You'll see a big difference in insurance costs and, as I'm guessing you're looking at cheapish cars, this could be a significant part of the overall spend. Better to know what you can afford to insure before you start actually looking at cars.