Owing a car comes with many advantages, whether it’s enjoying fun-filled road trips across the country or even just having a space of your own which allows you to escape from the outside world. Although your own vehicle is a great asset to have, inevitably there are some downsides.
All drivers will experience times where owning a car can be financially draining. The vehicles annual MOT and service could be due and some immediate work needs to be carried out; which can be costly or for one reason or another, the price of your insurance has increased.
It’s no secret that owing a car comes at a price, but has it ever crossed your mind whether on top of all the mandatory costs, the area you live in has an effect on the overall cost?
To discover whether or not this is true, Kwik Fit has conducted some detailed research to discover the most and least expensive cities to own a car. They looked at the average fuel costs to fill a tank, the price of a service and MOT, as well as parking for both residents and visitors.
The most expensive cities revealed
For any readers living in Birmingham, you may want to look away. The midlands city has been given the title for the most expensive location to own a car, with an average cost of £2,170.19 per year.
Parking costs for residents in Birmingham come out at over £780, with other high prices including insurance at an average cost of over £1,100 per driver.
Other cities with a high annual price for owning a car are Manchester (£2,031.55), London (£1,868.35), Liverpool (£1,388.69) and Edinburgh (£1,361.84).
And the cheapest city is….
Exeter! Residents of the city pay on average an annual price of £867.48, which has a huge difference of £1,302.71 compared to Birmingham at the other end of the scale.
Insurance prices for car owners in Exeter average around £559 and visitors to the city can expect to pay a low on-street parking price of about £1.10 per hour.
Other cities which can be proud of having a low overall cost are Reading (£1,014,12), Cardiff (£1,034.05), Newcastle (£1,037.75) and Bristol (£1,040,71).
It may not have ever crossed your mind whether or not the city you live in has an effect on your overall price for owning a car. The information provided proves this is a reality and for some drivers more than others, the area you live in can put you at a financial lost when it comes to driving.