The cost of running a car has risen by 7 per cent in the past 12 months, despite a drop in the cost of insurance premiums for a fourth successive year, according to a survey published today.
It now costs an average of €950 to insure a small family car compared to an average of €1,044 last year, according to the AA's annual cost of motoring survey. On average, premiums have dropped by 9 per cent in 12 months.
Larger vehicles, while still costing more to insure, have also seen decreases in premiums. An SUV with an engine size of up to 4000cc costs an average of €1,900 to insure, compared to €2,241 in last year's survey. A car with an engine size of 1000cc or less will cost an average of only €700 compared to €760 in 2006.
But increases in other costs have cancelled out these gains for motorists.
To run the same small family car, with an engine size of between 1251cc and 1500cc, will now cost its owner €11,710 per annum in both fixed and operating costs, a jump of €806 on last year's figure.
Operating costs include the price of fuel, tyres, servicing and garage repairs.
Fixed costs include insurance, tax, parking, the NCT, depreciation and the interest on the capital value of the car. This is a hidden cost of motoring, and represents the loss to the car's owner of the value of the car if it was invested.
Because interest rates have jumped by 1.25 per cent since the last AA costs survey 12 months ago, this cost has risen to €794 a year for a small family car, from €479 in June 2006.
Parking has also risen from an average of €3,761 last year to €3,949 per annum this year. The price of new cars has not increased significantly while the cost of the NCT and car tax has remained unchanged.
The system of benchmarking car tax to engine size means that, again, owners of larger vehicles are punished with rates ranging between €151 for a small town car to €1,343 per annum for a vehicle with a large engine.
Depreciation as usual makes frightening reading for those who have just splashed out on a new car. The small family car will drop in value by €2,480 per annum, compared to a drop of €1,468 for a car with an engine capacity of 1000cc or less.
Those who own a car between 1751 and 2000cc will lose €3,689 per annum, while those at the top end of the scale with engines between 3001cc and 4000cc will see a loss of €5,912 on the value of their vehicle every year.
The survey concludes that it costs 73.19 cent per kilometre to keep a small family car on the road when fixed and running costs are calculated. Based on an average 16,000km per annum this works out as €11,710. A small city car will cost you 59.01 cents per kilometre, according to the survey, relieving you of an average of €9,441 per annum.
Small executive models with an engine capacity of up to 2,000cc will set the owner back €14,673 in costs, while SUV drivers will see a loss of €21,680 a year, or 135.50 cents per kilometre, in fixed and running costs.
The price of fuel, which is spiked in recent weeks, remains a major problem for motorists. "But rather surprisingly they do not show up in our survey," AA public affairs manager Conor Faughnan said. "This is because we had a surge in fuel prices this time last year, they dipped significantly late in 2006 but rose again and are now just slightly up on June of last year."
However Ireland's fuel costs are competitive compared to other European countries. In a separate AA survey published this week, Ireland was ranked 17th out of 25 countries for the price of fuel. Here, the average cost of a litre of petrol is €1.17, while France and the UK - the two most popular destinations for Irish drivers - are 15 cent and 27 cent per litre more expensive.
Norway and Holland have the most expensive petrol in Europe at €1.51 per litre, while the cheapest fuel is to be found at 89 cent per litre in Estonia.
