Car Running Cost Calculator
What your car really costs each year.
Calculate true annual car running cost. Sum insurance, fuel, maintenance, road tax, inspection fees, and depreciation to see real cost of ownership.
What this tool does
This tool sums the six components of annual car ownership: insurance, fuel, maintenance, road tax, MOT, and depreciation. Enter each annual cost and the calculator shows cash running costs, total including depreciation, and monthly equivalents. Cash costs represent the actual money you pay each year for ongoing expenses. Total cost adds depreciation—an accounting measure of the car's value loss over time—to show the full economic cost of ownership. The result illustrates how these six factors combine to define what car ownership costs in your circumstances. Insurance, fuel, and maintenance typically vary most between vehicles. For leased cars, set depreciation to zero since it's included in the lease payment. The figures shown are illustrative estimates based on the inputs you provide.
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Formula Used
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Disclaimer
Results are estimates for educational purposes only. They do not constitute financial advice. Consult a qualified professional before making financial decisions.
The advertised cost of a car is rarely the actual cost of owning one. The monthly payment or purchase price is one line item; insurance, fuel, maintenance, road tax, MOT, and depreciation add 2,500-6,000 more annually for a typical driver. This calculator sums all six to show the true yearly and monthly cost.
Typical breakdowns for a mid-sized petrol car: insurance 500-1,200, fuel 1,000-2,200 (10,000 miles at typical mpg and prices), maintenance 300-700, road tax 150-600 depending on emissions, MOT 35-55, depreciation 1,500-3,500 depending on age and mileage. Total 3,485-8,255 - often more than the loan or finance payment itself.
The tool separates cash running costs from depreciation because they behave differently. Cash costs must be budgeted and paid; depreciation is an accounting loss that becomes real only when the car is sold. For leased cars, depreciation is baked into the monthly payment, so set it to zero. For owned cars, including it gives the honest picture.
A worked example
Try the defaults: insurance of 700, fuel of 1,500, maintenance of 500, road tax of 180. The tool returns 4,920.00. You can adjust any input and the result updates as you type — no submit button, no reload. That's the real power here: seeing how sensitive the output is to one or two assumptions.
What moves the number most
The result responds to Insurance (Annual), Fuel (Annual), Maintenance (Annual), Road Tax (Annual), and MOT (Annual).
The formula behind this
Cash costs = insurance + fuel + maintenance + road tax + MOT. Total = cash costs + depreciation. Monthly = total / 12. Everything the calculator does is shown in the formula box below, so you can check the math against your own spreadsheet if you want.
When the result says "wait"
If the payback is longer than you expect to keep the item, the math says no. That's useful information — not everything has to earn its keep financially, but knowing when something doesn't means the decision to buy it anyway is deliberate.
What this doesn't capture
Purchase decisions rarely come down to payback alone. Reliability, time saved, enjoyment, and alternatives outside the calculation all matter. The figure gives you the money side cleanly so you can weigh it against everything else honestly.
Insurance £700 + fuel £1,500 + maintenance + tax + MOT + depreciation = 4,920.00 total annual.
Inputs
This example uses typical values for illustration. Adjust the inputs above to match a specific situation and see how the result changes.
Sources & Methodology
Methodology
The calculator computes total annual car running costs by summing six cost components: insurance, fuel, maintenance, road tax, MOT fees, and depreciation. Insurance, fuel, maintenance, road tax, and MOT represent direct cash outflows during the year. Depreciation represents the estimated loss in vehicle value over twelve months, treated as an ownership cost even though no cash changes hands. The calculator assumes each cost component remains constant throughout the year and does not account for seasonal variation, inflation, or changes in driving patterns. Monthly running cost is derived by dividing the annual total by twelve. The model does not include one-off costs such as major repairs, accident damage, or financing charges.
References
Frequently Asked Questions
Why include depreciation separately?
How do I estimate depreciation?
What about finance costs?
Is driving less always cheaper?
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