Owning a car costs the average Australian $7,232 every year – but with the average owner also indicating they spend less than four hours a week driving, it raises the question: “Do we really need it?”
Research commissioned by car-sharing service Popcar has revealed that more than half of Australians (52 per cent) consider car ownership a financial burden, and are consequently worried about the financial pressure of running a car.
Dr Parvinder Kler, director of the Sustainable Energy Policy Cluster at Griffith University, said the research showed that many Australians feel a heavy financial burden with the car upkeep and would prefer to save the worry and money associated with car ownership.
“But it’s often a habit that is hard to break,” he conceded.
“Australians chose car ownership for the freedom and convenience to get around – from the grocery shopping to driving to work.”
Eight in 10 Australians purchased a car for the convenience of getting around easily, despite only using their car for less than four hours per week.
“In reality, Australians are wasting a lot of money on their cars when comparing the cost against how short the amount of time that people spend driving their cars,” Dr Kler said.
He considered another factor that puts some people under financial pressure “is not realising the ongoing, long-term costs of owning a car before purchasing one”.
According to the research results, more than one in three Australians do not consider the long-term costs of owning and maintaining a car before purchasing one, which could in turn be impacting on their disposable income.
The research director said this is “easily done with the high and fluctuating price of fuel or unexpected maintenance costs for instance”.
Three in four (75 per cent) of the respondents surveyed said they want to be able to put more money into saving for the future or going on a holiday (70 per cent).
“Getting rid of your car is the easiest and fastest way to make some noticeably big savings on a yearly and even daily basis,” Dr Kler offered.
“There are many alternatives to traditional car ownership, which are convenient and cheaper, but there is still work to be done to change the concept of car ownership.”
The research revealed that the most common car trips are for grocery shopping (71 per cent), commuting to work (50 per cent), or socialising with friends and family (43 per cent).
Twenty-five per cent of respondents also perceived car ownership to be a sign of success, an attitude more prevalent among older Australians.
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