The real cost of car ownership for teens

When looking into buying a car for your teenager, it’s both easy and tempting to overlook the running costs and focus on the initial price.

Unfortunately, there are many other factors to budget for that vary depending on the car you choose.

The cost of car insurance, fuel, sporadic costs of maintenance, repairs, and hopefully a limited number of parking tickets and speeding fines can make driving more expensive than many of us originally anticipate.

With this in mind, buying a used car may be a cheaper alternative to purchasing a new one.

However, insurance costs and fuel prices actually vary in price depending on a number of factors, so the cheapest car isn’t always the most cost effective option.

Car insurance is essential when buying a car, and if there’s one downside to being young, it’s that it’s typically more expensive for drivers under 25.

The level of risk of an accident determines insurance premium and insurance providers consider young drivers to be of a higher risk. However, there are methods to keeping the cost as low as possible.

Firstly, the car you choose to buy will affect the insurance premium price. A safer car means lower insurance, so buying a newer model with the latest safety features may keep costs down.

Sports cars and highly modified vehicles are not only pricey to purchase, but are also pricey to insure.

If your car includes features designed specifically to make it go faster, your insurance is likely to be higher than you’d like.

When taking out insurance, do your research and shop around. Your insurance provider may not necessarily be the best option for a young driver, so compare quotes from multiple companies and the level of cover you get for the price.

Another ongoing cost of running a car is the obvious cost of fuel. On average, it costs $1.79 per litre of unleaded petrol, but this may vary depending on where you live, due to differing taxation policies.

It’s worth researching price and estimating the number of kilometres you’ll use your car for each week. With petrol costs rising, the fuel efficiency of a car is an important factor to bear in mind.

A slightly cheaper car may turn out to be more expensive to run long term.

The various costs involved and the numerous models of cars and insurance providers available can be somewhat daunting, but with enough time, care and research, you’ll be sure to find a good deal.

40 Comments

- - ella12 said
  - 10 Jan 2018
    2:34 pm
Very helpful and informative, thank you.

- - mom102959 said
  - 01 Jun 2015
    11:36 am
Good list. Don’t think I’ll get him one anymore
- mom94125 replied
  
  18 Oct 2015 , 5:39 pm
  lol what! just work it out, maybe he can help you cover costs by getting a job
- - mom113055 said
  - 24 May 2015
    4:48 pm
it s absolutly great to read these

- - mom113055 said
  - 16 May 2015
    3:17 pm
this is exellent great

- - Jack said
  - 31 Mar 2015
    6:01 pm
The biggest cost would be the risk of losing life.

- - mom113991 said
  - 19 Mar 2015
    10:32 pm
good article…so many differnt factor to consider when buying your teen a new car

- - mom113055 said
  - 10 Mar 2015
    9:57 pm
looks great

- - K13 said
  - 01 Mar 2015
    9:53 pm
i think a teen’s first car should be a mechanically sound bomb lol

- - mom57619 said
  - 24 Jan 2015
    6:10 pm
So many people just don’t think about all of these factors.

- - mom107723 said
  - 11 Jan 2015
    2:33 am
Good article with good advice, thankyou.

- - mom111518 said
  - 27 Dec 2014
    8:35 pm
info passed onto eldest daughter. One of those decisions she will have to make for herself I think.

- - stepmom107932 said
  - 14 Dec 2014
    9:41 am
i know those feels insurance for my first car varied from 1500, to to only 500 was so stressfull for me.

- - christial said
  - 27 Nov 2014
    4:56 pm
It’s a confusing equation. And one that doesn’t really have an answer! Lots to consider but number 1 must be safety!

- - annioakly said
  - 18 Nov 2014
    3:47 pm
Great advice, my daughter just turned 16 an getting her learners. Thnx

- - curlytops said
  - 11 Nov 2014
    5:51 pm
Also safety is or should be important. ensure their car has airbags good solid breaking systems etc. Tempting as it may be to buy an old cheap car but sometimes safety is compromised considerably.

- - amyabby4 said
  - 08 Nov 2014
    2:45 pm
Interesting and helpful article ..thanks.Photo on canvas

- - june11 said
  - 06 Nov 2014
    2:14 pm
I would love to know where they got the fuel price from. A country town maybe!! Or are they talking about Diesel?? The frustrating part is the most of the time diesel is more expensive than Unleaded yet it costs a lot less to produce. Maybe because it smells!!!
If you stand near a LPG fuelled car it smells pretty strong too. Tyres make up a fair % of running costs too. You get what you pay for. Cheap ones don’t have as much durability therefore they need replacing sooner. Good batteries are expensive too. Comprehensive Insurance, depending on the company you are with is a huge add-on.
Always ensure that any accessories are listed in your policy otherwise in the event of a claim they will not cover them. If you buy a second hand car make sure you know what are standard and what are accessories. Insurance Company Claim Processors don’t always know them. We have had personal experience with that issue. With a really old car people are sometimes tempted to just take out Third Party Property Fire and Theft. Sometimes there is very little difference in the premium – literally only a few dollars.
Another thing – if a car is not registered, even if it is parked and locked on your own property some companies will not pay a claim it even though you have paid your premium. Regular Servicing of vehicles can save you a lot of money long term. Shop around as some charge a lot more than others to do exactly the same job properly.
I personally got a quote. One was $25.00 per hour more expensive than the other. What is more that Service Manager I spoke to said it could take up to a week to find problem. They said it would cost a mininum of $600.00.The small business it went to had the car for 3 days and only charged for the actually hours worked on it. Part of the process involved letting the motor go cold during diagnosis and adjustments. Our account -including a service was less than $400.00.

- - BellaB said
  - 03 Nov 2014
    8:40 pm
So many things to take into account… Thank you.

- - mrsdew17 said
  - 02 Nov 2014
    4:35 pm
Have 3 children all under 25 and all in various stages of driving…it’s a bottomless pit of spending money! Thanks for telling it like it really is – not cheap!

- - hopefullyheidi said
  - 31 Oct 2014
    11:11 am
This is a great article, but when I read the opening lines of the article “when looking into buying a car for your teenager,” I realised not for the first time how times have changed since I was a teenager. We were made to buy our own or at least work to help put payment towards it. I realise that in this day and age of children needing to put a lot more into study and the competitiveness of doing well in order to compete in the career/job market that juggling work and study is more stressful and less possible than it used to be.