How much does your car cost per month?

[JakeT]

Sadly at ~£500 per month. I'm probably about on it. I don't think that I would take a lot less for it than when I bought it, but people spend thousands a year on stamp collecting, so I won't complain too much.

https://www.pistonheads.com/members/showcar.asp?ca...

[AlBondigaz]

2012 E500 V8 BiTurbo Cabrio. Owned outright, no finance. Current mileage 28.500.

Annual Costs

Miles 5000
Av MPG 26
Litres Used 884.62
Cost Litre £1.12
Fuel £990.77
Depreciation £1200.00
Tax £325.00
Insurance £358.00
Service £396.00
Consumables £300.00
Warranty £495.00

Annual Cost £4064.77
Monthly £338.73
Weekly £78.15

Service costs are for Mercedes fixed price service plan.
Calculation includes Tier 1 Mercedes Warranty so no other allowance made for 'repairs' as Warranty covers pretty much everything apart from consumables - e.g. tyres and brakes.

This gives me pretty much fixed price motoring without going down leasing / PCP route. And I get to drive a V8 !

[Zippee]

kambites said:

nickfrog said:

Debaser said:

A lot of people are in denial about how much their cars cost to run. Some of the monthly figures are nonsense.

I didn't notice anything untoward. Any examples?

There's been a few people who've bought cars outright and then ignored depreciation, which is often the single biggest cost.

It's only a true cost once the car is sold though. Actual running costs aren't the same IMHO. Depreciation is more cost of ownership than running cost.

[anonymous-user]

Zippee said:

It's only a true cost once the car is sold though. Actual running costs aren't the same IMHO. Depreciation is more cost of ownership than running cost.

if you paid 'cash', you should include lost interest at the very least, if you don't include depreciation.

[CS Garth]

The Spruce Goose said:

Zippee said:

It's only a true cost once the car is sold though. Actual running costs aren't the same IMHO. Depreciation is more cost of ownership than running cost.

if you paid 'cash', you should include lost interest at the very least, if you don't include depreciation.

I’d describe that as the opportunity cost of the capital not a true cost

[Gad-Westy]

Zippee said:

kambites said:

nickfrog said:

Debaser said:

A lot of people are in denial about how much their cars cost to run. Some of the monthly figures are nonsense.

I didn't notice anything untoward. Any examples?

There's been a few people who've bought cars outright and then ignored depreciation, which is often the single biggest cost.

It's only a true cost once the car is sold though. Actual running costs aren't the same IMHO. Depreciation is more cost of ownership than running cost.

With respect, that just seems like semantics. It seems to me like it's a true cost the whole time, you just don't exactly know how much it is until it's sold.

Edited by Gad-Westy on Wednesday 21st October 11:03

[Aiminghigh123]

cedrichn said:

My Lexus CT200h, sold few months ago (so real value of devaluation - maintenance done myself - insurance for road parking in London)
2019 is 12 months. 2020 is only 9 months, less mileage as Covid

Edited by cedrichn on Wednesday 21st October 09:12

Edited by cedrichn on Wednesday 21st October 09:13

This provides a good example. My car had no depreciation but drank more fuel so our cost per mile is almost the same.

[anonymous-user]

CS Garth said:

I’d describe that as the opportunity cost of the capital not a true cost

still a cost, and would give a fairer comparison against lease/pcp.

For example 60k would be around 1.2k interest year, I think that is a fair cost to include.

(FTSE investment probably double that)

It also highlights the issue, that leasing and then offsetting it with your 'CASH' will always be cheaper than buying OUTRIGHT.

Edited by anonymous-user on Wednesday 21st October 10:24

[Aiminghigh123]

The Spruce Goose said:

Zippee said:

It's only a true cost once the car is sold though. Actual running costs aren't the same IMHO. Depreciation is more cost of ownership than running cost.

if you paid 'cash', you should include lost interest at the very least, if you don't include depreciation.

Agree with this exactly. The money is tied up in an asset that in most people’s cases depreciates.

Yes until it’s sold that can change things but if calculating right here right now cost depreciation has to be included. Our flat has appreciated slightly in value since we got it but factor in inflation plus work we have had done and we are at break even.
Cars are an asset and should be calculated the same way.

My mate goes on about how his BMW e36 M3 evo is one of the best investments he made and I should have got one years ago. He paid £5k for it. He reckons it’s worth 10-12k. But I know for a fact he had one bill for £4K when he had the whole vanos etc done. Which he fails to accept and still claims he has doubled his money.

Edited by Aiminghigh123 on Wednesday 21st October 10:23

[Zippee]

The Spruce Goose said:

CS Garth said:

I’d describe that as the opportunity cost of the capital not a true cost

still a cost, and would give a fairer comparison against lease/pcp.

