Estimate what your car really costs each month, year and kilometre.
Optional , estimate how much value your vehicle may lose over the next 5 years.
Estimated monthly cost
Estimated yearly cost
A monthly loan payment is only one part of owning a vehicle. Insurance, fuel, maintenance, tires, registration and repairs can add hundreds of dollars to your actual monthly cost.
Looking at the full ownership cost can make it easier to compare vehicles and understand whether a car fits your budget.
Based on the expenses above, your estimated five-year ownership cost is:
Your car payment and insurance are usually predictable monthly expenses.
These costs can vary significantly depending on how much and where you drive.
Oil changes, brakes, tires and unexpected repairs should be included in your budget.
FAQ
Consider your payment, insurance, fuel, registration, maintenance, tires, parking and possible repair costs.
Dividing annual expenses by 12 gives you an estimated monthly amount to set aside for those costs.
It estimates how much your vehicle expenses cost for every kilometre you drive. The calculator shows this both before and after optional depreciation.
Yes. You can optionally enter your vehicle's current value and estimated value after five years to include depreciation in the ownership estimate.
The payment is the most visible car expense, but it is only one line in the budget. Insurance, fuel, maintenance, registration, parking, tires and repairs can change the monthly picture significantly. Depreciation is different because it is not a bill you receive each month, yet the loss in vehicle value still affects what ownership costs you over time.
DriveMath combines the recurring expenses you enter and spreads annual costs across the year so you can compare everything on a monthly and yearly basis. When you provide current and future vehicle values, the calculator also estimates depreciation over the period. That gives you a broader view than financing alone.
A vehicle with no loan payment can still require insurance, fuel, maintenance, registration, tires and repairs. If it also loses several thousand dollars of value over the next few years, that depreciation is part of the economic cost of keeping it. This is why comparing only monthly payments can make a newer or more expensive vehicle look closer in cost than it really is.
Maintenance, tires, registration and repairs do not arrive evenly every month. Estimate what you expect to spend over a full year, then let the calculator convert it into an average monthly amount. For older vehicles, it can be useful to test a low and high repair scenario instead of pretending one estimate is certain.
If you are comparing two cars, keep the distance, ownership period and cost categories consistent. A fair comparison should not give one car optimistic assumptions and the other conservative ones. The Compare Two Cars calculator is designed for that side-by-side check.
Ownership costs are estimates. Actual expenses vary depending on your vehicle, insurance, driving habits, location, maintenance needs and other factors.
This page is part of a broader decision framework: calculators for the math, research guides for the trade-offs and interactive tools for narrowing the shortlist.
DriveMath aims to explain why a result matters, not just show a figure. That is why most pages include assumptions, limitations and related next steps.
Use the methodology, editorial standards and car finder to continue the research instead of relying on one page alone.