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These are the cheapest cities to own a car in the UK - where does your home town feature?

Lizzie Parr

Lizzie Parr

PR Manager

It’s no secret that owning a car can be a big financial commitment. Beyond the cost of simply purchasing your dream car and any associated car finance payments, motorists also need to budget for all the other running costs that come with owning a vehicle.

With two-thirds of motorists (69%) agreeing that car ownership is getting more expensive,1 we wanted to understand how your location might impact car-related costs and find out just how much everything from insurance and fuel costs to regular servicing and an MOT can vary between cities.

To do this, we analysed the major UK cities to find out which is the cheapest overall for motorists. We chose to compare the average cost of fuel, the cost of insurance for a young driver, typical servicing costs and the price of getting an MOT to give us a clearer view of how much it really costs to own a car in each of these cities. We specifically looked at the cost of young driver insurance as it is typically the highest premium motorists will pay.

 Take a look at what we found below – how does your city compare?

The cheapest UK cities for drivers

#CityRegionTypical Fuel Price (per litre)Car Insurance Average (18-24 y/o)Typical Service CostTypical MOT CostPoints Score Total (/100)
1PlymouthSouth West£1.42£1,714.21£132.00£28.0093
2DurhamNorth East£1.43£1,966.55£135.00£30.0086
3BelfastNorthern Ireland£1.45£1,359.12£152.00£38.0081
4DerryNorthern Ireland£1.49£1,359.12£155.00£28.0081
5DerbyEast Midlands£1.42£1,964.62£192.00£30.0079
6ExeterSouth West£1.42£1,714.21£192.00£35.0078
7NorwichEast£1.43£2,030.26£160.00£34.0077
8InvernessScotland£1.43£1,907.56£199.00£30.0077
9LeicesterEast Midlands£1.44£1,964.62£186.00£29.0077
10Stoke-on-TrentWest Midlands£1.42£2,392.30£175.00£28.0077

Cheapest cities in England for motorists

According to our research, Plymouth is the cheapest city for motorists not only in England but across the whole of the UK. With a seven-point lead on second-place Durham – the research suggests that regionality is less important to the cost of driving than specific city locations.  

  1. Plymouth
  2. Durham
  3. Derby
  4. Exeter
  5. Norwich
  6. Leicester
  7. Stoke-on-Trent
  8. Sheffield
  9. Lincoln
  10. Sunderland

Unsurprisingly, London was the most expensive city for motorists in the whole of the UK. Young drivers in London could expect to pay £2,811.38 on average for their insurance – almost £700 more than the national average.

Cheapest cities in Scotland for motorists

We found that motorists in Inverness paid less to stay on the road than motorists in other parts of Scotland. More rural than other cities in Scotland, we wouldn’t have expected car owners in Inverness to benefit from some of the lowest fuel costs across the country – but according to our research, they do. Servicing costs in the city were at the higher end of the scale at £199 on average.

Surprisingly, Scotland’s capital ranked second. Despite being known for having more expensive living costs than other parts of the country, motorists in Edinburgh don’t seem to be disproportionately impacted.  

  1.  Inverness
  2. Edinburgh
  3. Glasgow
  4. Perth
  5. Stirling
  6. Dunfermline
  7. Dundee
  8. Aberdeen

Unfortunately for young drivers in Scotland, insurance premiums tended to be higher than for other regions in the UK – coming out at £1,907.56 on average, 4% higher than in Wales and a whopping 29% higher than the average cost in Northern Ireland. The only region with higher average insurance fees is England, where young motorists can expect to spend £2,117.29 on average.

Cheapest cities in Wales for motorists

Good news for motorists in both Swansea and Newport, as they were found to both be equally as cheap for motorists – scoring towards the lower end of the scale for fuel costs and offering affordable MOTs.

Although fuel prices in Newport were 2p a litre cheaper than in Swansea, motorists could expect to spend £17 more on average for servicing costs. In general, Wales tended to benefit from lower fuel prices in general.

  1. Swansea
  2. Newport
  3. Wrexham
  4. Bangor
  5. Cardiff

Cheapest cities in Northern Ireland for motorists

Northern Ireland has the cheapest car insurance premiums for younger drivers across the UK – with an average yearly cost of £1,359.12.

Our research revealed that Derry and Belfast were the cheapest cities for car ownership in Northern Ireland – and came in at position three and four in the UK ranking.

