Car owners spend $4,215 on gas, fixes

Car owners in Korea spend an average of 4.62 million won ($4,215) on car maintenance and gas each year, according to survey results from a local consumer group released yesterday, and car costs account for more than 10 percent of all spending for roughly a third of respondents.

In the survey of 882 car owners who drive at least four times a week, respondents set aside an average of 3.04 million won for gas, followed by 656,000 won for parking fees, 628,000 won for car insurance fees, and 298,000 won for car repairs and maintenance such as oil changes.

Of those surveyed by Green Consumer Network, 36.6 percent said spending on cars accounts for 6 to 10 percent of yearly spending, while 23.8 percent said car maintenance fees made up 11 to 15 percent.

The survey also showed that 78 percent think car repair and parts repayment costs are overly expensive and 80 percent think that the difference in prices charged by various auto repair shops is too large.

Yet still, a significant proportion of respondents said they did not devote much attention to automobile repairs.

According to the survey, 39.6 percent of the respondents said they did not even check the details of the car repair after payment.

By Seo Ji-eun [spring@joongang.co.kr]