Are you ready to own a car?

Be it that you are leasing your car or you bought it, having a car has its set of expenses that comes along with it. Think of the amount you paid for the lease or the loan as your down payment - and the whole time that you own the vehicle you'll be paying for it. Before deciding on leasing or purchasing a car, are you even ready for it? Below are the breakdown of the costs of owning a car.

Gas. Gas, I guess is primary cost any driver has to incur and with gas prices going up—it’s not looking good for car owners. For many people, depending on where they live, their gas mileage, and how much they drive, gas can cost between $60 and $80 per month for a more fuel-efficient car, and $100 or more for a larger and less efficient model.

Insurance. Perhaps the biggest cost you’ll see every month—on top of your car payment (if you're leasing or financing) — is your insurance cost. The price for insurance will usually depend on where you live, what kind of car you drive, and your driving record—as well as whether you opt to include collision.

Maintenance. Oil changes, new tires, new headlights, yearly inspections…Cars have high maintenance, no matter how you look at it. An oil change usually costs between $30 and $40, and you have to do it once every 3 to 6 months. New tires can be quite costly as well—a standard all-season tire can cost anywhere from $30 to $100 per tire.

Your state and emissions inspection will usually start between $30 and $50—and that’s only if they don’t find anything wrong with your car. Often, however, you will need to replace some old parts for your car to perform better. This could be anything from a new belt or brake pads (typically $100 or under) to a whole new brake system or transmission, which could cost you hundreds or even thousands of dollars, ouch. There are hundreds of ways where your car can cost you that doesn't even involve colliding it with other vehicles. From the simple wear and tear, be sure to set a sizable amount to handle for the maintenance.

Fender-benders, dings and scrapes. A friend recently bought a car and even before his car could celebrate its first"monthsary", a kid scratch it using a penny. Yes, unprecedented things can happen to your car and part of owning a car is watching it turn from sleek and shiny to scraped-up. Sometime those little dents and scratches in your car can cost you hundreds of dollars to repair since a mechanic has to take the entire metal panel out to repair a single little dent.

Parking. If you live in an urban area, parking can be a big expense. Renting a spot in a garage can cost hundreds of dollars a month—close to $1,000 in a city like New York. Even if you don’t rent a garage or live in a place with one, you can still expect to pay parking fees. Permits to park your car on the street can cost as little as $15 per year, and leave you immune to tickets and meter-feeding in certain areas of your neighborhood. Also expect to get tickets elsewhere in the city. Those can cost anywhere from $20 to $80 for a parking violation, depending on where you live.

Depreciation. This often isn’t included in cost-analysis for car ownership, because many people don’t expect to sell their cars back to a dealership at some point. If you buy new, expect your car to depreciate in value the minute you drive it off the lot. Generally, a new car can lose about 35% of its value in the first year. After the first three years, you’ll lose somewhere around 10% of your car’s value per year.

Tickets. Even if you’re an excellent driver, there’s still a chance you could get a ticket or citation; let's say from speeding to parking in the wrong place. Forget to take your car in for a yearly inspection on time, and you could be ticketed as much as $100 or more. Drive over the speed limit and you are looking at a ticket worth hundreds of dollars.