It is easy to make the mistake that the price of the car is the biggest outlay, but actually the bigger costs are still to come at that point. Fuel, insurance, maintenance, accident repair; these all add up until they dwarf the original cost of the car. This is why it is worthwhile asking a few questions when you buy the car; what sort of fuel economy does it achieve, how often does it need servicing, what insurance group is it in, how much do the tyres usually cost. This will give you a better idea of how much the running costs of your new car will be.

With fuel prices as high as they currently are, it Selling a car in Spain is obvious that fuel consumption is a big part of the car ownership costs, and many people nowadays are primarily looking for cars with low fuel consumption. Fuel economy depends on many things, from the type of car and size of the engine, to how full your boot is and what car tyres you choose to have fitted, but the better your fuel economy, the more money you will save so it is worth spending time thinking about it.

Car insurance is another cost that can’t be ignored, as you must have it before you drive the car away. Road tax must also be paid before you take the car. In both cases, you are usually rewarded with lower prices, just for choosing a more sensible, fuel efficient car, with low carbon emissions.

Maintenance costs come from two different angles. On one hand car services, repairs and replacement tyres can quickly cost you a lot of money. Depending on the frequency of your particular vehicle’s servicing schedule, and how quickly you wear your tyres out, these costs can soon mount up. Again, you can reduce this by making the right choice of car – some high performance cars need servicing every 4,000 miles, while other cars will only need to be serviced every 18,000 miles. It isn’t hard to see how choosing the wrong car will make a difference to your service costs! With tyres, as well as choosing the right tyre for your car and your driving style, you can also make them last longer by driving sensibly; throwing your car into corners and rapid acceleration or braking will wear your tyres out much quicker.