anycolourcar.com

Cost of Ownership Comparison

Compare the real-world cost of owning and running different cars. Buy better, sell smarter and drive happy.

Estimates only. Every figure here is an assumption and can be adjusted for the specific vehicle and customer. Fuel prices, insurance, servicing and future values will vary. This is not a quotation or a finance illustration.

Ownership period

Customer usage

How this customer actually drives.

miles
miles
50% town · 50% motorway
80% home · 20% public

Blended electricity rate: 23.8p per kWh

Fuel & energy prices

Overwrite these with today's local prices.

£/litre
£/litre
£/kWh
£/kWh

Vehicles being compared

These start as generic assumptions — overwrite them with the actual cars in front of you.

A

Car A — Petrol hatchback

£
mpg
£
£
£
£
£
£
B

Car B — Diesel estate

£
mpg
£
£
£
£
£
£
C

Car C — Electric hatchback

£
mi/kWh
£
£
£
£
£
£

Lowest estimated total ownership cost over 3 years: Car A — Petrol hatchback

On the assumptions entered, the Car A — Petrol hatchback shows the lowest estimated total ownership cost over 3 years — around £163 less than the Car B — Diesel estate. Mainly because it is expected to lose £700 less in value, and standing costs such as tax, insurance and servicing are lower. These are estimates, not a quotation.

Where the money goes

Total ownership cost over 3 years, broken down.

Car A — Petrol hatchback

Petrol · £14,995

Lowest cost

Running cost

£8,601

£2,867 / year

Total ownership

£14,596

48.7p per mile

Fuel / charging
£4,626
Road tax
£585
Insurance
£1,800
Servicing
£600
Tyres & wear
£990
Depreciation
£5,995
Total over 3 yr
£14,596

Lowest estimated cost of those compared

Car B — Diesel estate

Diesel · £15,995

Running cost

£8,065

£2,688 / year

Total ownership

£14,760

49.2p per mile

Fuel / charging
£3,850
Road tax
£585
Insurance
£1,890
Servicing
£750
Tyres & wear
£990
Depreciation
£6,695
Total over 3 yr
£14,760

£163 more than the lowest-cost option

Car C — Electric hatchback

Electric · £17,995

Running cost

£6,156

£2,052 / year

Total ownership

£14,801

49.3p per mile

Fuel / charging
£2,091
Road tax
£585
Insurance
£2,160
Servicing
£360
Tyres & wear
£960
Depreciation
£8,645
Total over 3 yr
£14,801

£205 more than the lowest-cost option

Why the Car A — Petrol hatchback works for you

A plain-English summary for the customer.

  • At 10,000 miles a year it works out at about 48.7p per mile all in.
  • Day-to-day running costs (fuel or charging, tax, insurance, servicing, tyres) come to roughly £2,867 a year.
  • Expected value after 3 years is the single biggest factor — we've assumed £5,995 of value lost.
  • Fuel cost per mile = price per litre × 4.546 ÷ real-world MPG. Electric cost per mile = blended £/kWh ÷ miles per kWh.
  • Driving mix adjusts consumption: town driving increases petrol and diesel use, reduces hybrid use; motorway driving reduces petrol and diesel use and increases electric use. The same adjustment is applied to both the petrol and electric portions of a plug-in hybrid.
  • Blended electricity rate today: 23.8p per kWh (80% home at 10.0p, rest public at 79.0p).
  • Plug-in hybrid electric share is worked out from usable electric range (80% of the quoted figure), the commute round trip over 220 working days, plus about 35% of other journeys on battery. Capped at 90%.
  • Depreciation comes from the price and expected future value you enter — not a generic per-year figure. One-year depreciation is taken as 55% of the three-year figure, because value drops fastest early on.
  • Running cost = fuel or charging, road tax, insurance, servicing, tyres and wear. Total ownership cost = running cost plus depreciation. Finance is shown separately.
  • Insurance, servicing, tyre and wear figures are typical market estimates until you overwrite them for the actual vehicle and customer.