First car owners' costs

Insurance, registration, dealer delivery costs and stamp duty are the expensive - and unavoidable - extras that can blow out your budget by up to $6000 over the price of the car.

If you are buying a luxury car valued at more than $57,123, there will be a luxury car tax that is charged at 33 per cent above that figure.

Costs will vary enormously depending on what you buy, where you live, how far you drive and your age and driving record. But as a guide, the RACQ estimates that a small car costs about $180 a week to run, inclusive of servicing, insurance, fuel and depreciation.

Registration

The car's annual licence fee and number plate cost. Prepare to pay even more for a personalised plate. Average annual cost: $200 plus $25 for the number plate.

CTP Insurance

Mandatory personal injury insurance that does not cover property. Varies between states and is sometimes inclusive in the registration fee or can be purchased separately from an insurance company. Average annual cost: $300.

Stamp duty

Varies state by state but generally is about 3 per cent of the purchase price. That's expensive. One-off cost: $750 ($25,000 car). Dealer delivery: Varies dependent on the car model and the dealer but don't think cheap cars necessarily have the cheapest delivery costs. Charges are for dealer preparation (basically transport, cleaning and checking) One-off Cost: $2200 average*.

Insurance

Varies widely according to the type of car and the status of the owner. Young owners, aged under 25 years, face a much bigger bill until they show a clean accident-free record. First time youngsters can be charged around $3000 a year while more mature (30-plus) drivers with an accident free record can get insurance on a $25,000 car at around $800 a year. Average annual cost: $800.

Servicing

New cars have warranty periods from three years to five years. The first service at 1000km is free and then charged after that. Most car makers want a twice yearly service schedule. A rough average is $250 per minor service (that is, $500 a year) and $500 for a major service. Many carmakers have fixed-price servicing for the warranty period. Ford has a fixed-price schedule of seven services from new to 105,000km and costing $255-$385 each. Toyota also has a scheme that costs no more than $130 for the first four services. Average annual  cost: $500 (non-fixed service).

* Data from RACQ. Costs are averaged across Australia. Some states may charge more.