For example 60k would be around 1.2k interest year, I think that is a fair cost to include.

(FTSE investment probably double that)

It also highlights the issue, that leasing and then offsetting it with your 'CASH' will always be cheaper than buying OUTRIGHT.

Edited by The Spruce Goose on Wednesday 21st October 10:24

That depends. I bought mine end of Jan this year and sold investments to buy. Given the markets since I've actually gained as my investments lost a bit due to covid. I'm fully aware of how to show running costs (my garage shows everything for my old tvr for example) but I prefer to stick with how much it physically costs me each month rather than the unknown of depreciation which I don't accrue, I just take it on the chin when I come to sell.

[SturdyHSV]

Ignoring the occasional SORNing and trying to make it all a rough monthly figure. I do the work myself.

Monaro
VED £30
Ins. £30
Fuel 20mpg ish, used occasionally and enthusiastically, so maybe £80 / month
Dep. £0 (worth the same as when I bought it 9 years ago, possibly more)
Serv. £30 (annual oil / filter etc., occasional brake pads at £30 or whatever so a bit of a buffer)
Tyres £30 (assuming 2 PS4S a year at £180 each roughly)

£200/mo

Ute
VED £26
Ins. £40
Fuel 22mpg ish when daily which would have been about £250 / month, now probably as above, £100 or so
Dep. £0 (owned 18 months, values don't really change on Utes as supply is so limited)
Serv. £30 (as above, bit of a buffer for inevitable unexpected stuff)
Tyres £20 (assuming 2 CrossClimates a year at £120 each roughly)

£216/mo

Commodore Wagon
VED £26
Ins. £40
Fuel 25mpg ish, used as daily, so probably £200 / month
Dep. Don't know (only owned a couple of months, it's the only one in the UK so its value is hard to gauge... If I sold it I'd imagine I'd loose £2-3k)
Serv. £30 (bit of a buffer again, parts aren't expensive)
Tyres £30 (assuming 2 PS4S a year at £180 each roughly)

£326/mo (unsure on depreciation, no plans to ever sell it so ownership length is hard to give a figure for)

In reality the Monaro is currently SORN and in bits in the garage so fuel / tax is irrelevant and the Ute isn't getting used at all really so monthly fuel cost is lower, equally I haven't been going through tyres as quickly as that but figured I'd try to be a bit more 'honest'.

Let's just round the whole lot up to £800 / mo in total to have another £600 slush fund for if some dampers need replacing or something.

A brief look at personal lease deals we get through work, it looks like I could rent a 300hp 718 Cayman for £700 / month with 9 months up front, doing 10,000 miles a year for 4 years, leaving me about £100 a month to tax / insure / fuel / maintain it. Yeah, no thanks.

Edited by SturdyHSV on Wednesday 21st October 11:08

[gizlaroc]

Aiminghigh123 said:

I got it at 120k and took it to 170k. By the end it was falling apart. Drivers window stopped working, air con stopped, radio played up and it would have needed shocks plus the balance chain had started rattling. All of that would have cost over £1k. The car was meant to be a stop gap. I wanted a diesel, looked at a couple then gave up. Saab passed its MOT so I thought well I will keep it for a year, then it passed again. Ha ha
My commute was 99% motorway at odd hours very rarely traffic. Cruise set at 60-65 pod cast on and relax. Would do 38-42mpg sat at 60mph depending on temperature. Most tanks I would say I averaged 35-38mpg mainly because I would forget about saving fuel and just wanted to get home.
Repairs cost £2300 in 50k miles 2 years. Fuel eats up the costs. Cost me just under 20p per mile of which 16-17p was fuel alone. In the end scrapped it for £300.
If I have to do a big commute again plan would be s60 D5 or 1.9 vag under £1k. Hopefully it would last a year any big bills chuck it away and start again.

That was sort of exactly my point.

You were in a car at the end with £2300 spent on repairs over 2 years, it had no working drivers window, air con not working, radio that played up, suspension knackered, balance shaft bearing starting to rattle, it needed another £1000 spending on it ( I would argue £1000 if doing the work yourself, more like £2000 for a garage to do all that) and in a car that was doing 35-38mpg per tank.
So you scrapped it, so £20 a month depreciation over the 2 years.

50k miles at 38mpg is what? £290 a month at £1.18 a litre.

Add in the £2800 on repairs and depreciation and you are looking at £115 a month, plus your car tax at £30 a month and insurance at £40 a month and you are looking at £475 a month.

Plus the hassle factor that comes with running an older car, even having to get it into a garage to sort repairs.


Now, I can see why someone may chose a contract hire car or PCP.
Something like a Seat Ibiza on leasing.com is £224 a month with 1 month down doing 25000 miles a year.
It does 50mpg, no other upkeep, probably need an oil service for £120? No road tax. Cheap insurance.

