True Cost of Car Ownership Calculator

When most people think about buying a car, they think about the monthly payment. Can I afford $650/month? That’s the wrong question. The right question is: what does this vehicle actually cost me over the years I plan to own it?

The average American household spends over $12,000 per year on transportation — more than most spend on food. Yet most people spend less than an hour researching that decision. They negotiate on the sticker price, sign for a loan they can technically afford, and drive off without ever calculating what the car will cost them in total.

True cost of ownership (TCO) is the complete picture: purchase price plus taxes, fees, financing interest, fuel, insurance, maintenance, and depreciation. For most vehicles, the sum of all these costs over five years is 1.5–2× the sticker price. That $35,000 car is a $55,000–$65,000 decision.

Understanding TCO doesn’t mean you shouldn’t buy a car. It means you should make the decision with accurate numbers — and perhaps choose differently between a gas, hybrid, or electric vehicle once you see the full math.

Depreciation is the cost no one talks about because no check is written for it. You don’t receive a bill. It happens silently, every day, as your car’s value declines relative to what you paid.

A new car loses roughly 15–25% of its value in the first year. By year five, most vehicles are worth 40–50% of what you paid. On a $40,000 car, that’s $20,000 in depreciation over five years — about $333/month, every month, whether you drive it or not.

Electric vehicles currently depreciate faster than gas vehicles in most markets — first-year depreciation can run 20–25%. This is partly due to rapid technology advancement (older EVs become obsolete faster) and partly due to initial oversupply in some markets. As EV adoption matures, this gap is expected to narrow.

The practical implication is significant: buying a 2–3 year old used vehicle lets you skip the steepest part of the depreciation curve. The previous owner absorbed the largest losses; you get the same car for substantially less. For most people, this is the single highest-leverage decision in the car-buying process.

The right powertrain choice depends on your specific numbers — state, driving habits, financing situation, and how long you plan to keep the vehicle. But some patterns emerge consistently across scenarios.

Gas vehicles have the lowest upfront cost and the most mature, cheapest maintenance ecosystem. For buyers who keep vehicles 3–5 years and live in states with low gas prices, gas remains competitive on total cost. The disadvantages are real: higher fuel costs per mile, more frequent maintenance (oil changes every 3,000–7,500 miles), and no federal tax incentives.

Hybrids occupy a compelling middle ground. Better fuel economy than gas (30–50% improvement in city driving), no range anxiety, no home charger needed, and lower maintenance than pure EVs without the complexity. The price premium of $3,000–$8,000 over comparable gas models is typically recovered in fuel savings within 3–6 years. For most drivers who commute in stop-and-go traffic, a hybrid is the pragmatic choice.

Electric vehicles have the lowest per-mile fuel cost (electricity is 3–5× cheaper than gasoline per mile in most states), the lowest maintenance costs (no oil changes, fewer brake services due to regenerative braking, far fewer moving parts), and up to $7,500 in federal tax credits for qualifying vehicles. The tradeoffs: higher purchase price, public charging infrastructure anxiety for long trips, and faster initial depreciation in current markets. For high-mileage drivers who charge at home and keep their vehicles 7+ years, EVs offer the lowest total lifetime cost in most scenarios.

The most common EV question is: how long until it pays for itself? The answer varies enormously based on four variables: the price premium over the gas alternative, your electricity rate vs. local gas prices, your annual mileage, and any available incentives.

A concrete example: a $45,000 EV versus a $32,000 gas equivalent. The EV costs $13,000 more before the $7,500 federal tax credit — net premium of $5,500. At 12,000 miles/year, $3.50/gallon gas, and 25 MPG, the gas car costs about $1,680/year in fuel. The EV at 3.5 miles/kWh and $0.14/kWh costs about $480/year — a savings of $1,200/year. Add $400/year in maintenance savings, and the EV saves $1,600/year in operating costs. Break-even on the $5,500 premium: just over 3 years.

Change the scenario: lower mileage (8,000 miles/year), higher electricity costs ($0.28/kWh — Hawaii or California), and a larger price gap — and the break-even stretches to 8–10 years. This is why “EVs are always cheaper” and “EVs are never worth it” are both wrong. Use this calculator with your actual numbers.

Beyond the obvious costs, several line items catch buyers off guard:

Sales tax in most states is 5–9% of the purchase price — added to the loan, not paid separately. On a $40,000 vehicle in a 7% tax state, that’s $2,800 you’re financing and paying interest on for five years.

Loan interest is the cost people dramatically underestimate. At 7% APR over 72 months (the most common loan term in 2026), a $30,000 loan costs $6,700 in interest. The longer the term, the more interest you pay — and the more likely you are to be “underwater” (owing more than the car is worth) for years 1–3.

Insurance is often underestimated because buyers get quotes before purchase but don’t account for increases over time. Insurance rates tend to climb regardless of driving record in recent years. Budget conservatively.

EV charger installation(Level 2, 240V) costs $400–$1,200 depending on your electrical panel and garage setup. This one-time cost is often overlooked in EV purchase calculations but is necessary for overnight home charging.

This isn’t an argument against owning a car — most people need one. But it’s worth seeing the opportunity cost clearly.

A $700/month car payment invested instead at 7% annual return compounds to $59,000 over five years and $186,000 over fifteen years. The average American household buys a new car every six years. If that pattern continues for a working lifetime, the total opportunity cost runs into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The insight isn’t “don’t buy a car.” It’s “buy the right car.” Choosing a vehicle that’s $10,000 cheaper, keeping it two years longer, and paying cash instead of financing — each decision compounds. The gap between the most expensive and least expensive reasonable vehicle choices over a lifetime can easily exceed $500,000 in opportunity cost.

Use this calculator to find the vehicle that genuinely fits your life — and then own it until it’s paid off and a few years beyond.