Car Running Cost Calculator

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Car Running Cost Calculator

 

The Car Running Cost Calculator enables you to work out the cost per kilometre for running a car. In addition, the Car Running Cost Calculator provides the total running cost for the number of years for the car and the running cost per year. Use the Example button to see an actual example using real car runnings costs.

 
 

Single Amount
Car Price




Yearly Amount
Registration


Insurance

Service

Petrol

Tyres

Battery

Repairs

Other

Tolls

Parking

Fines



Years

Kilometres





Total Cost $0.00
Cost per kilometre $0.00
Cost per year $0.00

     
 
 

Background

The information used to create this calculator is based on the car I currently own and the car running costs I've made over the last 10.38 years. The car is a Toyota Avensis. The car was purchased on the 5th of June 2008. At the time of creating this calculator the car had travelled 141,447 kilometres at the latest purchase of petrol on the 21st of October 2018. I use examples of my car running costs in this calculator to help others determine their costs.

Most car running costs have been included however I may have missed a couple of tanks of petrol, some personal tolls, parking and small purchases for the car such as a seat protector. Car running costs or revenue I've not currently considered include: value of car now, tax deductions I receive for business use, loss of interest on money used to purchase the car.

NOTE: The Car Price should be entered as a single total amount. All other amounts should be entered as the amount for a year. The calculator will extend out the yearly amounts for the number of years entered.

The following are the figures for my car:

Total Cost: $72,542.67
Kilometres: 141,447
Cost per km: 51.28 cents
Cost per year: $6,988

Why would anyone want to know the cost per kilometre for owning a car?

To help them make better buying decisions. Is it better to own and run a car? Is it better to take a bus, taxi, or uber? If there's more than one person in the car is it better to take the car or public transport? Is it better to buy a cheap second car to help maintain the price of the main car? What's a car cost if I hardly use it and mostly take public transport?

By using the Car Running Cost Calculator and changing what you enter you can answer these and many more questions.

As an example my nearest shopping centre is 6 km away, or a 12 km return trip. Is it better for two people to take the car or bus, based on the car running cost alone?

By car the car cost is roughly $6, so for 2 people the cost is $3 each. If we use the full fare Myki cost (longer than 2 hours) for zone 2 it is $5.88. A negligible saving for one person but twice as expensive as using a car for two.

What about a trip into the city?

The distance into the city is a 36 km return trip. The cost by car is around $18. Using Myki Zone 1 & 2 at $8.60 each or $17.20 for two the bus similar.

Neither of the above take into account concession fares.

Whilst it's important to factor in the time and convenience of using a car, at least now on cost alone, it's possible to make an informed comparison.

One thing to keep in mind which isn't at first obvious, is if you start to use public transport more to reduce the cost of running your car, you end up increasing the running cost per kilometre. The reason is you have recurring yearly car costs you're now spreading over lower kilometres. As you use your car more your cost per kilometre will come down to a minimum point and for certain trips it's cheaper than public transport. As you use the car less the running cost per kilometre increases making public transport more cost effective. The answer of taking the car over public transport isn't always clear cut.

The knowledge gained through working out the cost per kilometre of running your car can help you make better and more informed opinions when it comes to matters that affect the public.

No matter what your reason, at least now you have the Car Running Cost Calculator and your own car running costs which can assist in answering the question, "what is the running cost of my car per kilometre?" How you use that information is up to you.

 




 

Car Price

Car Price can vary depending on how you purchase your car. In my case it was the purchase price including delivery fee and stamp duty on purchase. I've excluded the first year's registration fee and include that fee in the registration cost.

To get a better indication of cost I could reduce the cost by what the car is worth now.

Should you purchase a car on a lease or finance the total cost including lease payments, or in the case of financing, interest should be included.

Registration

The amount you pay for car registration each year. My average cost of registration is $674.

Insurance

The amount you pay for car insurance each year. My average cost for insurance is $631.

Service

The cost to service your car each year. If you have your car serviced twice a year add both amounts together first. My average cost per year for insurance has been $446.

Petrol

Estimate the cost of petrol you use in a year. If there's interest, in future I hope to revisit this calculator an enable people to enter the amount for how often they fill up their car. My average cost for petrol has been $1,757. One thing to note is I monitor petrol prices so save hundreds of dollars a year on petrol.

Tyres

The cost for a set of tyres was $460 or $44 per year.

Battery

I've went through two batteries in ten years at a total cost of $259 so the cost per year for a battery is $25.

Repairs

Separate from servicing I've also had to fix a windscreen, replace a globe and repair a puncture costing a total of $133.50 or around $13 per year. However, I do consider this to be good fortune. There are minor nicks and scratches that I could get repaired but don't. These could cost hundreds to repair. Others may wish to allow for these types of costs. Accidents for example can cost you your excess.

Other

In the other category I include items I've purchased for my car such as a handsfree unit, a tray, mats, etc. at a total cost of $72.80 or around $7 a year.

Tolls

Tolls may be very costly for some people, but I tend to avoid them if I can. I've only recorded tolls where I've used the car in my work so I haven't recorded all tolls. Tolls I've recorded have cost $96.72 or around $15 per year.

Parking

With parking I've again not been very good at recording. However, like tolls I tend to avoid places where I need to pay to park. Others however need to pay daily to park near their work. Parking cost has been around $4 per year.

Fines

Now I'm sure I've received a fine, or two, but honestly, I really think I've had one fine and I wrote to the relevant government department and they dismissed the fine. I'm sure there's probably been at least one more but perhaps it's just something I like to forget. If you have a lead foot, or don't like playing by the parking rules, perhaps throw in an allowance for fines.

Years

Years is the number of years you've owned the car, or expect to own the car. I've owned my car for 10.38 years. If you want to calculate the number of years you've owned your car you can use the Days Between Dates calculator which shows the number of years between two dates.

Kilometres

The total number of kilometres you've driven your car or expect to drive your car. At the time of creating this calculator I had driven 141,447 kilometres.

For me an interesting calculation is, since I expect to drive my car for another 10 years if it remains reliable, I'd then estimate I'll probably have driven 280,000 to 300,000 kilometres. The car will by then have a very low residual value. Assuming no major repair costs this gives me roughly the minimum cost per kilometre estimate for driving my car.

The Car Running Cost Calculator will enable me to perform some what-if calculations in terms or owning a car for a longer or shorter period of time and thus the car running cost per kilometre.

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Disclaimer

The Car Running Cost Calculator comes with no warranty expressed or implied. The Car Running Cost Calculator is only for informational purposes and is not guaranteed to be error free. The information on this page is not intended to be advice.


 
 

 
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