So you are looking at £224 a month plus £223 in fuel. So £447 a month.

For £40 a month more you can be in a VW T-Roc or similar.


And that was my point, the only real savings to be had running an old car is if you're lucky, or if you can do loads of work on them yourself. Even small repairs can wipe out any savings.

Some people look down on folk who spend £3k a year on 'hiring' yet spend as much or more running an old car.



Problem for many is they run an older car, they start to get a few big bills, which tend to all start appearing at once, so they get a few things done, panic more is coming and so dump it. The reality is the car would probably then be fine for another 5-10 years. But when you live in a country where leasing a new car is as cheap, why bother?

Go over to mainland Europe where leasing is far more expensive and an older car is a more sensible choice as the price difference is so much bigger.

Magnum 475 said:

I usually keep cars a long time rather than change every three years. For contrast, had I leased an equivalent E Class based on 'worst case' mileage, I'd have been paying between £650 and £750 per month. That makes the depreciation of the time I've had the car look pretty good to me.

That must have been for some mega mileage?

I bought my 2010 E350cdi estate from Mercedes in 2011, I really wanted the V6, but it was a difficult choice as I could have been in an E220cdi doing 20000 miles a year for under £300 a month, well, it was more like £320 a month including the initial payment. Mind you, probably a big difference between 2009 PCP/Lease prices when the car had just come out, vs 2011 when it was now two years old and coming out the back end of the recession where they were giving them away with packs of cereal.

[alec.e]

Gad-Westy said:

alec.e said:

SidewaysSi said:

alec.e said:

Mercedes CL500 BiTurbo- daily

Cost: paid in full
Insurance: £41
Fuel: £160
VED: £49
Servicing: £40

Total per month: £290

BMW M6- weekend car
Cost: paid in full
Insurance: £33
Fuel: £20
VED: £27
Servicing: £20

Total per month: £100

I love the man maths of completely forgetting about depreciation!

They are 8-15 year old cars, so minimal depreciation, in the case of the M6, possible appreciation!

How are service costs so low? Seems incredible or have you just managed to avoid big bills so far?

Just been lucky so far I guess. The M6 (V10) just needed a routine service at BMW. It helps the car has only done 29,000miles and does less than 2k pa.

The previous cars I have owned, I have been able to sell a ‘profit’, excluding non essential upgrades and general titivation cost..

[anonymous-user]

Zippee said:

rather than the unknown of depreciation which I don't accrue, .

For the majority of cars depreciation is a known figure.

I think any car over 10k should include lost interest costs, as it give a fair assessment against pcp.

[monthou]

gizlaroc said:

And that was my point, the only real savings to be had running an old car is if you're lucky, or if you can do loads of work on them yourself. Even small repairs can wipe out any savings.

The cheapest lease deals I can see start at about £150 / month (and tie you in for years).
£150 / month covers a heck of a lot of repairs on a small shed.

Mine looks like this:
Monthly Payment / depreciation: £0
Insurance: £12
Tax / VED: £22
Fuel - £50
MOT / repairs / servicing: £20
Total: £104

[ghost83]

Shed focus

£750 to buy

Tax £20

Insurance 500

It’s needed a tyre and that’s it

So £520 a year really


Wife’s shed corsa

700 to buy

Insurance 400

Tax 30

Maintainance this year has been 500

Fixing it myself so only paying for parts

£930 for the year

Edited by ghost83 on Wednesday 21st October 11:52

[keo]

I have no idea and I think I would rather keep it that way!

[Fastdruid]

monthou said:

gizlaroc said:

And that was my point, the only real savings to be had running an old car is if you're lucky, or if you can do loads of work on them yourself. Even small repairs can wipe out any savings.

The cheapest lease deals I can see start at about £150 per month.
That covers a heck of a lot of repairs on a small shed.

Thing is that yes you can a newer, probably more reliable car by leasing etc but get a more interesting car for less by purchasing outright. That argument doesn't really stack up if it is a nasty shed though.

For example if I was to do a lease deal on the nearest equivalent new car it would be £510/month over 4 years (it says £490/month but it's a 3+47 so that works out as £510).

That's a total of £24.5k over 4 years.

Even if you consider my car to have depreciated to zero (which it hasn't) that would leave £16680 for "repairs" during those 4 years before you spend the same leasing (assuming all other costs were equal which for similar cars they should be)!

Edited by Fastdruid on Wednesday 21st October 11:45

[Drezza]

Purchase price: £2200 3 years ago
Value now: £1500
Depreciation over 3 years: £700

Depreciation p/m: £20
Insurance p/m: £40
Fuel p/m: £30 (I'm hardly using it)
Tax p/m: 12.5
MOT: £4
Headgasket cost p/m over 3 years: £17
2 x Tyres over 3 years: £2.5
Disks/ pads fitted myself: £2.5
other bits: £5?

