Car Next Door car expense calculator highlights how much Australians blow on their car

When Nick and Maddie made the move from Adelaide to Sydney, extra expenses made them realise they needed to save money fast.

When Nick Jungfer, 27, and his partner Maddie Rhodes, 26, made the move from Adelaide to Sydney in December 2019, their cost of living jumped dramatically and they knew they needed to find a way to save.

The couple realised they no longer needed their two cars in Sydney and would instead get around on public transport, cycling and walking.

“When we moved to Sydney we were looking at paying almost double the rent we were previously paying and we needed to find different ways that we could save money. It just made sense to ditch the cars, which we couldn’t afford anyway,” Nick said.

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Maddie and Nick realised they didn’t need cars when they moved to Sydney which enabled them to save money. Picture: Supplied

After selling their two cars, Nick and Maddie ended up with enough extra cash in their pockets to buy a new laptop, pay for a trip to Europe – which was unfortunately cancelled due to COVID – and save up a deposit for a home.

After doing some calculations, they realised they had shelled out more than $70,000 in the four years Maddie had owned her car and the two Nick had owned during this time.

The amount was based on a cost calculator by car sharing site Car Next Door that works out the average costs Australians are spending on their vehicles.

It tracks car expenses such as registration, service bills, insurance, parking and depreciation.

The couple saved more than $70,000 after they sold their two cars. Picture: Supplied

The calculator works out what you actually spend on your car, comparing it to what else that money could have been used for.

For Nick and Maddie, they discovered they were paying $3100 a year just for parking.

“Selling our cars was the best decision we could make. It just feels like cars just bleed so much money, even if you don’t use it that much,” Nick said.

“Since we got rid of the cars we were able to purchase a new laptop, a trip to Europe and even saved enough for a deposit on a house.”

Nick and Maddie had extra cash in their pockets to buy a new laptop, pay for a holiday and save up a deposit for a home. Picture: Supplied

The couple purchased the two cars for $21,000 and calculated that they drove 27,000km a year. Combined, their services set them back $2500 a year, insurance and registration each $1400 a year, tyres $1200 a year and a whopping $3100 a year was spent on parking.

According to the Car Next Door calculator, the $70,679 they saved could also pay for a flat white coffee every day for the next 48 years or could pay for two Bachelor of Law degrees. It’s also enough money to pay for almost three years of professional childcare or 215 return flights between Sydney and Byron Bay.

Car Next Door CEO Will Davies said it’s been a real eye-opener to see how much money is wasted on cars. Source: Supplied.

The Car Next Door calculator reveals Aussies are spending significantly more on their cars than they thought, while many Australians aren’t sure how much they are spending on their car each year.

Car Next Door CEO and founder Will Davies says it’s been a real eye-opener on how much money Australians spend on owning and running a car.

“Cars are one of the biggest expenses we have and when you look at all the outgoings like registration, fuel, insurance, tolls and depreciations, they quickly become a huge financial burden,” he said.

More Aussies are signing up to Car Next Door. Picture: Supplied

“The amount of money spent on cars that are parked 95 per cent of the time is just mind-blowing,” he added.

“We end up enslaving ourselves to these vehicles.”

Car Next Door has reported a 245 per cent increase in customers during the pandemic as Australians look for ways to save on their expenses. Currently there are more than 12,000 people joining the platform every month.

“Months of working from home and hybrid work situations along with rising costs of car ownership, financial pressure and economic uncertainty has been a big motivator for this change,” Mr Davies added.