Cost of Cars

Learn more about the cost of owning and using a car, how it compares to alternatives, and how much you could save by driving less.

Once you’ve bought a car and paid for all of your annual expenses for the year (like your MOT, vehicle tax, and insurance), it’s easy to think of the cost of driving as only involving the cost of petrol. That’s because psychologically we’re all better at keeping track of the costs that are in front of us than the ones behind us.

So when it comes time to think about buying a bus pass or a bicycle, that feels like an extra cost, as opposed to the practically free to use car you already have. Let’s look at how these costs actually stack up.

Cost of owning and using a car:

The average participant in the 2024 Oxford car free challenge spent £3,568 per year to run their car, and the average yearly cost of owning and running a car in the UK in 2024 is £3,834, including depreciation. This cost has risen 19% since 2020, due to the rising cost of cars themselves, insurance, repairs and parts, and vehicle tax.

Costs of owning and running a car include:

  • Purchase and depreciation (generally higher purchase price and depreciation rate for EVs)

  • Fuel (generally EVs spend half of fuel costs)

  • Repairs

  • Upkeep (cleaning, oil changes, etc.)

  • Insurance

  • Vehicle tax

  • Parking, permits, tolls

  • MOT

  • Fines

Savings from driving less

Okay, so you’ve already paid these costs and have the car. Wouldn’t using it less and spending money on alternatives be a waste of money? Not necessarily, because you still have the continual costs of things like fuel and parking costs. And putting fewer miles on your car means less wear and tear, fewer repairs and less depreciation. 

Let’s see how just the cost of petrol stacks up against some car alternatives.

The average yearly cost of petrol in the UK is £1,095, or 18p per mile. If you’re spending that on petrol, you would save £274 by driving 75% of the trips you used to, £548 by driving 50% of trips you used to, and £821 by driving 25% of trips you used to.

Driving 75% of your usual trips:

With £274, you could do any one of these things:

  • Buy a used bike from Byke, a D-lock and a helmet for as little as £130, and still have money left over to occasionally ride the bus, scooter or just save. (In the second year and beyond, you’ll only have to pay for any tune-ups or repairs you’ll need. These’ll run you £50-80 + replacement parts at Broken Spoke, for example. The rest is savings!)

  • 54 SmartZone bus tickets (enough to ride the bus once a week)

  • 42 MyBus day passes

  • 39 day passes for the train from Bicester to Oxford

  • 68 times of you and up to 3 kids parking at the Park & Ride and taking the bus to town and back (enough to do this once per week)

Driving 50% of your usual trips:

With £548, in addition to any one of the options above, you could do any one of these things:

  • Buy a new bike, D-lock and helmet from Beeline Bicycles for about £430, and still have money left over. If your employer participates in the Cycle to Work scheme you can save 32% more. In the second year and beyond, you’ll only have to pay for any tune-ups or repairs you’ll need. The rest is savings!

  • Start cycling from the Park & Ride, by buying a used bike from Byke, a D-lock and helmet for as little as £130, plus an annual Park & Ride parking only permit for £370. In the second year and beyond, you’ll only have to pay for any tune-ups or repairs you’ll need and the annual pass. The rest is savings!

  • Rent a Voi e-scooter/e-bike for a year if you only need to make shorter trips within Oxford. £479.88 (£39.99 per month) would get you free unlocks and 300 minutes of riding per month for an entire year. And you’d still have money left over.

  • Buy 8 months’ worth of monthly SmartZone bus passes

  • Buy 133 days worth of flexi SmartZone bus tickets (enough to ride twice per week)

  • Buy 84 MyBus day passes (enough to ride at least once per week) 

  • Buy 11 months worth of flexi season tickets good for 8 days of travel each month from Bicester to Oxford

  • Pay for 137 times of you and up to 3 kids parking at the Park & Ride and taking the bus to town and back (enough to do this at least twice per week)

Driving 25% of your usual trips:

With £821, in addition to any one of the options above, you could do any one of these things:

  • Start cycling from the Park & Ride with a new bike and an annual Park & Ride parking only permit. In the second year and beyond, you’ll only have to pay for any tune-ups or repairs you’ll need and the annual pass. The rest is savings!

  • Rent a Voi e-scooter/e-bike for a year if you only need to make shorter trips within Oxford. £659.88 (£59.99 per month) would get you free unlocks and 750 minutes of riding per month for an entire year. And you’d still have money left over.

  • Get an e-bike subscription from Hurrecane, which would include an e-bike, lock, delivery, servicing, wear & tear, lifetime warranty, and 7 day fix, for £600 + a £180 refundable deposit. If your employer participates, an e-bike subscription from Dash is cheaper!

  • Buy an annual SmartZone pass for £770, and still have money left over

  • Buy 118 MyBus day passes (enough to ride twice a week)

  • Buy 7 months of monthly train passes from Bicester to Oxford

  • Buy a year’s worth of flexi season tickets good for 8 days of travel each month from Bicester to Oxford for £594, and still have money left over

  • Buy 9 months worth of monthly SmartZone passes with a Park & Ride parking add-on

Savings from fully replacing a car

All those things were just from fuel savings! With the average yearly cost of owning and running a car in the UK in 2024 being £3,834, you could get the following for the same price (or less!) if you went car-free:

  • Buying an e-bike and an annual SmartZone pass, and hiring a Co-Wheels car for 3 hours once per week

  • Buying a e-bike and a year’s worth of weekly MyBus tickets, and being a passenger in a lift share arrangement as needed

  • Buying a used standard bike and an annual train pass from Bicester to Oxford, and taking a taxi when you need to

  • Buying a new standard bike, an annual SmartZone pass, and a year’s worth of Voi monthly passes

  • And even more combinations!

Updated January 2025