Car Total Cost
Estimate the total yearly cost of owning a car generally, including depreciation and running costs.
About Car Total Cost
Ownership cost = depreciation + maintenance + insurance + fuel over the ownership period. Depreciation assumes ~18% loss per year, aggressive early and flattening later.
Formula
Total
Total = depreciation + maintenance + insurance + fuel
Worked example
With the default values below, Car Total Cost returns Total Cost of Ownership of $40,477.80. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.
Inputs used
- Vehicle priceminimum 0
- 30,000
- Years ownedaccepts 1–15
- 5
- Miles per yearaccepts 0–50,000
- 12,000
- Monthly insuranceminimum 0
- 120
- Monthly fuelminimum 0
- 150
- Maintenance & repairs per mileaccepts 0–1
- 0.09
Results
- Total Cost of Ownership
- $40,477.80
- Cost Per Year
- $8,095.56
- Cost Per Month
- $674.63
- Total Depreciation
- $18,877.80
- Estimated Resale
- $11,122.20
Step by step
- 1Values used
- 2Total
- 3Total Cost of Ownership= 40,477.80
- 4Cost Per Year= 8,095.56
- 5Cost Per Month= 674.63
- 6Total Depreciation= 18,877.80
- 7Estimated Resale= 11,122.20
Assumptions and limits
- The result is derived only from the 6 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
- In particular, this calculator does not take inflation or tax into account.
- Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
- Estimate only — real costs vary by model and location.
- This is an estimate for general information and not professional financial, tax or legal advice. See the full disclaimer for the limits that apply to this kind of calculator.
How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.
Estimate only — real costs vary by model and location.
Frequently Asked Questions
What about registration and taxes?
Add them separately — they are excluded here for simplicity.
How accurate is this estimate?
Rates are approximate reference values. Local rates, exemptions and rules can differ, so treat the output as a planning figure only.