Automotive / Vehicle Ownership
Total Cost of Vehicle Ownership (5-10 Year)
Vehicle Purchase
Fuel Costs
Recurring Costs
Understanding Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
What's Included: TCO includes all costs of owning a vehicle: depreciation, fuel, insurance, maintenance, loan interest, and registration.
Cost Categories:
- Depreciation: Usually the largest cost. Vehicles lose ~20% first year, 15% years 2-5, 10% years 6-10
- Fuel: Varies with driving habits and gas prices
- Insurance: Decreases slightly over time as vehicle value drops
- Maintenance: Increases with age (tires, brakes, major services)
- Loan Interest: Cost of financing the purchase
- Registration: Annual fees and taxes
Typical Costs:
- Insurance: $1,200-$2,000/year
- Maintenance: $1,000-$1,500/year (more for luxury/older vehicles)
- Registration: $100-$300/year (varies by state)
- Depreciation: 50-60% of purchase price over 5 years
Note: This calculator uses industry-average depreciation rates. Actual depreciation varies by make, model, and market conditions.
Use this total cost of vehicle ownership (5-10 year) to compute vehicle ownership results from your inputs.
Formula
Year N depreciation = Purchase price × (1 - Depreciation rate)^N Annual costs = Insurance + Registration + Fuel + Maintenance Total over N years = Purchase price + (Annual costs × N) + Major repairs - Final vehicle value