Do you really need a second car? An honest look at the numbers

A second car is the most expensive thing on most Irish driveways that barely moves. Here's what it costs, what it actually does, and when an eBike can do the job instead.

What a second car really costs

Keeping an average car on the road costs about €608 a month with a typical car loan: about €266 in repayments, plus about €342 in running costs before depreciation (OUTsurance Ireland, 2025). Most of that you never see at the pump:

Source: OUTsurance Ireland, 2025, based on a 2024 Hyundai Tucson; running costs excluding depreciation, €4,099 a year, shown per month and rounded. Loan: average car loan €13,233 (BPFI, Q1 2026) repaid over 5 years at 7.7% APR, about €266 a month. A smaller second car costs less, but the insurance, tax and NCT still arrive every month.

What it actually does all day

Second cars tend to do the short stuff: the school gate, the shop, the gym. That matches the national picture. CSO travel data shows more than 1 in 3 car journeys driven in Ireland are under 4 km.

Those are exactly the trips where a car is at its worst: cold engine, a queue at the lights, a hunt for parking at the other end.

If most of its trips are under 4 km, your second car is a very expensive bicycle with a roof.

Where an eBike does the job

Pedal assist takes the effort out of distance and hills, so a 5 or 10 km trip stops feeling like exercise. And because a pedal-assist eBike is treated like a bicycle in Ireland, there's no motor tax, licence, NCT or compulsory insurance.

• School run: cargo eBikes take child seats and the bags.
• Commuting: step-through commuter bikes, park at the door.
• Errands: folding eBikes that live in the hallway.

How to decide

• Note every trip the second car makes for a week, with the distance.
• Count how many are under 10 km. Those are eBike trips.
• Book a free test ride to feel how the bike rides.