Car Running Costs

Firstly and the most important is car insurance. For more information, check our Car Insurance advice section.

Factors like the car's age, whether the vehicle is keep garaged at night and your post code will all affect your insurance premiums.

Our experience has shown that Tesco Finance have consistently offered some of the best insurance deals in the UK over the last two years.

Maintainance of your car is very important so make sure you have some money put aside in a savings account in case of unexpected repairs.

Once a year, the car will need an MOT which costs roughly £25.00. If there are problems with the car they will have to be fixed before a new MOT certificate can be issued. Remember you must have an MOT to drive and insure your car in the UK. The cost of fuel alone can be approximately £40.00 per week depending on the distance you travel to work and the fuel efficiency of you car. Consider car sharing if you drive a long distance to work.

If you do a lot of driving it then it may be worth joining the AA, RAC, or a similar breakdown organisation.

You will also have to pay for road tax every year. On the 1st March 2001 the UK government reformed the Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) to encourage people to use smaller, more economical cars.

The new CO emissions tests means that any car that was first registered and licensed on or after 01 March 2001 is now put into one of four payment brackets, depending on what level of CO emissions were measured when the model was tested for 'type approval' prior to going on sale.

• If you would like more information please visit the DVLA.