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

Motorists now need to fork out an average of £2,744 a year to run a used car, compared with only £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 just £366 for new models.