How much does it cost to run a car in the UK?
For a petrol car doing an average 7,000 miles a year, fuel, car tax, insurance and the MOT alone come to about £2,050, or 29p a mile, on official figures from October 2026. Servicing, tyres, repairs and the value the car loses come on top, and for a newer car the last of those is often the biggest.
Updated 31 October 2026 · By Odomint
The worked example
Take a petrol car first registered from 1 April 2017, doing 7,000 miles a year at 45 miles per gallon, with an average insurance premium.
Fuel: 7,000 miles at 45mpg is about 707 litres. At 174p a litre that is about £1,230. Car tax: £200. Insurance: £560. MOT: up to £54.85. Total: about £2,050 a year, which is about £170 a month or 29p a mile.
Change any of the inputs and the answer moves a lot. The same car doing 12,000 miles a year spends about £2,110 on fuel alone. A diesel at October 2026 prices costs more per litre but usually goes further on it.
Fuel
Fuel cost = miles ÷ miles per gallon × 4.546 × price per litre. The 4.546 turns gallons into litres, since UK cars quote miles per gallon but pumps sell by the litre.
In the week of 26 October 2026, the UK average was 174.07p a litre for petrol and 199.22p for diesel, on the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s weekly figures. Prices vary from one forecourt to the next, and since February 2026 every forecourt has to publish its prices, which makes the cheapest one near you easy to find.
For an electric car, cost per mile = price per kWh ÷ miles per kWh. Charging at home on an overnight tariff can cost a few pence a mile. Rapid public chargers can cost more per mile than petrol.
Car tax
Cars first registered from 1 April 2017 pay the standard rate after the first year: £200 a year in one payment, or £210 spread over 12 monthly Direct Debits. Electric cars pay it too.
A car with a list price over £40,000 adds the expensive car supplement of £440 a year for five years, from the second time it is taxed. For electric cars registered from 1 April 2025 the threshold is £50,000. Cars registered between March 2001 and March 2017 are taxed on their CO2 emissions instead.
From April 2028 electric cars will also pay 3p a mile and plug-in hybrids 1.5p, under the new pay-per-mile tax.
Insurance
The average motor insurance premium paid was £560 in the first three months of 2026, according to the Association of British Insurers. Your own figure depends on your age, your record, your postcode and the car, and it can be far from the average in either direction.
MOT, servicing and repairs
The MOT costs up to £54.85 for a car, and many garages charge less. Servicing depends on the car and whether it needs an interim or a full service that year.
Repairs are the hardest cost to predict, but the MOT gives you some warning. Advisories are items the tester thinks you should keep an eye on because they could get worse, so tyre and brake advisories are a fair hint at next year’s bill.
Depreciation
Depreciation is the value the car loses each year. You never see it as a bill, which is why people leave it out, but cars lose value fastest when they are new, so for a young car it can be the biggest cost of all.
To work out yours: take what you paid, subtract what the car is worth now, and divide by the years you have owned it. A valuation from a few dealers or a price guide is enough for this.
Your cost per mile
Add up a year of costs and divide by the miles you drove. If you use the car for work, it is a useful number to hold against HMRC’s approved rate of 55p a mile: if your real cost per mile is lower, a mileage allowance at the approved rate more than covers the car’s running costs on those miles.
Odomint can do the adding up. Premium totals the services, repairs and renewals you log for each car into a cost per mile over the miles they cover, and the free version reminds you before the MOT and car tax are due.
Common questions
How much does it cost to run a car per month in the UK?
For an average petrol car doing 7,000 miles a year, fuel, car tax, insurance and the MOT come to about £170 a month on October 2026 figures, before servicing, repairs and depreciation.
What is the average cost of running a car per mile?
About 29p a mile for fuel, car tax, insurance and the MOT, for a petrol car doing 7,000 miles a year at 45mpg on October 2026 prices. That is before servicing, repairs and depreciation. Your own figure is your yearly costs divided by your yearly miles.
How much is car tax a year?
£200 a year at the standard rate for cars first registered from April 2017, plus £440 a year for five years if the list price was over £40,000 (£50,000 for electric cars).
What is the average car insurance premium in the UK?
£560 in the first quarter of 2026, according to the Association of British Insurers.
Is an electric car cheaper to run?
Usually, if you can charge at home on an overnight tariff. If you rely on rapid public chargers it can cost more per mile than petrol, and from April 2028 electric cars will also pay 3p a mile in eVED.
Check any car before you buy it
MOT history, every advisory and the full mileage record are free for any UK registration. An Odomint Check adds outstanding finance, insurance write-offs, stolen markers and salvage history, with a £10,000 data guarantee.
Sources
Every figure on this page was checked against these on 31 October 2026.
- DESNZ: Weekly road fuel prices
- GOV.UK: Vehicle tax rate tables
- GOV.UK: MOT test fees
- Association of British Insurers: motor premiums, Q1 2026
- HMRC: Travel, mileage and fuel rates and allowances