True Cost of Ownership Calculator
Your car payment is only part of the story. See the real cost per year and per mile once depreciation, fuel, insurance, maintenance and interest are added in.
What is the true cost of owning a car?
Far more than the monthly payment. Adding depreciation, fuel, insurance, maintenance and financing interest, this tool's defaults — a $35,000 car driven 12,000 miles a year — work out to roughly $9,667 a year, about $0.81 per mile or near $806 a month. Depreciation is the single largest line, not fuel.
Your numbers
True cost per year
$9,667
Cost per mile
$0.81
Cost per month
$806
Insight — For most owners, depreciation is the largest line — often more than fuel and insurance combined — yet it never shows up on a monthly bill. Insurance is the cost you can change fastest without selling the car.
Data behind the defaults
- 7.47%·Editorial estimate· as of 2026-07-17· medium confidence
- $3.4/gal·Editorial estimate· as of 2026-06-01· medium confidence
These defaults are starting points from the sources above — every field is editable, and results are estimates, not quotes. All data sources →
What if Annual mileage changes?
| Annual mileage | True cost per year |
|---|---|
| 6,000 mi | $8,939 |
| 9,000 mi | $9,303 |
| 12,000 mi · now | $9,667 |
| 15,000 mi | $10,031 |
| 20,000 mi | $10,639 |
Shop your insurance the smart way
Know your benchmark here, then compare real quotes from several carriers — prices for the same driver vary a lot.
Explore insurance toolsFree · No sign-up · Independent, source-based math
For context: published annual driving-cost studies put all-in ownership for a typical sedan around $0.70–$0.90 per mile once depreciation is counted — roughly double what drivers estimate when they only think about gas. Run your own numbers above.
How this calculator works
The calculator sums five real costs into a per-year, per-mile and per-month figure. Depreciation is averaged over a five-year hold (not just the steep year-one drop) so it's representative of typical ownership. Fuel is computed from your annual miles, MPG and pump price. Insurance and maintenance are entered directly. Financing interest is the total interest on the loan, averaged per year over its term. The yearly total divided by your miles gives cost per mile.
Formula
Per year = avg depreciation (over 5 yrs) + fuel + insurance + maintenance + avg financing interest. Cost per mile = per year ÷ annual miles. Fuel = miles ÷ MPG × fuel price.
Worked example
A $35,000 car at 15% depreciation, 12,000 miles, 28 MPG, $3.40/gal, $1,800 insurance, $1,100 maintenance, 7.5% APR over 60 months: depreciation averages about $3,894/yr, fuel about $1,457, financing interest about $1,416/yr, plus $1,800 and $1,100 — roughly $9,667 a year, or about $0.81 per mile.
What affects your result
- →Depreciation rate — usually the biggest single cost
- →Annual mileage, which spreads fixed costs and drives fuel
- →Fuel economy and local fuel price
- →Insurance premium (the fastest cost to change)
- →Maintenance and repair spending
- →Financing APR and loan term
What this estimate includes
- ✓Five-year-averaged depreciation
- ✓Fuel for your annual mileage
- ✓Insurance and maintenance you enter
- ✓Average annual financing interest over the loan term
What it does not include
- ×Registration, taxes, title and dealer fees
- ×Parking, tolls and cleaning
- ×The loan principal itself (only the interest is a cost)
- ×Resale proceeds beyond the assumed depreciation curve
Good to know
Clear, practical answers about the total cost of ownership calculator.
What is total cost of ownership for a car?＋
It's the full cost of keeping a car on the road — depreciation, fuel, insurance, maintenance and repairs, and financing interest — not just the monthly payment. Adding these together is the only honest way to compare two vehicles or decide what you can really afford.
What is the biggest cost of owning a car?＋
For most newer cars it's depreciation, followed by fuel and insurance. Because depreciation is invisible month to month, drivers routinely underestimate their true cost — this tool surfaces it as a per-year and per-mile figure.
How is cost per mile calculated?＋
Total yearly cost is divided by the miles you drive per year. Driving more spreads the fixed costs (depreciation, insurance) across more miles, lowering cost per mile — but raises fuel and maintenance in absolute dollars.
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