Cost of motoring is 'less than in 1988'

Cost of motoring is 'less than in 1988'

The cost of filling a car with petrol has more than doubled over the past 20 years, but the cost of running a car has fallen considerably in real terms, a report claimed today.

Almost 60% of the 1,116 people taking part in the RAC's annual report on motoring said they thought the biggest change over the past 20 years was a rise in cost.

In fact it now costs 18% less in real terms to buy and run a car, including fuel costs (and 28% cheaper excluding fuel costs), than in 1988. Meanwhile, the cost of petrol has more than doubled in real terms.

Adrian Tink, motoring strategist at RAC, said that contrary to public perception: "Cars are more reliable now, they go wrong less, and so the cost of upkeep is lower. The fall in the cost of buying and owning a car has been a fairly smooth curve over the past 20 years.

"The increase in the cost of fuel over the past 12 months has been incredible, and with it costing around £70 to fill a family car, that cost is at the front of people's minds."

According to the report, the number of households with a car has grown 39% over the past two decades from 14 million to 19.5 million. The number of households with two or more cars has almost doubled from 4.3 million to 8.4 million, and the number of drivers has increased to 33.7 million from 26.1 million.

Some 92% of the 1,116 people taking part in the report said they thought the British were more dependent on cars than they were in 1988. However,.....continued below

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almost twice as many motorists now use buses, coaches and trams compared with 1988.

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