I think I’ve been pretty fortunate over the last several years where I’ve managed to go without owning a car. The cost of a car is pretty hefty and thankfully, I’ve never felt the need to own a car until now. During college I took public transport and had no aspirations to spend money on a car and when I was university, I was in the smallest town so there was no need for one. Moving to London, again I never needed to worry about having a car but recently since getting our own place, we’ve realised our needs are changing. We’re doing a lot of travelling and it means that we’re finding it a bit more of a hassle when it comes to periods like Christmas and weddings that are in the middle of nowhere.
*This is a collaborative post. Image Source
Kwik Fit released a breakdown of the most expensive cities to own a car and I was surprised that London wasn’ t actually the city that came out on top. They selected twenty cities and then looked at relevant factors such as fuel costs, insurance, services and MOT.
For me, I would love to start learning to drive over the summer and then hopefully be in a position to pass my driving test before or after my wedding in 2021. I don’t know how many lessons I’d need and hopefully it doesn’t take so long because I could probably take on more lessons than just once a week. Anyway, back to the expense of cars. I geninuely thought London would be the top city, especially when it comes to running costs and insurance, but nope. Turns out two cities are above London in third place. Birmingham takes the number one spot and Manchester comes in second.
Birmingham is definitely one of those cities that’s become as prominent as London when it comes to it’s booming business industry and that many shops, bars and restuarants that are in London are now making their way up north. Average insurance costs for a car in Birmingham can reach dizzying heights of over £1,000 and the average annual spend on fuel and parking is £1,189.76 and £226.20.
Resident permit costs seems to be reason for such an increase in Birmingham but also maybe it’s due to the fact that Birmingham is a little more feasible to try around in. Perhaps fewer car owners in London will actually drive around London because it’s such a waste of time, effort and fuel. Further down the list you have places like Reading and Cardiff. I was surprised to see these further down the list as I identify them as being popular places and therefore perhaps would be more costly to drive in.
If anything, Kwik Fit‘s findings have definitely reminded me the additional costs that come with owning a car. However, considering our thoughts of moving out of London, I suppose it’s all about the balance.
*Disclaimer – This is a collaborative post with Kwik Fit. All words are my own.
