New vs. Old Car Costs: A Comprehensive Cost Comparison (original) (raw)
Compare the total cost of owning a new car versus an old car, including purchase price, maintenance, fuel efficiency, insurance, and depreciation. Use our detailed breakdown to make an informed financial decision before buying the next vehicle.
The Car Cost Calculator - New Car vs. Old can be used to estimate the cost of ownership for a newer car vs. an older car - or a the cost of ownership for a more expensive car vs. a cheaper car.
The calculator can be helpful to
- decide when to replace an old car
- decide between different cars
- decide between buying or leasing a car
The default calculator is set up for a 3 years period but can be easily extended by copying cells as described below.
To use the Car Cost Calculator - New Car vs. Old - open the Car Cost Calculator - New Car vs. Old - save a copy of the spread sheet to your own Google Docs account (you need to be logged into your google account) - or download the spread sheet as an excel file to your computer.
Modify the values:
- add estimated sales value for the old car and the buying cost for the new one. If leasing is an alternative - set the Value to zero - add leasing signing costs in year 1 and yearly leasing costs for every year.
- add depreciation when you own the car - depreciation varies with car make, model and age. Typical values in range 10-20% per year.
- add financing costs. When savings are used interest is lost and should be handled as a cost.
- add insurance costs
- add road taxes
- add expected mileage and fuel costs
- add service costs
- add regular maintenance costs - like tires, brake pads ..
- add unexpected repair costs
- add other costs - like supplementary equipment typically needed for a new car
Extend the calculator with more years by inserting new columns and copying the equations. Unlimited numbers of cars can be added.
The calculator can also be used to compare other similar investments like machinery and more.
My Short List
Related Topics
Engineering economics - cash flow diagrams, present value, discount rates, internal rates of return - IRR, income taxes, inflation.
Related Documents
CO2 Calculator - Emissions from Cars
Calculator for CO2 emissions from different kind of cars (gasoline, diesel, LPG, electrical), comparing with alternative forms of transportation (as airplane, bus and train).
Drag Coefficient
The drag coefficient quantifies the drag or resistance of an object in a fluid environment.
Fuel Consumption - mpg
Calculate fuel consumption in miles per gallon - mpg - calculator and consumption charts.
Impact Force
Impact forces acting on falling objects hitting the ground, cars crashing and similar cases.
Our Mission
The Engineering ToolBox provides a wide range of free tools, calculators, and information resources aimed at engineers and designers. It offers detailed technical data and calculations for various fields such as fluid mechanics, material properties, HVAC systems, electrical engineering, and more.
The site includes resources for common engineering tasks, such as calculating physical properties (e.g., density, viscosity, thermal conductivity), converting units, and designing systems like heating and water distribution.
With sections on everything from acoustics to hydraulics, it serves as a comprehensive tool for both students and professionals in technical and engineering disciplines.
About the Engineering ToolBox!
Privacy Policy
We don't collect information from our users. More about our privacy policy here.
We use a third-party to provide monetization technology for our site. You can review their privacy and cookie policy here.
You can change your privacy settings by clicking the following button: .
Citation
This page can be cited as
- The Engineering ToolBox (2003). New vs. Old Car Costs: A Comprehensive Cost Comparison. [online] Available at: https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/car-costs-old-new-d\_339.html [Accessed Day Month Year].
Modify the access date according your visit.