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There's a lot of stuff on this site about how good/bad our cars are. Perhaps the most important factor is annual running costs so aside from MOT, tax and insurance what does yours cost to service/maintain ?
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Unfortunately our gumbo bead currency makes it hard for me to partake...
The Opel gets it's 6 monthly full check-up (effectively a full service and a mini-MOT) and that covers the warranty - anything goes wrong, they fix. (except for brake discs, exhausts, etc).
As far as other costs are concerned:
Top-up insurance: If it gets nicked, written off etc, I get a proper pay-out, not a "book value" one.
Cleaning etc: A fair amount of time, a tin of Turtle Wax, and a bottle of shampoo!
Parking: Either in the works multi-story carpark, or in the street.
Petrol: Price fluctuates month by month. To be quite honest, I just fill up, pay and don't bother.
It amazes me when people queue up to save, on a tankful, the price of a pint of beer...
Fines: Average two speeders a year, some heavy, some light. Also the odd parking ticket.
Fortunately we don't have a points system in place. :)
Yep, Motoring is still a pleasure here!
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6k oil change £52, 12k service £62, 24k service £98. This is for parts only (incl Mobil 1 or similar) as I do all my own servicing.
Recent set OE shocks £320 (at 116k).
four 215/45ZR17 Goodyear F1s £420 (these are wearing quicker than the Uniroyals I had previously, but that's ok as they grip superbly, which the Unis didn't).
OE centre section exhaust (stainless) £127 - it had suffered damage. The rear section is still original at 119k/6yrs but will cost £156 if it ever wears out.
OE set brake pads £120 (full set) - EBC Greenstuffs £92 (and much better).
New clutch (at 96k) £160.
Car = Rover 820 Vitesse Sport (the 200bhp version). 32mpg driven moderately, 28 driven quick.
Overall very reasonable I think. Only non-service items needed so far was a gearbox overhaul (weak for this engine) cost £320 at 105k - just wish I'd known when I needed a clutch and a set of plug leads (I got Magnacor). Nothing else showing any signs of dying yet (but I expect another box rebuild in 50k or so).
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Triumph Vitesse - £200 a year usually for servicing/maintenance
30 ish mpg so not bank breaking. Cheap as chips. I am thinking seriously of getting a saloon version for running during the winter! Body work does need doing every few years at a few hundred quid a time which is the only major expense.
Lancia Integrale- I suspect it will cost in the region of £1500-£2000 a year for servicing/maintenance. So far I have had 1 power steering pump and 1 ecu under the warranty (£600 ish I reckon) 1 re-cored radiator (£140), map sensor (£75), 4 tyres (£300), new alarm (£270), bit of rewiring and miscellaneous breakdowns (£150). It is also in for another £500 worth of work which includes broken heater control, failed washer pumps, rusty bits, replacement rear pads & disks, new windscreen and basic service. Only does 20-25 mpg so heavy on petrol costs too.
teabelly
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To be honest, if running costs were the main consideration when buying-choosing-running a car, then I'd be riding a bike or the most economical car there is.
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Depreciation is the biggest cost on most cars. Plus the lost interest you would have had if you had put the money in the bank.
PB.
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Peugeot 106 diesel bought new 1993.
Annual depreciation about £700
Road Tax about £150
Insurance about £180
Diesel 4k miles at 50mpg about £400
Maintenance and repairs/MOT - do most myself - £250.
Washing/polishing valet £5
Total running costs £1685.
Cost per mile..42.1p
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PB & Watcher - Only trying to get an idea of what our cars actually cost to keep on the road once we've bought them. Sure there are other factors involved in deciding what to buy/ drive but I think if people knew how much the servicing/repair costs of certain cars were likely to be they might think again - avoiding unreliable or costly cars for others which, in the real world, cost less and give as much pleasure.
Obviously, we can work out in advance what road tax, MOT, insurance and even petrol will cost annually and we can even get estimates for servicing costs for a prospective purchase but what about the costs which arise due to breakdown, new parts etc. Not many manufacturers tell you that in advance do they !
If people could get a reasonable measure of these costs before purchasing they might decide for example that it's worth spending a bit more on a car on the basis that it will almost certainly costs less to run and probably depreciate less too !
The JD Power surveys are based on that sort of evidence and if the users of a site like this all reported their cars' costs over, say the last 3 years, we'd all have a good idea of what to buy and what to avoid.
Of course if you derive huge pleasure from driving an unreliable and costly car you might still wish to keep it and even buy another, but if you just want something reliable and not too costly this sort of feedback would be very valuable.
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As was said in a parallel thread, the local garage support (who's any good and reasonable) is often more important than the choice of car. Richard Hall's Bangernomics site gives good advice for those operating on a shoestring - his example of the losses involved in buying a new vehicle on finance explains nicely why I rarely pay more than £1000 for anything on wheels...
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