Sticker price is the start. Depreciation, financing, fuel, insurance, tax, maintenance. Once everything is in, the real monthly cost is usually two to three times the finance payment.
What you pay up front, how long you keep it, and what you walk away with.
Out-the-door price, including options. Not the headline ticket.
How long you realistically expect to keep this car.
Be realistic. Most cars lose 50 to 60 per cent of value over six years. Premium German cars depreciate harder.
What share goes on finance, and at what rate.
PCP, hire purchase, or loan. Set to zero if you paid cash.
Annual percentage rate. Even a cash buyer pays an opportunity cost on the capital tied up in the car.
What it costs to actually own and drive over a year.
Average of the year, including holidays and weekend trips.
Full cover plus any extras.
Vehicle tax, license, registration. Varies by jurisdiction and emissions band.
Services, MOT or inspection, tyres, brakes, the occasional warning light.
Everything in: depreciation, financing, fuel, insurance, tax, maintenance.
Illustrative figures only. Depreciation curves and running costs vary widely by make, mileage, and jurisdiction. For your specific situation, consult a qualified adviser.
Worth folds running costs into a household trajectory. See how each big monthly commitment compounds over a decade, and what each one is costing your future self. Join the waitlist.
Often the same total cost, just structured differently. A lease bundles depreciation and financing into one monthly payment. Outright purchase or PCP exposes you to depreciation directly. Leases are simpler and limit downside, but you never own anything. Best for people who want a new car every three years; worst for people who would keep a car ten years or more.
Because the alternative was investing that capital. If you finance, you pay interest. If you buy outright, you forgo whatever return that capital could have earned. Either way the cost of capital is real and gets attributed to the car. The APR is a reasonable proxy in both cases.
Generally lower running cost (cheaper energy, less mechanical maintenance) but steeper depreciation in the early years while battery technology moves fast. Net cost is comparable to a combustion equivalent on average. EVs tend to win at higher annual mileage, combustion often wins at lower mileage.
Yes. You are still consuming the value of the car over time. The right resale value to enter is what you would realistically sell it for at the end of your ownership window, not zero. If you truly drive it until it dies, set the resale to scrap value.