Car running cost

masterboy123

Hi,

I would like to know what's the approximate weekly cost of a car running within the Waterford city? say maximum 20 km a day.
And how is the car insurance like in Ireland? How much can it be? I have a driving license issued from another EU country and i don't have much of previous car driving record.

I noticed the motortax is dependent on car's engine, so I beleive its in the range of 400-1000 euro annually.

Any other cost that I should be aware of?

I have been searching for used cars on cars.donedeal.ie and looking for a car with low mileage and in great condition. Any other website where I can check the same?

Also, is it of any help to use services provided by www.cartell.ie before buying a second hand car in Ireland?

Many thanks everyone and happy holidays

obezyana

Go to the motors section of boards and ask about cars there you will get more of a response but as with driving in Waterford it's like any town in any car so I don't know how one can answer what it's like to drive in.

I find motorcheck.ie best for record checks on cars. As I said tho go to the motors section and you will get more help regarding any tips you may want on buying a car.


Good luck with your purchase happy motoring.

shockwave

Theres a lot of car websites out there if you want to buy a car:

http://www.carzone.ie

http://www.carsireland.ie/

http://www.autotrader.ie/

Cabaal

Moving to Motors from Waterford City as you'll get better answers to the general questions you have asked,

masterboy123

Thanks everyone.

Waiting for more answers/reviews. I am new in Ireland so I don't much how things are working here for cars like insurance cost, NCT, etc.

ironclaw

Honestly, for 20km a day, you would be mad to even consider buying a car if at all possible.

A decent car (And that is a very broad term) will cost you anywhere between €2000 and €5000. Depends on what you want to spend. Its a 'how long is a piece of string' type question. There is no correct answer for the right price for a decent car.

Insurance, depends on your age and driving experience. Irish insurers are unique and pluck prices from thin air in my experience. Chances are they will not accept your previous experience from another country. So expect to pay anywhere between €500 and €1000 for comprehensive insurance (Assuming you are over 25 and not attempting to insure a high end car) Possibly even more.

Tax depends on the engine size or after 2007, the CO2 output. A larger engine generally means higher tax. Again, diesel and petrol can differ here. Expect to pay anywhere from €200 to €1800+ depending on the engine size.

NCT is €55 every 2 years if the car is under 10 years old, over that, its every year. Add to that cost the service etc to the car beforehand as most cars will generally need something to pass the NCT.

Petrol and Diesel in Ireland is probably the cheapest part of motoring, but your looking at €~1.60 per litre. So a full tank in an average car will be anywhere between €50 and €65.

Add to that tyres and annual servicing, and you don't have a huge amount of spare change. For 20km per day, I'd exhaust every other option first. Before you even drive the car, its probably going to be costing you on average €3 to €5 per day.

Sobanek

ironclaw wrote: »

Honestly, for 20km a day, you would be mad to even consider buying a car if at all possible.

A decent car (And that is a very broad term) will cost you anywhere between €2000 and €5000. Depends on what you want to spend. Its a 'how long is a piece of string' type question. There is no correct answer for the right price for a decent car.

Insurance, depends on your age and driving experience. Irish insurers are unique and pluck prices from thin air in my experience. Chances are they will not accept your previous experience from another country. So expect to pay anywhere between €500 and €1000 for comprehensive insurance (Assuming you are over 25 and not attempting to insure a high end car) Possibly even more.

Tax depends on the engine size or after 2007, the CO2 output. A larger engine generally means higher tax. Again, diesel and petrol can differ here. Expect to pay anywhere from €200 to €1800+ depending on the engine size.

NCT is €55 every 2 years if the car is under 10 years old, over that, its every year. Add to that cost the service etc to the car beforehand as most cars will generally need something to pass the NCT.

Petrol and Diesel in Ireland is probably the cheapest part of motoring, but your looking at €~1.60 per litre. So a full tank in an average car will be anywhere between €50 and €65.

Add to that tyres and annual servicing, and you don't have a huge amount of spare change. For 20km per day, I'd exhaust every other option first. Before you even drive the car, its probably going to be costing you on average €3 to €5 per day.

When you posted it like this, it makes me wonder why anyone drives a car

The cheapest to run car I found for myself is actually the car my parents own which is a 2006 Volvo V50 with the 2 litre turbodiesel. (Yes my fellas, a "large-engine" Volvo for me is cheaper to insure, tax and fuel up than a 1.2 Polo!)
260 quid a month in tax, insurance and fuel alone with my approximate 400kms a week.

masterboy123

Great info. It looks like car is not really needed in my case. It's just the bad rainy weather with high winds that made me think to buy a car in Ireland, plus to save time.

Any more suggestions please?

ironclaw wrote: »

Honestly, for 20km a day, you would be mad to even consider buying a car if at all possible.

