Cost of running a car

Your running costs will depend on the car, what sort of car do you want? Join the AA or RAC will take care of breakdowns. Good idea to refresher lessons.

I'm not materialistic so just a small little run around reliable car. What type is that?

I have a Kia picanto and love it, very reliable and I would definitely have another. I’m also a member of the Aa. It doesn’t cost me a lot to run my car. I just love the freedom it gives me, as using the bus I couldn’t get to a lot of places without changes and waiting around. Before buying any car, look at insurance costs, servicing, fuel, road tax and any related costs, then make a sound decision. Good luck with your refresher course. Let us know how you get on once driving.

Road tax can be so variable! I (currently) drive a Smart Roadster, very good on fuel, but because it's quite old the road tax is around £110 let annum (just waiting for someone to come along and say " there's no such thing as road tax, it's vehicle excuse duty")

Was looking at a Smart Cabriolet, road tax £30 a year, probably just as good (if not more) on fuel as mine.

I would suggest, that whatever car you get you opt for breakdown cover with you insurance.

I think the AA has a page that tells you the annual cost of running a car. I gave mine up in October and cannot imagine how I afforded it!

My husband had a little Skoda Citigo which was quite cheap to buy and very reliable. It seemed to run on air as he hardly seemed to need to put fuel in. Good advice given above.

Please look at the cost of insurance- I have received mine for the next year and because of medical problems mine will be £628, I do live in London but have never made a claim.

I also have a Skoda Citigo and mine also runs on air.

A good idea to take a refresher course and tell your insurance company you have done that.

We have a small, nippy Peugeot 107. 5 door. Tiny boot but suits us. We filled it with petrol to go up to the Highlands recently and it cost £65 which took us 420 mikes from South Manchester and when we got there we had a run out to Dingwall and back the next day (2 hour round trip) all on the same tank of petrol.

Your initial outlay of course.
Fuel, if you buy an electric car approx. 5p a mile. Petrol depends on engine size. We budget £40 per week, but use our car quite a bit. Other friends spend much less.
Insurance we pay approx. A little less than £300 pa
Servicing. We budget £1000 pa
AA or equivalent we lay £48 pa
Cleaning we have it done once a month £12 pm
Road Tax. Very much depends on the CO2 emmision. So anything from zero to loads of money. Our daughter pays an eye watering amount. We pay £130

Cant think of anything else

I have a Skoda Citigo. Road tax £20 a year. Insurance £300 odd pounds can’t remember exactly. Petrol consumption really good local driving means I fill it up once a month at a cost of just under £40. I am buying it on finance so don’t know if you have to figure that in or you can buy outright. Breakdown is in with the cost as bought new but will revert to AA which was around £70 a year , when warranty runs out. I like it and it’s small so easy to park

Some bank accounts include break down cover, ours does.
Check before you sign up to AA. There are cheaper and just as good organisations such as Green Flag I've always had good service from them on the odd occasion I've needed them.

Any of the small cars would be fine for you. However, I would recommend an automatic as you haven't driven for a while, they are so easy to use, and you will never stall it or find yourself in the wrong gear at a junction.
Agree with others that you should go for a car with lower tax, and I would include breakdown cover with the insurance.
Good luck and happy motoring!

I have a Kia Rio Automatic...it's small, not very small, it costs me bout £10 a week in petrol, because I have a lot of friends and family who I visit and I couldn't access by bus. I love the freedom. I also help out giving lifts to grandchildren. I don't spend a lot on eating out. My car is my treat and why not?

Ford are good, possibly a Ka? They are cheap to run and keep on the road.

I lease a new car for 3 year periods. Change it every 3 years. All servicing etc included. Suits me as I always have a newish car & no extra bills. All I buy is petrol. Costs about £300 month.

As well as all the above good advice, I would look up details online about the reliability of various makes.

Some, ie Range Rover, despite being among the pricier makes, come out very badly on that.

As others have said, membership of, say the AA or RAC is money well spent. Even though both our cars are new, we still have full cover for the peace of mind, and it really isn't expensive.

Find a good ,reliable garage/car dealership - ask for recommendations- then take their advice.

I agree about an automatic. I don’t like driving but have found at least with an automatic you only have to worry about the traffic. Also make sure you have a good satnav!

I have a Toyota Aygo...no tax. Good on petrol. Look for insurance that includes breakdown cover. I got mine from RAC this year and upgraded the breakdown cover to include homestart.

You wouldn't consider a cargo-bike instead? With and electric motor of course.

I am really glad I have one.

If you go for an automatic, you have a lot less choice when it comes to small cars - most automatics are big cars. I had been driving an automatic for years and when I bought a small car of my osn, I was surprised how soon it came back to me. This also means I haven't lost the skill, which is useful.

My car is a Hyundai i10, which is good value compared to the bigger brands, and I'm very happy with it. It's in a low insurance group,which keeps the premiums low.

Don’t forget Green Flag for support and breakdown.

I think What Car may be available at your library. I found this really useful when choosing a car, and went with highest driver satisfaction, a Hyundai i10, with the added bonus of cheap car tax and low insurance. I also found CarWow saved me about 20% of what I would have paid locally for a new car.
Guesstimate what mileage you might do to tell insurance company - I never knew you were meant to do that!

Autotrader is very good for listing Insurance groups and tax costs to let you compare cars.