Despite the many obstacles, young people are managing to get a set of wheels. Three of them tell Ian Noctor about how they did it.
Tara Ellard: "It's freedom on four wheels"
When he asked "Don't you know that it's different for girls?" Joe Jackson probably wasn't singing about the cost of car insurance. But it certainly is easier on the pocket for first-time female drivers than males.
Civil engineering graduate Tara Ellard paid just 900 to insure her 1991 1.6-litre Mazda 323F. She was a named driver on her parents' policy since she was 17 and holder of a full licence - her insurers took that into account when quoting her for third party fire and theft insurance.
Tara says there was no point in taking out comprehensive insurance as her car is worth at best €1,500. "I was very lucky to inherit the car from my generous eldest sister Jenny. She'd traded up to a Golf and as I was in the market for a car, she just gave it to me," she says with a grin. Tara had to put the "hairdresser's Porsche", as she calls it, through the NCT, but it passed with just a little work.
The car isn't a major drain on her finances, although the 1.6-litre engine means tax and petrol consumption are high. "I spend about 100 a month on petrol and the annual tax is €370." But the biggest outlay so far was to replace a broken fan belt, which left the 22 year-old stranded midway between her hometown of Dungarvan, and Dublin. "I ended up not only paying for the fan belt but for three new tyres too, after a very good salesman convinced me the old tyres were passed their best." Apart from the 250 mile round trip to the sunny south-east, Tara mainly uses her car for a daily commute between Terenure and Blackrock in Dublin. "It may be more expensive than public transport, but with just one bus route between home and work, it's much more reliable and the trip takes about half the time it would on the bus. I couldn't be without it," she says. "It's freedom on four wheels."
Noel Nesbitt: "€600 on bits and pieces since I got it"
At 29 and with five years experience as a professional engineer, Noel Nesbitt would probably be able to afford more or less the car of his choice if he lived in Germany.
Unfortunately he lives in Ireland. When Noel bought his first car in 2001 his insurance cost him almost two and a half times what he paid for the car. The Dublin-based systems engineer paid £1,000 (€1,269) for his 1991 Toyota Corolla.
His lack of a full licence meant his insurance cost £2,300 (€2,920). "It came down a good bit when I passed the test."
Buying the car was a necessity not a luxury, he says. "Work is eight miles away and the public transport between where I live and Sandyford where I work is atrocious. It was taking me well over an hour to do the trip and I couldn't be guaranteed to get to work on time."
The Templemore native says the hidden cost of car ownership shocked him at first. "The car seemed like a bargain. It had one careful owner from new and just 70,000 miles on the clock. I don't know if it was just the car's age or bad luck but I've spent at least 600 on bits and pieces since I got it."
Noel's insurance has dropped to €1,400 this year, but the car is now worth just half that. "It's a drain on the finances for sure, but I love the freedom it brings. My family and I play a lot of traditional music so with the car I can be home in Tipperary in a couple of hours. Public transport in south Dublin mightn't be the best, but can you imagine trying to use it to get to a music session in a pub in rural Tipp?"
Aoife Davidson: "The best €2,000 I ever spent"
Getting married is a complex logistical operation at the best of times, but imagine the prospect of doing it without your own car. It was that very prospect that prompted Aoife Davidson to throw caution to the wind and, at the tender age of 29, buy her own car.
"Mike and I were due to get married in September and by May I knew I couldn't rely on friends and family to ferry me all the places I needed to be in the run up to the day."
A 1993 Toyota Starlet with one owner from new provided the necessary independence to get the event organised. "It was the best €2,000 I ever spent. I got married Waterford, bought my dress in Wexford and had my hen weekend in Carlingford in Co Louth. The car ferried me all over the country without as much as a grumble." Within six months the 72,000 miles on the odometer was up to 82,000.
"I'd say at this stage the car could negotiate the route from Dublin to Waterford on its own, and 1993 Starlets don't have satellite navigation." At 1,800 the third party fire and theft, insurance did not come cheap, but Aoife claims it's well worth it for the freedom it brings.
The wedding went off a treat and the car played no small part in that. And it was particularly useful for a quick getaway to the airport when the knot was tied and the revelling over."