Cost of running family car down by €400: AA

The cost of running a family car has fallen by almost €400 in the last year.

AA Roadwatch said that it now costs €11,171 to run a small family car in the Band C category (typical engine size of 1251 – 1500cc), a drop of 3.4%.

However, fuel costs are up sharply over the past year - in June 2009, petrol cost 116c per litre, and jumped by almost 15% to 133c per litre this year.

The cost of buying a new car has fallen by 3.42% on average, with more significant falls in the cost of higher-end cars.

The cost of insurance is slightly down on last year, by 1.3%. However, the AA said insurance prices had risen by 9% in 2009.