Total about £130 all in per month over 3 years with depreciation?

Edited by Drezza on Wednesday 21st October 11:47

[Aiminghigh123]

gizlaroc said:

Aiminghigh123 said:

I got it at 120k and took it to 170k. By the end it was falling apart. Drivers window stopped working, air con stopped, radio played up and it would have needed shocks plus the balance chain had started rattling. All of that would have cost over £1k. The car was meant to be a stop gap. I wanted a diesel, looked at a couple then gave up. Saab passed its MOT so I thought well I will keep it for a year, then it passed again. Ha ha
My commute was 99% motorway at odd hours very rarely traffic. Cruise set at 60-65 pod cast on and relax. Would do 38-42mpg sat at 60mph depending on temperature. Most tanks I would say I averaged 35-38mpg mainly because I would forget about saving fuel and just wanted to get home.
Repairs cost £2300 in 50k miles 2 years. Fuel eats up the costs. Cost me just under 20p per mile of which 16-17p was fuel alone. In the end scrapped it for £300.
If I have to do a big commute again plan would be s60 D5 or 1.9 vag under £1k. Hopefully it would last a year any big bills chuck it away and start again.

That was sort of exactly my point.

You were in a car at the end with £2300 spent on repairs over 2 years, it had no working drivers window, air con not working, radio that played up, suspension knackered, balance shaft bearing starting to rattle, it needed another £1000 spending on it ( I would argue £1000 if doing the work yourself, more like £2000 for a garage to do all that) and in a car that was doing 35-38mpg per tank.
So you scrapped it, so £20 a month depreciation over the 2 years.

50k miles at 38mpg is what? £290 a month at £1.18 a litre.

Add in the £2800 on repairs and depreciation and you are looking at £115 a month, plus your car tax at £30 a month and insurance at £40 a month and you are looking at £475 a month.

Plus the hassle factor that comes with running an older car, even having to get it into a garage to sort repairs.


Now, I can see why someone may chose a contract hire car or PCP.
Something like a Seat Ibiza on leasing.com is £224 a month with 1 month down doing 25000 miles a year.
It does 50mpg, no other upkeep, probably need an oil service for £120? No road tax. Cheap insurance.

So you are looking at £224 a month plus £223 in fuel. So £447 a month.

For £40 a month more you can be in a VW T-Roc or similar.


And that was my point, the only real savings to be had running an old car is if you're lucky, or if you can do loads of work on them yourself. Even small repairs can wipe out any savings.

Some people look down on folk who spend £3k a year on 'hiring' yet spend as much or more running an old car.



Problem for many is they run an older car, they start to get a few big bills, which tend to all start appearing at once, so they get a few things done, panic more is coming and so dump it. The reality is the car would probably then be fine for another 5-10 years. But when you live in a country where leasing a new car is as cheap, why bother?

Go over to mainland Europe where leasing is far more expensive and an older car is a more sensible choice as the price difference is so much bigger.

Magnum 475 said:

I usually keep cars a long time rather than change every three years. For contrast, had I leased an equivalent E Class based on 'worst case' mileage, I'd have been paying between £650 and £750 per month. That makes the depreciation of the time I've had the car look pretty good to me.

That must have been for some mega mileage?

I bought my 2010 E350cdi estate from Mercedes in 2011, I really wanted the V6, but it was a difficult choice as I could have been in an E220cdi doing 20000 miles a year for under £300 a month, well, it was more like £320 a month including the initial payment. Mind you, probably a big difference between 2009 PCP/Lease prices when the car had just come out, vs 2011 when it was now two years old and coming out the back end of the recession where they were giving them away with packs of cereal.

No the £1k quote was from my indie maybe £1.2k max he said. When I say scrapped the car I got £250 for it plus I sold some other bits and bobs I stole off the car before they took it away, that netted me I think £150.
The big costs were clutch £900 and fuel pump £350. The rest was tyres, brakes and service. Insurance was really cheap £320 a year with breakdown.

My issue is I do have a back issue which means certain cars just cripple me plus we have 2 babies and only need 1 car. Seat Ibiza is fine for 1 person but not with 2 babies plus moving house every time you go to the shops add in the fact next October I will come under the ULEZ bks and so many variables.

It is a fine line but i couldn’t find a much cheaper way of doing things. My neighbour got a new Volvo PCP last year. CAT got stolen 6 months after he got it and he had to fork out £2k.
This is the other issue I see with new cars. Some dick will either scratch it or just ruin the experience.

Anyway slightly diverted from the thread sorry.