Cost of running family car rises over past year

The cost of running the average family car rose slightly over the past year, with the small savings made from the modest reduction in petrol prices being swallowed up in higher insurance premiums.

Mon, 12 Aug, 2013 - 01:00

Caroline O’Doherty

According to AA Ireland’s annual motoring costs survey, it now costs €1,000 per month or €11,934.40 per year to run a typical model in the common Band C motor tax category doing an average of 16,000km per year.

That’s €110.40 more than, or nearly a 1% increase on, the 2012 cost and is the third annual increase with which motorists have had to contend.

Most of the increase is due to a 3.5% hike in motor insurance which followed the EU gender directive that outlawed preferential rates for women drivers from the start of this year.

That, plus an almost 30% increase in the cost of Band C motor tax in last December’s budget, wiped out any savings made at the petrol pumps, where prices dropped from an average of 162.9c per litre in Jul 2012 to 157.4c last month.

“That is quite a modest fall and fuel prices are still kept far too high by Irish taxes,” AA consumer affairs director Conor Faughnan said.

“But nevertheless it does add up to a substantial saving of €82.50 in a full year.”

The survey focuses on Band C cars such as the Hyundai i40, the Nissan Qashqai, and Skoda Octavia.

Outlay counted includes the unavoidable expenditure that applies whether or not the car is in use, such as tax, insurance, NCT, parking fees, AA subscriptions, and depreciation in vehicle value.

Added on to those are operating costs such as petrol, oil, replacement tyres, servicing, and repairs. The initial purchase cost of the vehicle is not included.

What surprises many car owners is that standing charges are in most cases double the operating costs, with depreciation one of the hidden costs they often fail to include when working out how much their set of wheels sets them back.

For example the standing charges for the typical Band C model come to 57.22 cent per kilometre while the operating costs come to 27.46c. Over a year and 16,000km, that amounts to €8,198 for having the car ready to drive and €3,738 for actually driving it.

The survey shows the quickest way for motorists to save money is to downsize, as a smaller model with a smaller engine can reduce the annual cost to €9,465 while the larger models with more powerful engines can rev it up to €21,816.

Full details of average costs per kilometre for typical family cars in all seven tax bands can be found at theaa.ie.

Annual cost: Motoring for family car in tax band C

Standing Charges:

Motor tax: €390.

Insurance: €939.

Driving Licence: €5.50.

Depreciation: €2,501.

Interest on capital: €189.

Garage/Parking: €4,006.

NCT: €18.

AA subscription: €149.

Total: €8,197.50.