Driving / Calculator
True car ownership cost calculator
5-year ownership cost
$768 / month · $0.77 / mile
- Scheduled loan payment / month
- $464
- Loan balance at sale
- $0
- Cash paid before sale
- $61,089
- Resale minus loan balance
- $15,000
Calculated from example inputs; replace them with your own prices.
View calculation breakdownCalculation breakdown
| Component | Amount |
|---|---|
| Depreciation | $15,000 |
| Purchase taxes / fees (paid upfront) | $2,500 |
| Interest paid during ownership | $3,839 |
| Fuel / electricity | $7,000 |
| Insurance | $9,000 |
| Maintenance / tires / repairs | $4,500 |
| Registration / recurring taxes | $1,250 |
| Parking / tolls | $3,000 |
Methodology
Ownership cost = purchase price − resale + upfront taxes / fees + interest paid within ownership period + years × annual running costs. Loan principal = purchase price − down payment. Loan payments use a fixed monthly amortization schedule; interest stops at payoff. Monthly cost = total ÷ (years × 12). Cost per mile = total ÷ lifetime miles, or unavailable at zero miles.
Draft engineering scope: fixed APR and on-time monthly payments, no lease, trade-in, balloon payment, financed fees, early payoff penalty, inflation, opportunity cost, incentives, or tax advice. Cash outlay excludes sale; resale equity subtracts remaining loan balance. Depreciation and loan principal are not both added to ownership cost.
This calculator treats ownership cost as an economic-cost measure: purchase price minus expected resale value, plus upfront purchase taxes or fees, plus loan interest paid during the ownership period, plus running costs during the years owned. It does not add loan principal on top of depreciation because doing both would count the vehicle purchase cost twice. Loan principal is purchase price minus down payment. Payments follow a fixed monthly amortization schedule using the entered APR and term, and interest stops when the loan is paid off. Gasoline cost uses annual miles / miles per U.S. gallon x gasoline price. Electric cost uses annual miles x kWh per 100 miles / 100 x electricity price; the electricity-use input is intended to include charging losses. Insurance, maintenance or tires or repairs, recurring registration or taxes, and parking or tolls are added for each year owned. With the default gasoline example, depreciation is $15,000, upfront fees are $2,500, five-year loan interest is about $3,839.23, fuel is $7,000, insurance is $9,000, maintenance is $4,500, registration is $1,250, and parking or tolls are $3,000. Total economic ownership cost is about $46,089.23, or about $768.15 per month and $0.77 per mile over the 60,000 miles driven during the entered five-year ownership period. Cash outlay, remaining loan balance, and resale equity are separate measures and should not be substituted for economic ownership cost. At zero annual miles, no per-mile result is calculated. Use actual purchase, financing, insurance, operating, and expected resale figures when evaluating a real vehicle.
Example assumptions
| Input | Example |
|---|---|
| Purchase price before taxes / fees ($) | 30000 |
| Expected resale value ($) | 15000 |
| Years owned | 5 |
| Purchase taxes / fees paid upfront ($) | 2500 |
| Down payment (or full cash price) ($) | 6000 |
| Loan APR (%) | 6 |
| Loan term (months) | 60 |
| Annual miles | 12000 |
| Power source | Gasoline |
| Fuel economy (US mpg) | 30 |
| Gasoline price ($/US gallon) | 3.5 |
| Electricity use incl. charging losses (kWh/100 mi) | 32 |
| Electricity price ($/kWh) | 0.17 |
| Annual insurance ($) | 1800 |
| Annual maintenance / tires / repairs ($) | 900 |
| Annual registration / recurring taxes ($) | 250 |
| Annual parking / tolls ($) | 600 |
Frequently asked questions
Why isn't loan principal added to ownership cost?
The economic-cost calculation already includes the vehicle's loss in value as purchase price minus resale value. Adding loan principal as another cost would count the purchase price twice. Financing contributes interest, not an additional copy of principal.
How is loan interest calculated?
The calculator uses the entered purchase price, down payment, APR, and term to create a fixed monthly amortization schedule. It counts interest paid only during the entered ownership period and stops interest at payoff.
How are gasoline and electricity costs calculated?
For gasoline, annual miles are divided by miles per U.S. gallon and multiplied by the entered price per gallon. For an electric vehicle, annual miles are multiplied by kWh per 100 miles and divided by 100, then multiplied by the electricity price. The electric-use input should already include charging losses.
How does the default example reach about $46,089.23?
The example combines $15,000 of depreciation, $2,500 of upfront fees, about $3,839.23 of interest, $7,000 of fuel, $9,000 of insurance, $4,500 of maintenance, $1,250 of registration or recurring taxes, and $3,000 of parking or tolls. Those components total about $46,089.23.
How are cash outlay, loan balance, equity, and cost per mile different?
Economic ownership cost measures depreciation, fees, interest, and running costs. Cash outlay tracks money paid during the period and excludes the eventual sale. Remaining loan balance is debt still owed, while resale equity is expected resale value minus that balance. Cost per mile divides economic ownership cost by miles driven during the entered ownership period; when annual miles are zero, the calculator leaves that result unavailable.