Hidden costs of owning a car (that nobody warns you about)

A new or used car on finance costs more than its monthly repayments. In this guide, we explore the most common hidden costs.



Are you budgeting for a car? Chances are, your main concern is the sticker price. If you're getting the car on finance, you'll also want to know how that price splits into monthly chunks.

The thing is that there are hidden costs. Not, we hasten to add, because a good car dealership has any interest in pulling the wool over your eyes.

Instead, these hidden costs are down to the extras involved in car ownership. They include road tax, vehicle insurance, fuel, replacement tyres, MOT costs, servicing and parking charges.

At Zoomo, we help people with adverse credit get behind the wheel. So, it's important to us that our customers know what they're getting into financially and don't overstretch themselves.

For that reason, we've put together this guide to the full picture of owning a car – hidden costs and all.

When you're ready to take the plunge, why not apply for car finance and let us connect you with lenders who are right for you? We'll aim to have you behind the wheel in no time.

Tax

Road tax is also known as "car tax" or, officially, as "vehicle excise duty" (VED). It depends on two things: when the car was registered and its CO₂ emissions.

At the time of writing, most petrol and diesel cars registered after April 1 2017 will pay around £200 a year after the first year.

Depending on emissions, a newly registered car is likely to cost anything between £10 and £6,000.

Road tax on electric vehicles has recently changed. Electric car drivers will pay £200 a year if the car was registered before April 2025. Newer EVs cost £10 in the first year, followed by £200 a year.

Cars that cost more than £40,000, meanwhile, generally require an extra £440 a year for five years after the second tax payment.



Insurance

Car insurance can vary significantly. The amount will depend on a range of factors. These include:

• Your age
• Your driving history
• Your postcode
• Your car model
• Your annual mileage
• The type of insurance cover you choose
  
  

As a rough guide in 2026, drivers over 30 will often pay between £500 and £1,000 a year. Drivers between the ages of 17 and 24 will typically pay more, averaging somewhere between £1,500 and £3,000 a year.

Newly qualified drivers can also expect to pay more than drivers over the age of 30 – anywhere between £1,000 and £2,500.

As drivers get older, insurance costs can decrease if the driver maintains a clean record. An older, experienced driver with a clean driving history might pay between £300 and £700.

It's important to note that these are broad estimates, not quotes. Your individual quote will depend on your individual circumstances.

Fuel

We're living at a time of volatile fuel prices. At the time of writing, petrol is about £1.50 a litre and diesel about £1.60 a litre. For a 50-litre tank, that's about £75 for petrol and £80 for diesel.

There's currently no indication that fuel costs will go down anytime soon.

Tyres

A budget tyre in the UK costs between £45 and £70. This goes up to premium tyres that cost between £100 and £200 each.

It typically costs between £10 and £25 to have a tyre fitted (though you can do this yourself).

How often you'll have to change tyres depends on a bunch of factors. These include your driving style, the condition of the roads you drive on, your annual mileage and the quality of your current tyres.

Brakes

The cost of replacing brake components varies depending on whether you need brake pads, brake discs or both.

Brake pads for one axle cost between £80 and £180, while brake discs and pads cost between £200 and £450. More expensive cars tend to have more expensive brake components.

A change of brake fluid usually costs between £50 and £100.

MOT

The maximum legal price for an MOT on a standard car is £54.85. Garages can charge less than this.

MOT retests – where the component that failed during your MOT is tested – can be free, but aren't always.

You'll typically have to start getting annual MOTs after three years of car ownership (one year for some cars).

Servicing

Servicing a car means taking it to a professional for a routine health check and maintenance work. Common services include oil and filter changes, fluid top-ups, safety checks and parts replacements.

In the UK, a full service can cost between £180 and £300, while a major service could go north of £500. For premium and luxury cars, costs can reach more than £1,000.

Parking

Car parking costs in the UK vary significantly from location to location. In London, for instance, some central car parks charge £10 to £20 an hour – much more than other cities.

Supermarkets and retail car parks are often free for a set period. They'll then charge between one pound and five pounds.

In town and city centres, you're looking at between one pound and four pounds an hour – going up to between three pounds and seven pounds in big cities.

Monthly parking permits typically cost between five pounds and £30 a month for on-street parking. Public council car parks and commercial long-stay car parks charge between £45 and £150 a month.

You'll have a sense by now that prices vary. When budgeting for a car, it's important to know how much you're likely to spend on parking each month in your area.

How Zoomo can help

Unfortunately, we can't do much about the hidden costs of car ownership.

However, we can help you access car finance and spread the total cost of the car itself.

At Zoomo, we specialise in securing finance for used cars in Newcastle. As a specialist bad-credit car finance broker, we can connect you with specialist lenders who consider how much you can really afford – not just your credit score.

So, no matter your credit history, why not explore our stock of used cars or apply for finance today? It only takes two minutes, and applying won't affect your credit score at this stage.