  1. Derry
  2. Belfast
  3. Newry
  4. Lisburn

Cost of driving in all cities

CityRegionTypical Fuel Price (per litre)Car Insurance Average (18-24 y/o)Typical Service CostTypical MOT CostPoints Score Total (/100)
PlymouthSouth West1.421714.21132.0028.0093
DurhamNorth East1.431966.55135.0030.0086
DerryNorthern Ireland1.491359.12155.0028.0081
BelfastNorthern Ireland1.451359.12152.0038.0081
DerbyEast Midlands1.421964.62192.0030.0079
ExeterSouth West1.421714.21192.0035.0078
InvernessScotland1.431907.56199.0030.0077
LeicesterEast Midlands1.441964.62186.0029.0077
Stoke-on-TrentWest Midlands1.422392.30175.0028.0077
NorwichEast1.432030.26160.0034.0077
SheffieldYorkshire and the Humber1.432327.01175.0030.0074
NewryNorthern Ireland1.451359.12255.0030.0073
GlasgowScotland1.461907.56162.0034.0073
LisburnNorthern Ireland1.481359.12162.0038.0073
EdinburghScotland1.481907.56124.0034.0073
BradfordYorkshire and the Humber1.432327.01189.0028.0072
SunderlandNorth East1.461966.55180.0031.0072
DoncasterYorkshire and the Humber1.422327.01173.0034.0072
LincolnEast Midlands1.461964.62152.0035.0072
NewportWales1.431835.09212.0035.0070
SalisburySouth West1.421714.21199.0043.0070
NottinghamEast Midlands1.441964.62195.0035.0070
SwanseaWales1.451835.09188.0035.0070
PerthScotland1.461907.56142.0040.0070
WrexhamWales1.461835.09213.0030.0069
PortsmouthSouth East1.422105.06211.0035.0069
LancasterNorth West1.432297.97210.0030.0068
CanterburySouth East1.442105.06199.0034.0068
DunfermlineScotland1.431907.56195.0040.0068
PrestonNorth West1.422297.97193.0035.0068
YorkYorkshire and the Humber1.422327.01187.0037.0068
WakefieldYorkshire and the Humber1.432327.01186.0034.0068
GloucesterSouth West1.491714.21176.0032.0068
StirlingScotland1.471907.56144.0038.0068
ChesterNorth West1.432297.97207.0032.0067
Kingston upon HullYorkshire and the Humber1.442327.01174.0035.0067
GuildfordSouth East1.442105.06229.0031.0066
BangorWales1.431835.09215.0038.0066
CarlisleNorth West1.432297.97207.0033.0066
BirminghamWest Midlands1.462392.30185.0030.0066
DundeeScotland1.431907.56200.0045.0063
ChelmsfordEast1.442030.26233.0036.0062
Milton KeynesSouth East1.442105.06209.0038.0062
BathSouth West1.471714.21195.0040.0062
BournemouthSouth West1.481714.21189.0038.0062
WolverhamptonWest Midlands1.462392.30181.0035.0062
St AlbansEast1.482030.26217.0030.0061
ColchesterEast1.462030.26201.0039.0061
HerefordWest Midlands1.492392.30150.0033.0061
PeterboroughEast1.442030.26241.0036.0060
WorcesterWest Midlands1.462392.30213.0033.0059
ManchesterNorth West1.462297.97188.0037.0059
LiverpoolNorth West1.462297.97203.0036.0057
AberdeenScotland1.471907.56200.0041.0057
Riponyorkshire and the Humber1.452327.01194.0040.0057
CoventryWest Midlands1.462392.30192.0040.0055
ReadingSouth East1.482105.06230.0034.0054
CardiffWales1.491835.09209.0038.0054
BrightonSouth East1.492105.06220.0035.0053
BristolSouth West1.481714.21237.0042.0052
SouthamptonSouth East1.472105.06210.0041.0052
TruroSouth West1.461714.21228.0050.0050
ElyEast1.422030.26225.0055.0050
ChichesterSouth East1.482105.06222.0039.0050
WinchesterSouth East1.492105.06205.0040.0050
Newcastle upon TyneNorth East1.461966.55180.0055.0050
CambridgeEast1.482030.26225.0046.0045
LeedsYorkshire and the Humber1.532327.01187.0035.0045
Southend-on-SeaEast1.532030.26230.0040.0038
OxfordSouth East1.522105.06286.0036.0035
LondonGreater London1.522811.38224.0050.0019

Tips for reducing your monthly car costs

No matter where you live, motorists should be making sure that they aren’t overpaying for driving-related expenses to help keep running costs as low as possible. To help with this, we’ve pulled together some of our top tips:

Shop around for insurance

When renewing your car insurance, make sure to shop around and compare prices a few weeks before your renewal date rather than just letting your insurance auto-renew. In many cases, the price offered by your current insurer isn’t the most competitive.

