Having a car is no longer considered a luxury. Although it is interesting to note that Australia is currently the most affordable country to buy a luxury car. Having a car means you can conveniently get wherever you need to go when you need to.
However, it does come with costs. In order to keep your car on the road, you need to pay insurance, fuel, the annual test, and deal with maintenance issues. One of the biggest challenges when running a vehicle is not knowing what it will cost you year on year. That’s why you need to develop a budget, which will help to ensure you can click here and get the service your car needs.
Covering Maintenance
You already know how much you spend on fuel a week and your budget for this in your weekly spend. However, you probably don’t put anything aside to cover maintenance, leaving you digging deep into your pockets when the time comes.
There is a better way.
Start by looking at everything you have spent on your car in the last few years. You can go back as far as you like. The aim is to create a picture of what your car costs to run.
That means looking at maintenance invoices, such as tyre replacement, oil and filter changes, and servicing. These are all maintenance costs that are likely to be repeated every year.
To this add the cost of the annual test. It is also worth looking at what work you have needed to do to get the car through the test each year.
You’ll be left with a figure for the average running/maintenance cost of your vehicle. All you have to do is take that figure and divide it by 12. This will give you a monthly maintenance cost.
Add this into your overall budget and put that much aside each week or month to ensure you can cover the maintenance costs of your vehicle.
Breakdowns
Servicing your vehicle regularly reduces the likelihood of it breaking down. However, any vehicle can develop faults and the bill can be sizeable.
Of course, not knowing what can go wrong makes it hard to decide how much to put aside.
Start by going back to what you have spent in the last few years. Look for any receipts and invoices relating to breakdowns. This will help give you an indication of what repair costs your car has incurred.
You can then use this as a base figure to create a budget for car repairs. If you’re in any doubt then putting away $50 per month to cover car repairs is a great starting point.
By keeping the two separate the repair budget should gradually increase over time, this could help you to replace your car when you’re ready and avoid a hefty repair bill.
Don’t forget, the older your vehicle is the more likely it is to have things that need to be repaired. Consider that when creating your budget.
