With the costs of running a car continuing to soar, why has driving become so expensive?
It's not just high fuel prices hitting your pocket hard - many other elements pile on the pounds, too.
Here, we break your bills down so your motoring costs don't skid out of control...
Petrol and diesel pump prices have been hitting the headlines a lot for all the wrong reasons.
Oil is in great demand as more cars take to the roads, particularly in fast-developing China and India. As demand outstrips supply, the price of a barrel of crude oil has shot up, and there’s not enough refinery capacity, so pump prices go up.
Tax is the other issue with the price of fuel and a litre of fuel is more heavily taxed in the UK than in any other Western European country. More than half the price of a litre of fuel goes to the government as tax.
Personal injury claims have driven up the price of premiums in recent years. More people now claim for minor injuries, such as whiplash, and the NHS can also claim back the cost of some treatments. This is all passed on to the consumer in higher insurance prices.
Another factor that pushes up insurance premiums is uninsured drivers. It’s reckoned as many as one in 10 drivers on UK roads is uninsured and their accidents cost everyone else.
The one price fits all road tax system is long gone. Now, cars are grouped according to their carbon dioxide emissions. The more a car pollutes, the more the owner pays for road tax.
The government is set to introduce a new road tax scheme in 2009 with more bands and higher prices for most cars. The heaviest polluters will pay as much as £440 next year, up from £400 at present. The only good news here is that cars with emissions of 100g/km or less of carbon dioxide will remain tax free.
Read more about the road tax changes.
Depreciation is the single biggest cost when buying a new car.
Over three years and a typical mileage of 12,000 miles per annum, the average car will lose 60% of its showroom price. Even with cheaper cars, it’s a massive amount of money to lose.
Depreciation is a hidden cost as it only rears it ugly face when you come to sell your car and can be a shock. The only good news is a car’s depreciation slows as it gets older, so the longer you keep a car the less it costs in depreciation on average per year.
As cars become ever more complicated, servicing costs have risen accordingly.
This is partly down to garages, both franchised and independent, having to invest in advanced diagnostic equipment to deal with today’s techno-laden machines.
Another reason is garages are now required to dispose of used oil, batteries and tyres in an environmentally responsible way, and that costs more. Replacement parts now often come as complete units, so simply replacing the worn or damaged component is not possible. This means consumers have to buy a whole new section, such as a complete headlight unit, rather than a single part like a lense.
London may be the only city in the UK at present to have a Congestion Charge zone, but Manchester is set to follow in the capital’s tyre tracks. Other cities are also considering this measure to reduce traffic levels.
By charging drivers to enter a prescribed area, a congestion charge is an additional cost for anyone wanting to drive in that zone, even though they pay road tax. At present, the London Congestion Charge is a flat rate for all drivers, except those with low emissions cars such as the Toyota Prius which enter for free.
