True Cost of Car Ownership

Compare two cars

The cheaper car to buy is often the more expensive car to own. Put both side by side and see the real difference per month, per year and over the whole time you keep it.

First car

Purchase & depreciation

What you expect to sell it for.

Interest only, not the repayment.

Driving & fuel

For an EV, switch both to kWh.

Running costs per year

Cost of a set ÷ years it lasts.

Your cost

The three comparisons worth running

Petrol versus diesel

Diesel wins on fuel consumption and usually loses on purchase price, insurance and repair cost. The break-even is almost entirely about annual mileage: below roughly 15,000 km a year the fuel saving rarely repays the premium. Enter both and the calculator tells you where your own break-even sits.

New versus three years old

A new car's first three years typically consume 40–50% of its value. The same model bought used skips that, at the price of a shorter remaining life and no warranty. Model this by giving the used car a higher repairs figure — €500–€900 a year is a realistic allowance for an out-of-warranty car.

Electric versus combustion

EVs shift cost from running to owning: cheaper energy and servicing, higher purchase price and often steeper early depreciation. High-mileage drivers recover the difference; low-mileage drivers frequently do not. Set the consumption unit to kWh/100km for the EV and compare directly.

What the comparison shows you