Latest News Stories

Motoring costs are 'as much as car is worth'

17/06/08

The cost of keeping a car on the road has reached £3,800, which is almost as much as the average vehicle is worth, according to the latest figures from comparison site uSwitch.com.

Car insurance customers may be interested to know that uSwitch claims millions of motorists will face "negative equity" in their cars as the cost to keep it running soars and becomes more than the car is worth.

It also warned that this could force millions of drivers off the roads in the coming years.

Motorists could pay up to £128.80 every time they fill their tanks during 2009, which amounts to just under £4,000 per year.

Car insurance premiums and road tax will drive the costs up even further meaning that, in some cases, a car may only be worth a few
hundred pounds more than it costs annually to run it.

According to uSwitch.com, nearly 48 per cent of the cars on UK roads are more than five years old and have an average value of £4,227.

Director of consumer policy at uSwitch.com Ann Robinson said: "We are heading towards a situation where motorists are going to be priced off the roads. At £2.30 per litre, a driver's annual spend on petrol will soar by almost £2,000."

She added that motorists will also have to contend with rising car insurance premiums and road tax and will be "held to ransom" over spiralling costs.

Meanwhile, UK leasing company Lex has revealed that over a third of UK firms expect to have to make redundancies if fuel hits £2.00 per litre.

Searching for cheap car insurance online? go to Dial Direct