How to budget for your vehicle registration

At Premium Mechanical Services, we perform lots of vehicle inspections in Brisbane and one of the topics that is popular right now is the cost of running a car. Everything from the cost of your purchase, to services, insurances and car registrations can add up to a lot of money over a 12-month period.

When you consider rising prices and the cost of living as well, many people are doing it tough. It is a fact of life today that many families struggle to make ends meet, let alone paying for car registrations. In the course of performing vehicle inspections in Brisbane, we realised that most car owners don’t realise that you can pay your car registration with instalments, rather than in one hit.

Set a budget

You can download various online budget calculators and spreadsheets to help you work out your monthly and annual expenses. Then work out how much each item costs when reduced to a weekly figure, and round it up slightly. This will help you set aside this amount of money every week, and leave you with a remaining budget that you can spend each week.

Also, always remember to over-estimate expenses and under-estimate income. Rounding figures up and down in this fashion will give you that extra bit of buffer.

Make your car registration payments easier

A quick look on the internet has come up with two easy ways for you to pay your car registration with instalments.

Option 1

The first way, which is the most popular strategy when I discuss the topic with customers during their vehicle inspections in Brisbane, is with Australia Post. All you need to do is to go to the Post Office and apply for a Registration Payment Card. You can actually ring the DTMR if you prefer, and they will mail you an application form. You also need to provide the Post Office with a copy of your current registration and an ID, for example your Driver’s Licence.

You will receive a payment card from the DTMR in the post within 4 to 6 weeks and you can use it to make as many advance payments as you want, at any of the Posts in Queensland (minimum payment is $40). This is the preferred method for most of my customers, when we talk about it during vehicle inspections in Brisbane.

Option 2

The second method is to use an online company (forgetreg.com.au), where you sign up for a direct debit for your car registration, pay them your money in instalments and then they pay your registration for you when it is due. Not everyone likes this second method, but it is an option.

Call us on 0422 156 277 and don’t forget to ask us about our vehicle inspections in Brisbane.