Annual running costs for second-hand cars are now higher than those for new vehicles.

Motorists now need to spend an average of £2,744 a year to run a used car, compared with £2,219 for a new model, a cost-of-motoring index from the RAC showed.

One of the main reasons for the discrepancy is that annual maintenance costs for used vehicles average £787, compared with £366 for new models.

The new car annual running cost figure for 2009 was five per cent down on the 2008 average, yet an RAC survey showed that 80 per cent of motorists felt their annual costs had risen.

But the annual costs have been driven lower by a dip in fuel prices, with petrol being ten per cent cheaper than a year ago and diesel prices falling 14 per cent.

The RAC index showed 45 per cent had made changes to their car ownership habits in 2009, with a fifth of these getting rid of their second car, and 28 per cent of motorists are using their car less, with six per cent switching to a smaller model.

The survey also showed twice as many women as men have downsized their car, and two in three who have made changes to vehicle ownership will not revert back once the economy revives. Some 26 per cent said they could not afford to reduce car ownership or go for a smaller model, and only six per cent of those who had bought smaller models mentioned the Government's car scrappage scheme as a reason for their change.

RAC motoring strategist Adrian Tink said: "It's been a tough year for motorists, and while it's good news that the costs of running a car have slightly dropped in the past 12 months, it probably won't feel like it at a time when the family budget is being squeezed from all sides. So despite the drop, the overriding desire for drivers is to cut back where they can."

He continued: "We're seeing motorists really question how they use their cars. The trend towards the one-car family shows how people are prepared to make fundamental lifestyle changes for the benefit of themselves, their families and their pockets.

"But such change for a lot of drivers is still merely an aspiration, with practical difficulties caused by work and family needs or a lack of alternatives, such as inadequate public transport, stopping them in their tyre tracks."