Motoring costs fall in September

Official figures for September show that plummeting used car prices brought down the overall cost of motoring, while pump price cuts gave much-needed relief to drivers suffering rising costs elsewhere. The only notable increase felt by owners this month is a rise in insurance premiums.

Car buying

Secondhand car values continue to tumble as dealers slash prices in a bid to tempt hard-up buyers to part with their cash. Prices have fallen 2.1 per cent since August and a whopping 8.9 per cent in a year. This means that in relative terms, the cost of buying a vehicle is at its lowest for more than 20 years - good news for buyers, bad news for owners looking to sell.

It’s a different story for the price of motorcycles, as costs to buy one shot up by 4.8 per cent in a month. This indicates a growing trend to take the two-wheel option as drivers look for cheaper ways to travel.

Fuel

Drivers also benefitted from cheaper fuel at filling stations in September, prompted by the cheaper price of oil on the world market. The average price of petrol decreased by 1.7 pence in a month, while the cost of diesel fell by 2.3 pence.

However, the figures do not take the recent petrol and diesel reductions in October into account, while Gordon Brown has since called for a further price drop.

Insurance costs up

It’s not all good news for drivers, with car insurance premiums increasing by 2.7% and maintenance costs up by 0.7%.

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