Used Car Total Cost of Ownership Calculator

This calculator works out the true total cost of owning a used car in New Zealand over the whole time you keep it, not just the sticker price, so you can compare cars honestly and budget for the real cost of motoring. The purchase price is only the start. Over the years you own a car you pay for fuel or charging, road user charges if it is diesel or electric, registration and warrant of fitness, insurance, servicing, tyres and repairs, and you lose money to depreciation as the car falls in value. A cheap car that is thirsty, unreliable or depreciates fast can cost far more to own than a slightly dearer one that sips fuel and holds its value. Total cost of ownership captures all of this in one figure. You enter the purchase price, how many years you expect to keep the car, your total annual running costs, and the resale value you expect to get when you sell, and the calculator returns the total cost of ownership, the cost per year and per week, and the depreciation, the money lost on the car's value. Seeing the weekly figure is sobering and useful: it is the real cost of having the car on your driveway. Use it to compare two cars on a fair basis, to decide whether to keep or sell, or to set a realistic transport budget. Be honest about running costs and resale, as those drive the result, and remember that financing a car adds interest on top. This is a planning estimate; your actual costs depend on the car, your driving and the market.

Total cost = purchase + running costs over the period, less resale. Financing adds interest on top. A planning estimate.