Cost of keeping family car soars to €30,000

MOTORISTS spend almost €30,000 to keep a family car on the road for 10 years, the Automobile Association (AA) revealed yesterday.

A family will pay €21,785 in car taxes over 10 years of driving, but when the average 10-year insurance bill of €7,000 is included, the cost rises to €28,785.

"This is an enormous amount of money and it's way over the top," AA public affairs manager, Conor Faughnan said.

"The car is a necessity for modern living for most families in Ireland. We are a captive market for taxation and the Government abuses that situation by over-taxing us relentlessly," he said.

The AA calculations are based on the price of buying and maintaining a Renault Megane for a decade.

Some €7,268 in tax including VRT of €4,290 and VAT at €2,978 is taken from the retail price of €21,450.

Over 10 years, road tax will total €3,940 and petrol levies €10,097. This is based on the average annual mileage of 12,000 where a car uses 1,800 litres of petrol. The AA took the retail petrol price as 92C, 56.1C of which is taken in tax.

The remainder comprises taxes on insurance premiums and car maintenance.

Drivers here pay 4 billion annually in tax, but there hasn't been enough improvements in public transport to match this figure, Mr Faughnan said.

"The Government gets more from drivers than it ever got in the EU structural funds. This money has not been used well.

"They are treating cars as luxury items and drivers have no choice but to pay," Mr Faughnan said.

The Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) said the figures showed the financial pressure on drivers.

"The vehicle taxation system must be overhauled immediately. Drivers are paying above and beyond what is reasonable," SIMI chief executive, Cyril McHugh said.

"Everyone is going to suffer if this doesn't change. It's a ridiculous situation," he said.