Estimate the true 5-year cost of owning a car — depreciation, fuel, insurance, maintenance, repairs, and financing.
US sedan avg 28 MPG · SUV 22 · Truck 20
Depreciation is the #1 cost of ownership. See the top-rated guides on buying used, negotiating dealer markups, and keeping your car 7+ years on Amazon.
🚗 See top car-buying strategy books on Amazon →Pick New or Used — the depreciation curve is steeper for new (60% value loss in 5 years) than for used (30% in 5 years). Then choose the vehicle type: Sedan, SUV, Truck, EV, or Luxury. Each type adjusts fuel economy defaults, insurance multipliers, and the per-gallon or per-kWh price.
Enter the purchase price, down payment, and trade-in. Default is $35,000 new sedan with $3,500 down at 7.0% APR for 72 months — close to the 2026 US average new-car transaction price and the 2026 prime-borrower APR. Adjust the loan term, APR, and ownership window (3, 5, 7, or 10 years) to match your scenario.
Set your annual miles (12,000 is the 2026 US average) and the fuel price ($3.50/gal is the 2026 US regular-gas average; $0.13/kWh for EVs). The insurance, maintenance, and repair costs auto-apply type-specific multipliers: SUVs cost 15% more to insure than sedans, EVs cost 30% more, and used vehicles have 1.5× the repair costs of new.
The result shows the 5-year (or custom window) true cost broken into six categories: depreciation, loan payments, fuel, insurance, maintenance, and repairs. The bar chart inside the result card visualizes which cost is largest for your scenario. The yellow bar (depreciation) is almost always the tallest. Compare your cost-per-mile against the 2026 AAA average of $1.20/mile to see if your car is above or below the norm.
5-year true cost: The total dollar amount you'll spend over the ownership window. On a $35K new sedan with $3.5K down at 7% / 72mo, 12K mi/yr, the 5-yr TCO is about $75,000 — including $23,500 in depreciation, $32,200 in loan payments, $7,500 in fuel, $7,500 in insurance, $2,500 in maintenance, and $2,000 in repairs.
Monthly TCO: Total cost divided by 60 months. The same $35K sedan averages $1,253/month — the loan payment ($537) is only 43% of that. The remaining 57% covers depreciation, fuel, insurance, maintenance, and repairs.
Cost per mile: The most useful single number for car-buying decisions. Divide the 5-year TCO by total miles driven (miles/yr × years). The 2026 AAA "Your Driving Costs" average is $1.20/mile. Below $0.80/mile = exceptionally cost-efficient. Above $1.50/mile = significantly above average, usually driven by high depreciation or low annual mileage.
The bar chart: Visualizes where the money goes. Depreciation (yellow) is the tallest bar for almost every new car, often 30-40% of the total. For used cars, depreciation shrinks but loan payments can grow (because used-car APRs are 1-2% higher) and repairs can grow (1.5× used vs new).
The 2026 AAA "Your Driving Costs" study pegs the average cost of owning and operating a new vehicle at $1.20/mile, or about $14,400/year for a driver covering 12,000 miles. The biggest single cost is depreciation (about 40% of total ownership cost), followed by fuel (15-20%), insurance (15%), financing (10-15%), and maintenance plus repairs (10%).
A $30,000 new sedan financed over 5 years costs about $68,000 in total ownership (5-yr TCO) — about $1,135/month. That includes ~$18,000 in depreciation, $7,500 in fuel, $7,500 in insurance, $2,500 in maintenance, $2,000 in repairs, and ~$30,500 in loan payments ($28,000 principal + $2,500 interest). The loan payment alone is only about 45% of the true cost.
Used is almost always cheaper in absolute dollars, but new can be cheaper in cost-per-year because new cars have lower repair costs and better fuel economy. A $25,000 used SUV 5-yr TCO is about $66,000 ($1,106/mo), while a $35,000 new SUV 5-yr TCO is about $90,000 ($1,500/mo). The new SUV costs $24,000 more over 5 years but depreciates less per year of use if you sell at year 5.
In 2026, EVs cost MORE to own than gas cars in most scenarios. A $50,000 new EV 5-yr TCO is about $102,000 ($1,694/mo) — driven mostly by higher upfront price + steeper depreciation (60-70% by year 5) and higher insurance rates (30% more than a comparable sedan). Fuel savings on EVs average $800-$1,200/year vs gas, which doesn't offset the depreciation hit. The breakeven is usually 7-8 years of ownership.
Depreciation. A new car loses 20% of its value in year 1, 15% in year 2, and 10-12% per year after — about 55-65% total by year 5. On a $35,000 sedan, that's $20,000+ in depreciation alone. Fuel is the second-biggest for high-mileage drivers, insurance for young drivers, and maintenance for older cars (year 5+). The only way to reduce depreciation is to buy a car that holds its value (Toyota, Honda, Subaru, Porsche) and keep it 7+ years.
Six proven ways: (1) Buy 2-3 year old used instead of new — saves $10-15K in depreciation over 5 years. (2) Keep the car 7+ years instead of trading every 5 — most cost-per-year is depreciation. (3) Pay cash or finance for 36 months instead of 72 — saves thousands in interest. (4) Shop insurance every 2 years — most drivers save $400-800. (5) Drive less — every mile not driven saves $1.20 in true cost. (6) Buy a Toyota/Honda/Subaru — depreciation is 30-40% lower than the segment average over 5 years.
The US average is about 12,000-13,500 miles per year (FHWA Highway Statistics 2026). Drivers in rural states average more (Montana 16K, Wyoming 18K), urban drivers less (New York 8K, California 11K). Every 1,000 extra miles per year adds $1,200 to your 5-year cost (at $0.20/mile for fuel + 1.5× wear on maintenance).
The 2026 AAA "Your Driving Costs" average is $1.20/mile for a new sedan ($0.60/mile just for ownership costs, $0.30 for fuel, $0.30 for maintenance/repairs/insurance). Real-world cost per mile ranges from $0.50 (a 10-year-old paid-off Honda) to $2.50+ (a new luxury SUV driven few miles per year). The cheapest cars to own per mile are paid-off, fuel-efficient, low-depreciation vehicles driven 15,000+ miles/year.
Top-rated car-buying strategy books on Amazon — the most popular titles buyers use to keep ownership costs low: