Auto costs: Car driving is really that expensive for all of us

Driving is more expensive than you think - for the whole society.That is the result of a current study on the "true" car costs in Germany.

If you have a car, of course, you also have certain costs.This includes not only the purchase price or the fuel, but also costs for insurance, maintenance or repairs.But in addition, driving costs us all much more than we think, and as a society.

This is the result of a study that has dealt with the real and hidden costs of driving in Germany.Accordingly, a single car costs society up to 5.000 euros annually.These are costs that do not bear owners: we all wear themselves, but all, no matter whether we drive a car or not.

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Auto: Costs for the Environment and Society

The study, "The Lifetime Cost of Driving A Car" (roughly: the lifelong costs of car driving) has been published in the specialist magazine Ecological Economics.In the core of the study, the question of what the real costs of a car in Germany are.

And this includes not only the costs that are directly connected to the vehicle ownership, but also social costs.

This is about the lifetime that we waste in traffic jams or the health costs caused by air pollution or accidents.The fact that cars take a lot of space is also a social cost point, as well as noise pollution and of course the negative effects on the climate.

Many car travelers are not aware of these (hidden) costs of their vehicle.However, according to the researchers, clarification about the true costs of a car can also cause more people to rethink the purchase of a car.

This is how the real costs for a car are calculated

To find out what a car in Germany really costs, a team of researchers has: inside from Germany, Sweden, Norway and Canada analyzed the price models of three different cars.

For this, the authors have chosen a small car, a compact car and an SUV and used the most popular model in Germany from each class: an Opel Corsa, a VW Golf and a Mercedes GLC.

The scientists are the basis for the calculations: inside of an annual number of kilometers of 15.000 kilometers and a lifespan of 50 years for a car.Then they defined 33 different cost categories.

Society subsidizes every car with around 5.000 euros per year

These include the private costs for car owners: inside such as the purchase price, insurance, loss of value, oil change, tire change, car wash, control, parking fees and much more.

In addition, however, there are the social costs.These range from car accidents and street repairs to emissions and resource consumption to space problems.With all these costs, the study comes to the following result:

An Opel Corsa would be 599 with all social and private expenditure in a driver life.082 euros cost.The VW Golf would be 653.561 euros and the Mercedes GLC at 956.798 euros.Of course, many of these expenses are eliminated by the car owners: inside.

But socially we also bear part of the costs.At the Opel Corsa, society subsidizes the car with 41 percent, or 4.674 euros per year.With the Golf it is 38 percent or 4.755 euros annually and at the Mercedes GLC 29 percent or 5.273 euros every year.

We have these expenses through the social effects of the car driving regardless of whether we have a car ourselves or not.For comparison: an annual ticket for the public transport costs an average of 930 euros in a big city.

Making cars more expensive brings cost advantages

It is important to be aware of these problems and the hidden costs, according to the study.Because in discussions about CO2 taxations or rising fuel prices, resistance is often stored.The counter argument against such measures: This would primarily burden households with lower incomes.

But what many do not consider: if driving would also be more expensive for private individuals, this would have many advantages, especially for poorer sections of the population.Anyone who goes on foot or rides a bike is fitter and also benefits in health in the long term.

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Fewer emissions and car noise would also have a positive impact on our health.At the same time, we would win more lifetime if we were not in the traffic jam every day.And children would certainly also benefit if the playground would not have to give way to a new parking garage.

All of this would bring many savings for both governments and for private individuals.But in addition, it would also have an advantage that is difficult to measure in money: it would improve the quality of life.

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