costs for running a car

[themagekiler]

I have my g2 license recently and am very tempted to buy a car for convenience sakes and to save time.I only have my g2, never took insurance classes so how much would I have to make per month to maintain and run a car?

I have enough saved up to buy a decent beater around 1998,1999 recommendations?

What would be my expense per month on average?

How much would my insurance be? I will not be driving much preferably to school and back which is like a 20min drive.

[coriolis]

Might want to talk to your parents or your parents broker, assuming you might become a secondary or primary driver if you opt to purchase a vehicle. How many vehicles in the household? Family members that are on the current insurance policy?

If its primary(so the vehicle is under your name for insurance), I'd say $400-$500 a month would be about right, since you're under 25, probably male and only has a G2.

Also, note that gas is another expense to add to it, and any potential repairs/fix ups.

[cortez]

Also, note that gas is another expense to add to it, and any potential repairs/fix ups.

This.

If op only saved up enough for "a decent beater around 1998,1999" I would suggest you wait and save up more. The maintenance on a car over 10 years old with higher km's could be quite expensive.

[bob0]

at this point your main cost will be insurance.
but other costs arent too bad...
for example
i have a 94 corolla
running costs aside from insurance

- gas... i get about 7L/100km if not a little less than that... so depending on how much you drive... i dont drive too much so i fill up about once a week.

- maintenance... i change the oil maybe about 4 times a year so that's about $20 each time. and maybe $100-200 for other misc. repairs... this year i need to get my exhaust fixed... but previous years i would not even touch that repair fund. i do plan on driving my car to the ground (as long as it is safe to operate) and then getting another one and doing the same... so minimal maintenance for me.

- licensing fees like $70 a year?

- emissions.... $40 every 2 years?

so it all depends... you can luck out on an old car like i did and have a good one that needs no attention... or you can pick up a pretty bad one and be constantly fixing it..
i'd say plan for the worst and hope for the best. so maybe set aside a budget of 200-400$ a year to maintain the car.

[themagekiler]

Still looking for a older car with decent millage, how much cheaper would my insurance be if I was a secondary driver (my family only has one car), and it would be under my dads as the primary driver and he has a no accident record paying around 180 per month for his 02 civic.

[coriolis]

Still looking for a older car with decent millage, how much cheaper would my insurance be if I was a secondary driver (my family only has one car), and it would be under my dads as the primary driver and he has a no accident record paying around 180 per month for his 02 civic.

You're dad is the primary driver for the Civic, then someone else in the household will be the primary driver for the upcoming car, not your dad, does anyone else in the family have a license(G2+)?

[themagekiler]

You're dad is the primary driver for the Civic, then someone else in the household will be the primary driver for the upcoming car, not your dad, does anyone else in the family have a license(G2+)?

I could get my mother but would it be more expensive to insure both of us then me alone?

[Phantasm]

Buying an old beater is a bit of a pig in a bag. You might get away with an inexpensive daily driver that requires minimal repairs, or you could get a car that is on the brink disaster.

Make sure you budget for more than just gas and insurance because you might need it.

[Nukey]

Buying an old beater is a bit of a pig in a bag. You might get away with an inexpensive daily driver that requires minimal repairs, or you could get a car that is on the brink disaster.

Make sure you budget for more than just gas and insurance because you might need it.

+1. There's some luck involved. I know a couple of people who have spent 8-14k on used cars and they run beautifully with minimal maintenance, but I also know a couple who spent a similar amount and have had nothing but trouble. They passed initial inspection with flying colours, but had failure after failure as time passed and they had to spend thousands on repairs. The amount they saved buying used was outweighed by all of the expenses and shortened lifespan. On the other hand, those who have no problems have had significant savings.

If you're buying a beater you're probably not going to want to dump a whole lot of money in to repairs, your game will be "see how long it lasts". But still, you'll probably need to make several hundred dollars in repairs from time to time. Just make sure you have enough to cover any possible repairs, and make sure you know when to say: "No, I'm not going to pay for that repair" and ditch the car.

And +1 on insurance costing a lot more than the car. If I had been the primary driver on a car when I had a G2, before I graduated, my insurance payments would have been higher than the payments on my Mazda3, and that's a new car! Definitely shop around for insurance.

[tabiish]

This might help you a bit.

http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=781858

Good luck.

[ricoboxing]

I could get my mother but would it be more expensive to insure both of us then me alone?

probably won't be. when I was 20, I put my mom as the primary driver and me as the secondary. I paid for both of us and combined it was around $160 a month ($20 for her, $140 for me).

If I was the primary driver, it would be over $200/mo

that was over 10 years ago though.

[scotchtape]

If you are playing the "see how long it will last" game you won't have to spend on anything much more than oil changes.

Of course this is assuming the car you buy is up-to-date on maintenance, no cracking windshield etc.

If you buy a dog of a car... well, all bets are off.

If you actually want to keep your car well maintained, I think a budget of $1K is more realistic - at LEAST...

So many things that could potentially need to be replaced... alternator, new set of tires (at LEAST $400), radiator, head gasket, suspension struts, windshields, muffler, exhaust, oil/coolant leaks, timing belt...

The list goes on. Unfortunately, that is just the way it is. I bought my first car recently. Lucky for me, it is holding up mechanically. $600 for a 1994 Geo Metro. So far I've done one oil change in the last 5 months or so. I think I got a good deal for it! That being said, it could use some (a lot) of work! It also is burning or leaking oil, I have no idea which.

Good luck and have fun! Don't get anything that will be a disaster.