As we all know there is far more the cost of vehicle ownership than just what you paid for it. It involves depreciation, insurance, fuel costs, wear and tear, and so on and so forth.
Another factor to consider is where you live, as some states are cheaper than others. For example Hawaii, California, Alaska, Nevada and West Virginia are the most expensive places in which to own a vehicle; while New Hampshire, South Dakota, South Carolina, Oregon and Wisconsin are the cheapest states in which to own a vehicle...
Edmunds has done a study on this, and some of info you may find surprising.
Full story here.
True Costs to Own (TCO)
Go here if you want to calculate the costs of your car.
Full story here.
True Costs to Own (TCO)
Go here if you want to calculate the costs of your car.
tryan says:
05:16 AM, 03/25/08
One thing I noticed about the TCO calculator is that it does not take into account annual property taxes paid on a vehicle (for those that have to pay it). The state of CT is notorious for charging a motor vehicle property tax that can be exorbitant and would sharply contribute to the cost of owning a vehicle.
firstwagon says:
07:37 AM, 03/25/08
Your calculator doesn't go back nearly far enough. Older cars save most of that money.
A 2003 Legacy would cost $36,000 where my 1991 works out to about $12,500.
blueguydotcom says:
08:15 AM, 03/25/08
TCO is totally crackified. Anytime I use it, I get totally preposterous results. For instance, TCO claims my car - 2007 Cooper S - costs 2000 to insure! 2k? I wouldn't pay for insurance if it were 2k. I pay 1k per year for insurance - full coverage. 1800 in financing? What? Using what sort of ludicrous interest rate? 8% - no higher as your info says you assume 10% down? Who the blazes pays 8% on a Mini? Yeah, 8% on a civic makes sense as the buyers are kids with zero credit but come on. 4k depreciation? Hmmm. Edmunds' own value estimator shows differently.
brn says:
08:28 AM, 03/25/08
I'd like to see the calculator expanded. It doesn't let you specify what you paid for a used car. It assumes you're dumping the car withing five years. It assumes you're not purchasing a car more than five years old.
So we're about to pick up a ten year old SUV with a V8 engine for dirt cheap. It needs some work, but has low miles and is mechanically sound. I'm real curious as to what the TCO is on this vehicle. I bet it's pretty low.
brn says:
08:32 AM, 03/25/08
This is entertaining. If one chooses to trust the TCO calculator, Hybrid versions have a higher TCO than their traditional counterparts. Funny.
bepperb says:
08:38 AM, 03/25/08
As this calculation is proprietary to Edmunds, I'd like to see the ability to do a comparison more easily. See fueleconomy.gov for an example, where one can compare four vehicles side by side.
I looked up a 2006 Accord, and clicked "compare to other vehicles" and it said there are none. That's amazing, I didn't think Honda was that much better than everybody else.
estreka says:
02:03 PM, 03/25/08
Depreciation: At the rate this system calculates depreciation, my car should be worth $6,000 (assuming the vehicle loses 10% of it's value each year, which seems to be the formula). If you can find me an '01 S2000 for $6K, you let me know.
Financing: Eh, whatever. I always pay cash.
Insurance: I know this is an average, but my gosh some people must be paying big time. I pay $800/yr to fully insure my car. I pay an extra $80/yr for my truck.
Taxes & Fees: I pay $14/yr to register my car (military clauses rock!) and there is no inspection in MT. But I know I'm the ultimate exception here.
Fuel: This seems just about right. It might even be low for some people. I assumed 15K miles.
MNX: Wow, that's high. I'm no where near those numbers, and I drive my car pretty hard. My Falkens are relatively cheap though (compared to OEM Potenza S02's).
Repairs: This seems pretty accurate. I've paid roughly half what the total came out to, but I'm a DIYer, too.
====
I think a big plus would be to allow the entry of mileage per year. These numbers go way down when you can enter how much driving you do.
As someone else said, entering initial price would be handy, too.
Also, everyone needs to keep in mind the fact that KBB & NADA can be way off on resale values on low production vehicles (S2000, Mini, etc).
ateixeira says:
09:03 AM, 03/26/08
The posts above have pointed out only some of the many challenges.
I think this tool should be used for comparison purposes only, i.e. if you are cross-shopping two new models and want to get an idea of which will cost less to own in the long-run.
FWIW, this can be useful.