A decent car (And that is a very broad term) will cost you anywhere between €2000 and €5000. Depends on what you want to spend. Its a 'how long is a piece of string' type question. There is no correct answer for the right price for a decent car.

Insurance, depends on your age and driving experience. Irish insurers are unique and pluck prices from thin air in my experience. Chances are they will not accept your previous experience from another country. So expect to pay anywhere between €500 and €1000 for comprehensive insurance (Assuming you are over 25 and not attempting to insure a high end car) Possibly even more.

Tax depends on the engine size or after 2007, the CO2 output. A larger engine generally means higher tax. Again, diesel and petrol can differ here. Expect to pay anywhere from €200 to €1800+ depending on the engine size.

NCT is €55 every 2 years if the car is under 10 years old, over that, its every year. Add to that cost the service etc to the car beforehand as most cars will generally need something to pass the NCT.

Petrol and Diesel in Ireland is probably the cheapest part of motoring, but your looking at €~1.60 per litre. So a full tank in an average car will be anywhere between €50 and €65.

Add to that tyres and annual servicing, and you don't have a huge amount of spare change. For 20km per day, I'd exhaust every other option first. Before you even drive the car, its probably going to be costing you on average €3 to €5 per day.

Sobanek

I'd say go for it - get a car or curse like I do every single day while waiting in the rain and wind for my train.
It's more flexible, comfortable, and it's dependable.

The only reason I still take the train is because I'm waiting till February to get my insurance down by almost 50%.

And you don't need to spend €5k on a car - just check the Bangernomics Thread.

If I got one for free (i.e. didn't have to pay the ridiculous insurance) I'd be even happy with a 1.0 Micra right now.

MuppetCheck

Waterford is a very small city (it's a big town imo). If you're working and living in and around the city centre you really don't need one. We live close to the centre and herself works in there and her car is often parked up for a month or more between use. The only time we use a car around town is to do the shopping.

masterboy123

I noticed the car insurance would drop by 200 euros or so if I exchange my EU driving license to Irish driving licence for a fee of 55 euros.

I have been on donedeal.ie but can't find any good car which is durable and under 5000 Euros. I searched for cars with low mileage (less than 50K miles) and automatic transmission. Also i read it's better to pay on cartell.ie and they will tell if there is any hidden history on the car.

May I ask how your insurance is going to drop by 50% in February? It may help me as well.

Sobanek wrote: »

I'd say go for it - get a car or curse like I do every single day while waiting in the rain and wind for my train.
It's more flexible, comfortable, and it's dependable.

The only reason I still take the train is because I'm waiting till February to get my insurance down by almost 50%.

And you don't need to spend €5k on a car - just check the Bangernomics Thread.

If I got one for free (i.e. didn't have to pay the ridiculous insurance) I'd be even happy with a 1.0 Micra right now.

masterboy123

How a large engine helping you save more bucks? I don't get it. Even the motor tax should be higher (800 euros or so annually).

Sobanek wrote: »

When you posted it like this, it makes me wonder why anyone drives a car

The cheapest to run car I found for myself is actually the car my parents own which is a 2006 Volvo V50 with the 2 litre turbodiesel. (Yes my fellas, a "large-engine" Volvo for me is cheaper to insure, tax and fuel up than a 1.2 Polo!)
260 quid a month in tax, insurance and fuel alone with my approximate 400kms a week.

Seweryn

masterboy123 wrote: »

How a large engine helping you save more bucks? I don't get it. Even the motor tax should be higher (800 euros or so annually).

Newer cars (2008 and up) are taxed based on CO2 emmisions, that is why some are cheaper than the same models registered before 2008.
However, the tax is only a part of the game, so do not loose your hair on this aspect alone.

If you live and work in the town, you do not need a car and all the hastle associated with owning it. I would consider cycling, using public transport (if available) or taxi occassionally.

If you want an inexpensive run around, the best way is to buy a cheap, reliable, small-ish engined car, possibly something from the late 1990's with a petrol engine.

And as an example below are your annual costs for a 1.5 litre engined car that costs no more than €1k - €1.5k to buy and is in good running order to start with. I assume your annual mileage to be around 7k km.

Motor Tax €464
Insurance €800
Fuel €896
NCT €55
Service, parts and maintenance €300
Parking fees, tolls, etc. €300
Annual depreciation €200

Total cost for 7k km/year €3,015
Average cost per day €8.26
Average cost per km €0.43

masterboy123

Many thanks for a detailed explanation.

Well I will be working in Waterford hospital, in Waterford city. And the car option was suggested by the hospital admin as I may have to visit Wexford clinic every week or so. And depending on public transport there can be time consuming and tiring, (now I am living in Dublin and I can easily do all my work by using Luas & Dublin bus services). But in smaller county I believe there isn't a good, frequently timed public transport as we have in Dublin.

