Monthly motoring costs: maintenance

One of the great advantages of a new car is that any faults that occur outside of the normal service intervals should be covered by the warranty.

And as long as you budget for the main services you've got a good idea of how much it's going to cost you year on year.

How much this will be, of course, depends on the car and the dealership so make sure you ask the sales people what you'll be paying. Service intervals have got longer and longer and all-inclusive service packages like Mini's TLC can represent fantastic value for money, not to mention peace of mind.

Badge snobbery can cost too. Take the previous shape Golf GT Sport TDI 170 and the SEAT Leon FR TDI 170 - two mechanically very similar cars using the same engine and running gear. A cambelt service on the Golf could cost you £500 whereas the SEAT would be £100 less.

But it's not quite as straightforward as that and, as with insurance, it pays to shop around with one VW dealership offering to do the same service at an offer price of £280. Don't be afraid of mentioning this to your service manager either - many will price match if it means keeping you as a regular customer.

Don't forget tyres and brakes are typically counted as consumable items by service departments and if you drive hard or rack up the miles you'll need to replace these more often. Tyres are one area where cutting costs can be a false economy too - safety and longevity rarely as good with budget brands.

Typical monthly cost - £25