With research suggesting that the best time to buy car insurance is around three weeks before you need to renew, spending a little bit of time shopping around could save you hundreds of pounds each year.2 If you can afford it, paying your car insurance upfront at the start of the year can also avoid any additional interest that you’d need to pay on top of your insurance premium.

Be selective with what finance agreement you opt for

When it comes to purchasing a car, there are a number of different payment methods for you to consider. Paying for your car outright is the easiest way to avoid paying any interest but isn’t a realistic option for many motorists. 

For car finance, the two most popular options are Hire Purchase (HP) and Personal Contract Purchase (PCP). While both have their benefits, it’s important to make sure you are going for the option that is best for your needs and that you are checking you’re opting for the best agreement terms you can.

With Hire Purchase (HP) you’ll pay back the full value of your vehicle over your finance agreement, so you’ll own your car outright at the end. HP has higher monthly payments than Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) finance, where you only pay off a portion of a car’s value within the agreement and have an optional final payment to pay or refinance at the end if you want to keep the car.

If you like to change your car every few years and want to make your monthly budget go further, PCP is a great option. It helps keep your monthly payments as low as possible and allows you to roll any positive equity into a new PCP agreement when your current one ends.

However, if you plan to keep your vehicle long-term and own it outright, HP will have a lower total cost in exchange for a higher monthly payment. Read our guides on both PCP and HP to compare each finance option and decide what would work best for you.

Maintain your car to reduce repair costs

Keeping your car in good health can lead to less unexpected repairs in the long run. You should make sure you are getting your car serviced in line with the manufacturer’s recommendations and not ignoring any warning lights or signs of disrepair which could get worse.

Look for fuel-efficient cars

Fuel-efficient cars can save you a decent amount in the long term, as they maximise the fuel you put in to give you more value for your money. They may have smaller engines, but this can be worth it to keep your monthly running costs down.

Looking for your next car? Take a look at our car finance options onsite.

Methodology:

All major UK cities were used for this research. Carrying out extensive desk research, we used a range of data sources to compile our index:

Each category was scored relatively between their highest and lowest scores, where equal maximum points were awarded for each category (25 per category). The four category scores were combined to give us the overall index scores – the lower the cost, the more points awarded. This determined the total score on a 100 scale.

Fuel costs were averaged across both petrol and diesel prices. Where MOT prices are £55 this figure is rounded up from the legal maximum cost of £54.85. Service and MOT costs used were the average annual costs per motorist.

All data is correct as of August 2024. 

  1. Research conducted by SurveyGoo on behalf of Motorpoint with a sample of 2,010 UK car owners, who had sold or changed their car in the last five years (since the start of 2018). Data was collected in September 2023. All statistics and findings have been rounded to the nearest whole number.  A full data set is available on request.
  2. Research carried out by Money Saving Expert - https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/insurance/car-insurance/when-to-renew/


Contacts

For all media enquiries please contact

PR Manager: Lizzie Parr

Email: lizzie.parr@motorpoint.co.uk

Notes to editors

  • Motorpoint is the UK’s largest independent retailer of nearly new and used cars.
  • Founded in 1998, Motorpoint has 20 store locations across Great Britain, as well as giving customers the chance to browse and buy through the website.
  • Motorpoint has stores in Birmingham, Birtley, Burnley, Castleford, Chingford, Coventry, Derby, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Ipswich, Manchester, Maidstone, Newport, Oldbury, Peterborough, Portsmouth, Sheffield, Stockton-on-Tees, Swansea and Widnes.
  • Motorpoint has two preparation centres based in Motherwell and Peterborough.
  • Motorpoint is the UK’s largest independent retailer of nearly new and used cars.
  • Founded in 1998, Motorpoint has 20 store locations across Great Britain, as well as giving customers the chance to browse and buy through the website.
  • Motorpoint has stores in Birmingham, Birtley, Burnley, Castleford, Chingford, Coventry, Derby, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Ipswich, Manchester, Maidstone, Newport, Oldbury, Peterborough, Portsmouth, Sheffield, Stockton-on-Tees, Swansea and Widnes.
  • Motorpoint has two preparation centres based in Motherwell and Peterborough.
  • All news is correct at the time of posting.