{
  "slug": "vehicle-total-cost",
  "title": "Total Cost of Vehicle Ownership Calculator",
  "heading": "5-Year Cost of Ownership Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/vehicle-total-cost",
  "summary": "Depreciation, financing, fuel, insurance, and maintenance in one number.",
  "description": "Sticker price tells you almost nothing about what a car costs. Over five years, depreciation and financing usually outweigh everything else combined.",
  "formula": "TCO = Depreciation + interest + fuel + insurance + maintenance + fees.",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=vehicle-total-cost",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "price",
      "label": "Purchase price",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 35000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "resale",
      "label": "Resale value after the period",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 16000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "years",
      "label": "Years of ownership",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 5,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 1,
      "max": 15
    },
    {
      "id": "rate",
      "label": "Loan APR",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 7,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "term",
      "label": "Loan term (months)",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 60,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 0,
      "max": 96
    },
    {
      "id": "down",
      "label": "Down payment",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 5000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "fuelYear",
      "label": "Annual fuel",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 1550,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "insuranceYear",
      "label": "Annual insurance",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 1600,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "maintYear",
      "label": "Annual maintenance + repairs",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 900,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "total",
      "label": "Total cost of ownership",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "perMonth",
      "label": "True cost per month",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "dep",
      "label": "Depreciation",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "interest",
      "label": "Finance interest",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "running",
      "label": "Fuel, insurance, maintenance",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "perYear",
      "label": "Cost per year",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Purchase price: 35000 $",
      "Resale value after the period: 16000 $",
      "Years of ownership: 5",
      "Loan APR: 7 %",
      "Loan term (months): 60",
      "Down payment: 5000 $",
      "Annual fuel: 1550 $",
      "Annual insurance: 1600 $",
      "Annual maintenance + repairs: 900 $"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Total cost of ownership: $44,892.16",
      "True cost per month: $748.20",
      "Depreciation: $19,000.00",
      "Finance interest: $5,642.16",
      "Fuel, insurance, maintenance: $20,250.00",
      "Cost per year: $8,978.43"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter purchase price ($).",
      "Enter resale value after the period ($).",
      "Enter years of ownership.",
      "Enter loan apr (%).",
      "Enter loan term (months).",
      "Enter down payment ($).",
      "Enter annual fuel ($).",
      "Enter annual insurance ($).",
      "Enter annual maintenance + repairs ($).",
      "Read your total cost of ownership on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "price": 21000,
        "resale": 9500,
        "years": 3,
        "rate": 7,
        "term": 36,
        "down": 3000,
        "fuelYear": 950,
        "insuranceYear": 950,
        "maintYear": 550
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "price": 35000,
        "resale": 16000,
        "years": 5,
        "rate": 7,
        "term": 60,
        "down": 5000,
        "fuelYear": 1550,
        "insuranceYear": 1600,
        "maintYear": 900
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "price": 56000,
        "resale": 25500,
        "years": 8,
        "rate": 7,
        "term": 96,
        "down": 8000,
        "fuelYear": 2500,
        "insuranceYear": 2550,
        "maintYear": 1450
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "How does the 5-year cost of ownership calculator work?",
      "a": "Sticker price tells you almost nothing about what a car costs. Over five years, depreciation and financing usually outweigh everything else combined. The underlying maths is: TCO = Depreciation + interest + fuel + insurance + maintenance + fees."
    },
    {
      "q": "What do I need to enter?",
      "a": "9 values: purchase price, resale value after the period, years of ownership, loan apr, loan term (months), down payment, annual fuel, annual insurance, and annual maintenance + repairs. Each field starts with a sensible default, so you can change one number at a time and watch the result move."
    },
    {
      "q": "What does the total cost of ownership result mean?",
      "a": "It is returned as a money amount in US dollars and updates live as you edit the inputs, so you can compare two or three versions of a scenario in a few seconds."
    },
    {
      "q": "Is this calculator free, and do I need an account?",
      "a": "Yes, it's free, and no account is required. Nothing you type is stored on our servers — the maths runs entirely in your browser."
    },
    {
      "q": "How accurate is the result?",
      "a": "It applies the standard formula exactly, so the arithmetic is precise. Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them."
    },
    {
      "q": "Who is this tool for?",
      "a": "It's built for anyone comparing money scenarios before committing — budgeting a payment, sanity-checking a quote, or seeing what a change in rate or term actually costs."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/car-depreciation",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/cost-per-mile",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/auto-loan-payment"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Total Cost of Vehicle Ownership Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/vehicle-total-cost)"
}