I am comfortable with driving only automatic transmission. My budget is 4-5K euros. I don't want to buy an old car from 1990's like my friend did and it got broke on the highways twice leaving him into a lot of hassle. That's why I can invest more now and avoid maintenance charges and hurdles.

I liked the table you made with all the possible car related costs mentioned in it, I appreciate your help very much!!

Seweryn wrote: »

Newer cars (2008 and up) are taxed based on CO2 emmisions, that is why some are cheaper than the same models registered before 2008.
However, the tax is only a part of the game, so do not loose your hair on this aspect alone.

If you live and work in the town, you do not need a car and all the hastle associated with owning it. I would consider cycling, using public transport (if available) or taxi occassionally.

If you want an inexpensive run around, the best way is to buy a cheap, reliable, small-ish engined car, possibly something from the late 1990's with a petrol engine.

And as an example below are your annual costs for a 1.5 litre engined car that costs no more than €1k - €1.5k to buy and is in good running order to start with. I assume your annual mileage to be around 7k km.

Motor Tax €464
Insurance €800
Fuel €896
NCT €55
Service, parts and maintenance €300
Parking fees, tolls, etc. €300
Annual depreciation €200

Total cost for 7k km/year €3,015
Average cost per day €8.26
Average cost per km €0.43

Seweryn

masterboy123 wrote: »

Many thanks for a detailed explanation.

You are welcome.

I have edited the details below based closer to your preferences, i.e. 1.6 petrol engined automatic, valued at say €5k.
Insurance figure is a guess really, and can vary widely depending on many factors.

Regarding the reliablity, an older car does not necessarily mean that it will break down. There are a lot of people (myself included) that have been always driving cars that are way over 10 or 15-year old and never had any trouble with them. The key thing is to buy a good, well minded example and just maintain it. However, with a higher budget you can get a very decent, newer, low mileage petrol engined car that will serve you well in years to come.

Good Luck with your choice.


Motor Tax €580
Insurance €800
Fuel €1,008
NCT €55
Service, parts and maintenance €300
Parking fees, tolls, etc. €300
Annual depreciation €800

Total cost for 7k km/year €3,843
Average cost per day € 10.53
Average cost per km € 0.55

masterboy123

Whats the difference between Comprehensive and Third-party (fire and theft) insurance? The latter is cheaper.

Seweryn

masterboy123 wrote: »

Whats the difference between Comprehensive and Third-party (fire and theft) insurance? The latter is cheaper.

Here is a link to an article that fully explains the levels of protection given by each type of insurance.

And another one here.

I know there are plenty of details to go through, but may be worth spending your time reading about the various options.

Please note that insurance companies have also their own offers for say, comprehensive cover that may not necessarily be exactly the same as their competitors offers. The level of protection, personal excess, etc. may vary between companies.

masterboy123

Gonna read through it now...
Thanks. A happy weekend

Seweryn wrote: »

Here is a link to an article that fully explains the levels of protection given by each type of insurance.

And another one here.

I know there are plenty of details to go through, but may be worth spending your time reading about the various options.

Please note that insurance companies have also their own offers for say, comprehensive cover that may not necessarily be exactly the same as their competitors offers. The level of protection, personal excess, etc. may vary between companies.

Bigus

There are good public transport links between Waterford and Wexford . And a nice road bike, weather here in Ireland not as bad here as perceived, especially in south east.

However car wise,

You'll have a better choice of car from a bigger pool if you buy in dublin rather then leaving it til you get to Waterford .

A good all round car for you and insurance would be a honda jazz automatic, good city car plus big enough for Waterford to Wexford journey.

The jazz can give some transmission issues , but won't see you stranded on the side of the road.


http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/honda-jazz/6155712




http://cars.donedeal.ie/find/cars/for-sale/Ireland/?filter%28make%29=Honda&filter%28max_engine%29=Max+Litres&filter%28max_mileage%29=Max+KM&filter%28max_price%29=Max&filter%28max_year%29=Max&filter%28min_engine%29=Min+Litres&filter%28min_mileage%29=Min+KM&filter%28min_price%29=Min&filter%28min_year%29=Min&filter%28model%29=Jazz&multiFilter%28transmission%29=Automatic&source=all

If you'd like something bigger I'd recommend a Prius even with high miles, all Prius are autos

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/toyota-prius-1-5-hybrid-automatic-2005/6133357

masterboy123

Thanks, I never knew about Honda jazz, i have been looking for mazda3 cars but it looks like jazz has lower motortax and easy to drive given its size.

I noticed BMW 5 series for 5000 euros (2005 model with 110k miles), are they worth buying? Or is it going to cost me loads after the initial purchase?
I don't want to buy a car which is going to cost me over 6-800 euros annually for its maintenance.

