If you plan to buy a car, then you will need to think about how much it is going to cost you not only upfront, but in the time that follows. Unless you buy the car outright, you will presumably need to put money toward it with each month that passes. However, even if you purchase the vehicle outright, you still need to think about maintenance, insurance, and gas. By visiting a used car dealer, you should be able to get a sound idea of how much it will cost you on a monthly basis to own the vehicle. Let us take a closer look at what budgeting for a car of your own will look like.
Budgeting The Cost of Vehicle Payments Per Month
First, we should mention that the cost of a vehicle per month will vary dramatically depending on several factors. If you buy one brand-new, for instance, and you financed it, then it will naturally cost more than if you bought it used.
However, for the sake of this article, let us assume that you bought a used car. The average cost of a payment per month for a used car is about $520. Again, you will probably pay more or less depending on factors like how much money you put down at the time of purchase.
The Cost of Maintenance Per Year
For budgeting, unless you have a car that is practically falling apart, you should not have to pay anything for maintenance per month. Instead, you can look at that as more of a yearly thing, as you will presumably want to get the vehicle inspected once per year.
You might expect to pay $800-$1,200 per year in maintenance fees for a used car. If it needs major repairs at any point, then this will presumably go up.
The Cost of Gas Per Month
When budgeting you need to think about gas per month, this will change if you have a fully electric vehicle or a hybrid. If we assume that you have a used car that runs strictly on gas, though, that will cost you about $270 per year. This assumes that you’re driving the vehicle about 15,000 miles per year.
That comes out to about $22.50 per month. As gas prices go up or down and you drive the car either more or less, this can fluctuate.
The Cost of Insurance Per Month
The cost of insurance for a used car per month is about $123-$150. Again, you have to look at the vehicle make and model, how old it is, and several other factors to determine exactly the number you’re looking at for an insurance policy.
If you add up these numbers, you should start to get an idea of what you will be looking at per month or year if you buy a used car. If you can buy it outright, though, that at least eliminates the monthly payment that takes up so much of these sorts of calculations.
