GEN Z DRIVEN TO CUT COSTS
Cost-of-living pressures are destroying a right of passage for a generation of Aussies.
As the cost of groceries, mortgages, rent and petrol continue to rise there is a surprising way people are cutting costs to add some breathing room to their household budget.
Exclusive data from comparison site Finder shows Gen Z – those under the age of 26 – are doing away with car ownership as they are priced out of the market.
The research found if your car sits in the garage unused most days it might be time to ditch it for costeffective alternatives.
“With the rise of services that allow you to rent a car when you need one – like Goget and Uber Carshare – the importance of having a car for those who don’t drive much is no longer as pressing,” Finder’s Taylor Blackburn said.
Lauren Jager, 34, a finance worker from Sydney, hasn’t owned a car in four years. Ms Jager says she has saved thousands of dollars by using Goget in that time.
“I’ve used it more over the summer holidays as I’ve gone more places, but usually I use it about once a month,” she said.
Ms Jager said she usually hired a car for 24 hours, which cost about $100 including fuel and insurance. She said the convenience was hard to beat but hasn’t ruled out owning a car again.
“I’ve never had any trouble getting one everywhere I’ve lived,” she said. “There are five or six within walking distance from my house.” “There’s also light rail, buses and trains close by and you don’t have to worry about parking. “Eventually I ’ d buy a car, but probably not until I moved out of the inner city.”
Research shows about one in five young people don’t own a car and two main reasons are upfront costs and the expense to maintain. “For some young people, owning a car is too big of a financial commitment to get from A to B,” Mr Blackburn said. “When you factor in parking, tolls, rego, insurance, petrol and repairs, many are turning to less permanent solutions.”
Car makers are adding fuel to the fire by ditching sub-$20,000 new cars in favour of more expensive, fully loaded high-riding SUVS.
Big names such as Ford, Honda, Hyundai and Toyota have either jettisoned their cheapest vehicles or raised the price of their entry-level models substantially in the past few years.
New-car supply issues have also killed discounting, with most cars now sold at full price.
Car running costs have jumped significantly in the past year as the price of petrol, tolls and insurance rose.
The most recent new-car running costs report from the Royal Automobile Club of Queensland shows the cheapest new car to own and run is the Chinese MG3 small hatchback at $841.38 a month.
This figure includes loan repayments, registration, insurance, servicing, tyres and petrol.
Some of the country’s most popular vehicles such as the Toyota Hilux ute and Toyota RAV4 SUV cost more than $1600 and $1200 a month respectively.