The Truth About Cars

It’s easy to get excited about cars! Let’s face it, they can be all things to all people. Whether they’re powerful, sleek, cute, shiney, boisterous or everything in between, there’s a car out there for everyone. A car can be your everyday partner or your weekend indulgent treat.

But ultimately, for almost all of us, a car will be a depreciating asset. In other words, a car will lose you money regardless of how you use it. That’s right, even if you leave a car sat on a drive, away from the elements, just through the passage of time it will lose its value.

This is probably not news to you, but it’s worth reminding ourselves of this at the outset.

There are very rare exceptions to this rule, such as collector’s cars or one-of-a-kind investment pieces, but for 99.99% of cases, a car will depreciate whether you like it or not.

This is not necessarily a bad thing – many of us are happy to pay our hard-earned money for a product that delivers good value for money.

That’s where Miles Better Off comes in. We are all about getting you the best value out of your car experience right from purchase, through its lifetime and beyond.

Many people will make a poor choice when buying and choosing a car due to lack of information. With 7.8 million used car sales in the UK in 2025 alone, that is potentially a lot of money to waste!

At Miles Better Off, we are all about taking informed decisions to bring you reliable motoring at a better cost, for the whole journey.

The problem with motor traders:

Car traders will tell you the headline price. Even worse they will tell you how much it will cost you per month to take out their finance product. They have no interest in giving you reliable information about how much the car will cost to run or how much value it will lose during your ownership.

The problem with car review websites:

Car reviewers will spend a few hours, perhaps a few days with a car in order to tell you how it drives, how much equipment it has or how comfortable it is. Occasionally they will run a ‘long term test’ where they keep a car for a few months.

They might try to comment on the purchase price value.

All of that is useful. But it misses the most important question: what will this car actually cost me to own and run?

What are we here for?

There are many parts to consider in the car ownership journey There is depreciation, insurance, road tax, servicing, tyres, brakes, batteries, timing belts, suspension components and the countless other consumables and mechanical parts that eventually need attention. Fuel or electricity is only one part of the equation.

This is where Miles Better Off comes in.

We look beyond the shiny exterior, the specification sheet and the price on the windscreen. We explore factors such as how a particular engine, gearbox, drivetrain and model are likely to behave as the miles accumulate, what commonly wears out, what maintenance is required and how much those things are likely to cost.

We will look at the cost of powering your car, whether this is with fossil fuels or electricity.

We will explore how your home can be used to provide energy for your motoring and personal consumption.

Join us on a journey through car ownership and energy use, saving money along the way.

“Drive smarter, save money.”