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

A second car is often the most expensive thing on the driveway that barely moves. Here's what it keeps costing you, what it actually does, and when a scooter can do the job instead.

What a second car really costs

Keeping a car on the road costs about £515 a month with a typical car loan: about £226 in repayments, plus about £289 in running costs. Most of that you never see at the pump:

A smaller second car costs less, but the insurance and VED still arrive every month. Our calculator adds up your own numbers in a minute.

What it actually does all day

Second cars tend to do the short stuff, and usually with one person in them: the office across town, the shop, the gym, the errands.

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 short and solo, your second car is a very expensive way to carry one person and four empty seats.

Where a scooter does the job

A scooter takes the short trips you make on your own. It folds into the hallway, charges at home and parks right next to you.

• The shop and errands: the KuKirin G2 has an 800 W motor, about 19 miles realistic range and folds to store, from £418.
• The office across town: the KuKirin G2 Max has a 1000 W motor, front and rear suspension and about 24 miles realistic range, £547.
• Longer trips and hills: the KuKirin G4 has about 25 miles realistic range and climbs slopes up to 30°, £703.

How to decide

• Note every trip the second car makes for a week, with the distance and who was in it.
• Count the short ones you made on your own. Those are scooter trips.
• Put your car's bills into our calculator and see what's left over.