The sticker price is only the start. Over five years, a car also costs you the value it loses, the fuel it burns, insurance, maintenance, interest on the loan, and taxes and fees. This calculator adds them up from your own inputs, so you can compare two cars on the number that matters: what each one really costs to own.
What's included
| Cost | How it's calculated |
|---|---|
| Depreciation | Purchase price − estimated value at the end, using the yearly rates you set. |
| Fuel | Miles per year ÷ MPG × gas price × years. Pick a car to use its EPA combined rating. |
| Insurance | Your yearly premium × years. |
| Maintenance & repairs | Your yearly estimate × years. |
| Financing interest | Interest paid on the loan during the ownership period. |
| Taxes, fees & registration | Sales tax and up-front fees, plus yearly registration. |
- Depreciation
- How it's calculated
- Purchase price − estimated value at the end, using the yearly rates you set.
- Fuel
- How it's calculated
- Miles per year ÷ MPG × gas price × years. Pick a car to use its EPA combined rating.
- Insurance
- How it's calculated
- Your yearly premium × years.
- Maintenance & repairs
- How it's calculated
- Your yearly estimate × years.
- Financing interest
- How it's calculated
- Interest paid on the loan during the ownership period.
- Taxes, fees & registration
- How it's calculated
- Sales tax and up-front fees, plus yearly registration.
The total is shown per month and per mile, and the breakdown chart shows where the money goes. Equity at the end is the estimated value minus anything still owed on the loan.
Getting good inputs
- Insurance: get a real quote for the specific car. Premiums vary widely by driver, location and model; our guide on what affects car insurance rates explains why.
- Maintenance: build a budget with the maintenance cost planner, or check the average car maintenance cost guide.
- Fuel: use your real MPG if you know it.
- Depreciation: see below.
About depreciation
Depreciation is often the biggest single cost of a newer car, and it's the hardest to predict. We don't have market price data, so we don't pretend to know what any car will be worth. Instead you set two rates: the drop in the first year and the drop in each later year. Look at asking prices for the same model a few years older to choose sensible numbers, and try a pessimistic and an optimistic case.
For a used car, enter today's price and use the "later year" rate for both, since the steep first-year drop has already happened.
Value by year from depreciation rates you set. An estimate, not a valuation.
Frequently asked questions
What is the true cost of owning a car?
Everything you spend on it plus the value it loses: depreciation, fuel, insurance, maintenance and repairs, financing interest, taxes, fees and registration. Parking and tolls can matter too in some places.
How much does it cost to own a car per month?
It depends heavily on the car, where you live and how you drive. Enter your numbers above; the result is shown per month and per mile.
Is depreciation a real cost if I don't sell?
Yes. It's value you no longer have, whether you sell, trade in or drive the car until it's worth very little. It's a cost you pay at the end rather than every month.
Can I compare two cars?
Run the calculator once for each car and note the totals. Comparing the same ownership period and mileage keeps it fair.
Results are estimates from the numbers you enter and, where noted, EPA ratings. Not financial advice. Page updated .