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The eye-watering cost of owning a car revealed - it's enough to drive you on to a bicycle

Keeping a car on the road will cost almost £207,000 during a motoring lifetime (Carl Court/Getty Images)
Keeping a car on the road will cost almost £207,000 during a motoring lifetime (Carl Court/Getty Images)

The full cost of owning a car during your motoring lifetime can be revealed – and it’s enough to make you think about getting a bicycle.

Keeping a car on the road will set motorists back £206,624 – including buying various vehicles over the years, filling them up and servicing them.

Added to that are the costs of insuring, tax and even parking your car over the years.

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Online lender MYJAR spoke to 2,000 motorists to assess how much they spend keeping their car on the road to arrive at the figures.

The full breakdown of cost are:

  • Five cars (on average) – £41,976 in value, or £8,395.20 each

  • Fuel – £54,341

  • Repairs – £27,716

  • Servicing – £10,380.51

  • Insurance – annual car insurance is £342, totalling £21,595

  • Tax – £6,943

  • Cleaning – £181 per year, for £11,460 a year

  • Parking – £20,409

  • Accessories – £7,922.88

  • Breakdown cover – £3,167.64

  • Fines – £710.01

The figures are based on a driver who passes his or her test at 17 and continues to drive until the age of 80.

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Servicing and repairs add up to £38,000 (Getty Images)
Servicing and repairs add up to £38,000 (Getty Images)

Obviously, the cost of fuel, in particular, as well as insurance and other factors, will vary over time.

MYJAR’s spokesman added: “Our study found that four in 10 people have questioned whether they should keep their car, due to how much it was costing them.

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“But many would rather go without a lot of things before giving up their car – they’re vital for so many parts of life.

“Our advice to car owners is to try and put aside money each month especially for future car maintenance emergencies – an unexpected bill can be devastating for saving plans.”

One fifth of respondents said they had taken out of loan to buy a car or pay for unexpected repairs, while almost half have put repair bills on a credit card.