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/bmw-5-series-530-diesel/5891538

You all made me think now whether I really need a car in Waterford city, I guess this mystery will be solved only after few months once I move there and start to work there.

Thanks everyone!

Bigus wrote: »

There are good public transport links between Waterford and Wexford . And a nice road bike, weather here in Ireland not as bad here as perceived, especially in south east.

However car wise,

You'll have a better choice of car from a bigger pool if you buy in dublin rather then leaving it til you get to Waterford .

A good all round car for you and insurance would be a honda jazz automatic, good city car plus big enough for Waterford to Wexford journey.

The jazz can give some transmission issues , but won't see you stranded on the side of the road.

If you'd like something bigger I'd recommend a Prius even with high miles, all Prius are autos

Seweryn

masterboy123 wrote: »

Thanks, I never knew about Honda jazz, i have been looking for mazda3 cars but it looks like jazz has lower motortax and easy to drive given its size.

I noticed BMW 5 series for 5000 euros (2005 model with 110k miles), are they worth buying? Or is it going to cost me loads after the initial purchase?
I don't want to buy a car which is going to cost me over 6-800 euros annually for its maintenance.

You all made me think now whether I really need a car in Waterford city, I guess this mystery will be solved only after few months once I move there and start to work there.

Thanks everyone!

A 5-series BMW will cost you more on insurance and tax. It is not going to be particularly economical on fuel either. Service cost uplift from a smaller car wouldn't be huge though. Anyway, your annual cost of ownership would rise by about €1.1k to €1.3k if you buy a BMW over a 1.6 compact car (just a quick estimate).

I was going to suggest a Handa Jazz originally, but I could not find a good example advertised. It would be a very good car. It is very economical, practical, very reliable and insurance is relatively cheap in comparison to other models.
The Prius is also a good choice for very same reasons as above.

Cycling is a great alternative, especially as your mileage is low. There are people (myself included) that cover more than twice your annual mileage on a bicycle.

beazee

Seweryn wrote: »

Cycling is a great alternative, especially as your mileage is low.

Not as great when it comes to Waterford. I enjoyed my 25K return commute in Dublin (D1 -> D24 -> D1) but now an 11K return commute in hilly Waterford is a completely different story, manageable but a bit tricky.

Seweryn

beazee wrote: »

Not as great when it comes to Waterford. I enjoyed my 25K return commute in Dublin (D1 -> D24 -> D1) but now an 11K return commute in hilly Waterford is a completely different story, manageable but a bit tricky.

I would consider an 11km a day as on the low side. It is less than 6km each way. Sure, the hills are always a small challenge, but at that distance you can commute on the bike day in, day out in any wather.

masterboy123

UPDATE

I was about to purchase Ford Mondeo 2006 model few weeks back, tested the car myself and it was fine from my point of view. Then did Cartell history check and found out it was clocked! Plus there might be some engine issues which I couldn't detect as i am not a professional in mechanics. So bottom line I am saved from this ridiculous deal. I think I would go now to dealer to check out cars rather than following private ads.

I need advice/suggestion from you all.
I am looking for saloon, automatic!, mileage below 110,000 kms. I found Honda Accord but then heard from my colleagues that its an expensive drive given low fuel economy. How about BMW 320i 2006 vs. Honda Civic 2007? My budget is 6000 euros. Any links most welcome.

Cheers

professore

Any reason it has to be automatic? If you go manual you will have a much bigger choice of cars and manuals are more fuel efficient generally.

masterboy123

It's just my wife can't drive well manual car and then I became lazy myself and liked automatic more.
I know that manual is cheaper but we both are stuck with automatic now.
I found these cars:
http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/honda-accord-2-0-executive-trade-ins-we/6789277

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/honda-civic-1-8-litre-petrol/6523235

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/bmw-320i-se-auto/6921404

Any comments on the above cars? Which is better than other? And maintenance wise which one would be better? And reliability?
Thanks

professore wrote: »

Any reason it has to be automatic? If you go manual you will have a much bigger choice of cars and manuals are more fuel efficient generally.

Seweryn

masterboy123 wrote: »

It's just my wife can't drive well manual car and then I became lazy myself and liked automatic more.
I know that manual is cheaper but we both are stuck with automatic now.
I found these cars:
http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/honda-accord-2-0-executive-trade-ins-we/6789277

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/honda-civic-1-8-litre-petrol/6523235

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/bmw-320i-se-auto/6921404

Any comments on the above cars? Which is better than other? And maintenance wise which one would be better? And reliability?
Thanks

Both Hondas will be top notch cars in terms of reliability. The Civic will be also the cheapest to run and maintain, followed by the Accord which is slightly larger.

masterboy123

How about Mazda 3 1.6L 2007 model? Is it reliable? 130k kms on the clock.

Bigus

Prius, even one with high miles .