Annual Car Running Cost Calculator

Calculate the true annual cost of owning and running a car.

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Car Running Cost

Enter your car expenses to see the total annual cost.

Total annual cost
$0
Monthly: $0
Total annual cost
$0
Monthly cost
$0
Cost per day
$0
Cost per mile (12k mi/yr)
$0
Largest expense
—
As % of $50k income
0%

Worked example

With the default inputs shown below, this calculator returns the following results:

InputValue
Purchase price / depreciation ($)$5,000
Fuel cost ($/year)2400
Insurance ($/year)1400
Maintenance & repairs ($/year)800
Registration & taxes ($/year)300
Parking & tolls ($/year)600
ResultValue
Total annual cost$10,500
Monthly cost$875
Cost per day$29
Cost per mile (12k mi/yr)$1/mi
Largest expenseDepreciation ($5,000)
As % of $50k income21.0%

Values shown are produced by this page in your browser; change any input to update them.

How to use the Car Running Cost

  1. Purchase price / depreciation ($) — default $5,000
  2. Fuel cost ($/year) — default 2400
  3. Insurance ($/year) — default 1400
  4. Maintenance & repairs ($/year) — default 800
  5. Registration & taxes ($/year) — default 300
  6. Parking & tolls ($/year) — default 600
  7. Press Calculate to update the results instantly.

Frequently asked questions

Depreciation, not fuel. A new car often loses 20-30% of its value in year one, which dwarfs the annual fuel and insurance bills added together.
A typical mid-size car runs $8,000-$12,000 a year once depreciation, fuel, insurance, servicing, tyres, registration and parking are counted.
Buy used to let someone else take the steepest depreciation, keep the car longer, shop insurance annually and keep tyres properly inflated.

Sources & references