The average British motorist will clock up a staggering 556,764 miles, fork out £168,880, have 1,935 rows – and 2,709 episodes of road rage in a lifetime.
That’s according to new research from car hire company company autoeurope.co.uk, who studied 2,000 UK motorists, revealing some very interesting stats. According to the research, a typical driver will spend nearly £70k on fuel over the course of their lives. They will also rack up a bill of £40k on MOTs, servicing and repairs – and will splash out £9,404 on parking.
The poll found on average, drivers will spend 7 hours a week in their vehicles, clocking 166 miles a week on average - 556,764 in a lifetime – the equivalent to 22 times around the earth.
The study also showed drivers will honk their car horn 2,399 times, will endure 1,470 games of eye spy, give 7,740 kisses goodbye and will visit the drive thru 2,012 times. Nearly 7,000 cups of coffee will get consumed in the car along with 4,953 sandwiches with drivers stopping off at a drive-thru fast food restaurant 2,012 times.
A spokesman for autoeurope.co.uk said: “The burden of car ownership is hitting drivers hard and our research proves that running a car is a huge financial commitment. What you spend on repairs and fuel costs alone could buy you a home in most parts of the UK, not to mention tax and insurance.
The poll also revealed British drivers are likely to spend £436 per year on their annual car insurance and £180 per year on car hire on their annual holiday. The typical Brit has a car worth £12,919 and every family owns 1.6 vehicles as an average.
In a normal month, most surveyed will make a mess of a parking manoeuvre 3.5 times or a whopping 2,709 times from the age of 17 to 81. In that time, drivers will also clip the curb 1,702 times, suffer from 1,006 scratches and scrapes and be involved in 2,709 incidents of road rage.
But it’s not all doom and gloom as we will sing along to the radio 7,817 times in our driving lifetime. Female drivers will also apply their make-up 3,637 times when they are behind the wheel. Car supplies like screen wash and air freshener will cost us just under £2,000 and proud car owners will wash their car 2089 times in their life.
The autoeurope.co.uk spokesman added: “It’s also amazing to consider what the average car goes through in that seven hours a week we are spending in them.