Car ownership cost calculator
A car costs far more than its fuel. Enter the price, how long you will keep it, and your yearly fuel, insurance and servicing costs to see what ownership really costs per year, per month and per kilometre or mile.
Runs in your browser: nothing you enter is sent anywhere.
How to use it
- Enter the price, the years you will keep the car and its yearly loss of value.
- Choose units and enter the distance you drive each year, the consumption and the fuel price.
- Enter yearly insurance, maintenance and other costs.
- Read the cost per year, month and distance.
How it works
- Depreciation per year = price × (1 − (1 − rate)^years) ÷ years.
- Fuel = distance × consumption (L/100 km ÷ 100, or ÷ mpg) × price.
- Per year = depreciation + fuel + insurance + maintenance + other; per month = per year ÷ 12.
- Per km or mile = per year ÷ yearly distance.
Worked example
A 30,000 car kept 5 years loses 15% a year: depreciation is 3,337.77 a year. Driving 15,000 km at 7.5 L/100 km and 1.80 a litre costs 2,025 in fuel. With 1,200 insurance, 800 maintenance and 300 other, the total is 7,662.77 a year, 638.56 a month and 0.51 per km.
Tips
- Be honest about distance. Many costs scale with kilometres, and fuel is only one.
- Include the unglamorous items. Tyres, car washes and parking add up.
- Compare with the alternatives. Test the same figures against leasing, renting or car sharing.
Frequently asked questions
How is depreciation estimated?
The car is assumed to lose the same percentage of its remaining value every year. Value after n years = price × (1 − rate)^n, and the yearly figure is the total loss divided by n. At 15% a year a 30,000 car is worth 13,311 after 5 years, a loss of 3,338 a year.
What percentage should I use for depreciation?
It depends on the model, age and mileage, and there is no single figure. Look at the prices of one- and three-year-old examples of the car you want to buy and work out the yearly loss.
What is left out?
Loan interest, parking beyond what you enter, tyres, fines and unexpected repairs, unless you include them in the other costs. If you buy on credit, add the interest from the auto loan calculator.
Why is depreciation often the biggest cost?
It is spread across the years and easy to forget, but the drop in value is usually larger than a single year of fuel. The tool puts it next to the running costs so you can see the full picture.