What would you give up to keep your car on the road?

By Helen Gradwell

Research by MoneySupermarket.com has found that 33% of motorists 'couldn't live' without their vehicles - and another 31% would find life more difficult. People clearly love their cars, as 53% see them as an extension of the owner's personality.

So it's perhaps unsurprising that 70% of motorists are willing to cut back in other areas of life to keep their cars on the road. As the cost of running a car increases (such as fuel and insurance), people are cutting back more and more.

Typical sacrifices that people make for their cars include buying fewer clothes/shoes (34%), socialising less (33%), spending less on cigarettes and alcohol (28%), visiting the pub less often (26%), and spending less on holidays (26%).

Car insurance expert at MoneySupermarket.com, Pete Harrison, said: "The cost of motoring is an increasingly hot topic, and with the price of fuel recently hitting record highs, it continues to put additional pressures on household finances."

He added, however, that MoneySupermarket have recently found that:
"the cost of car insurance has fallen by 10.6 per cent in the last year, with average premiums now £478. There are, however, no guarantees that this downward trend will continue, so motorists should be extra vigilant when looking to trim the cost of running their car. Shopping around for cover may make a real difference to the price you're initially quoted. Compare prices in order to get the best saving on a policy that suits your needs."

Image © xalanx - Fotolia

Tags: MoneySupermarket, car insurance

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