Compare Used Car Ownership Costs

Information and how to use

Use this calculator to get an estimated cost for any used vehicle over a time period and mileage you set. We estimate all costs for your ownership duration and provide an average monthly cost taking into account finance interest, depreciation and warranty/repairs cost for each vehicle added. We provide the results in a table ordered from cheapest monthly to most expensive.

Begin by entering details of at least one vehicle. You can either manually enter all details or copy and paste in an advert URL from Autotrader.co.uk and we can automatically extract information for you. You then set your length of ownership and average annual mileage. We assume a loan is used to purchase the vehicle and you can either set your interest rate manually or select your credit score and we will match the most likely rate. If no loan is being used, set the credit score to 'custom' and set the rate as '0'.

The loan term is the period over which to spread any finance. A longer period will result in lowered monthly payments but more interest overall, conversely a shorter period will result in higher monthly payments but less interest.

Our depreciation estimates are based on the how the value of the car performed in the first three years when it was new. This is for a make and model for a car of that type, on average. We then estimate the future depreciation based upon the current age of the vehicle and where it sits on the depreciation curve and the mileage you are projected to cover.

A key difference between purchasing a new vehicle compared to a used vehicle is warranty. If a used vehicle is purchased from a franchised main dealer you may receive a comprehensive one year warranty, or have to option to extend the manufacturer's warranty. Alternatively, you can purchase a car warranty from a third party or opt to set up a continguency fund for repairs. Each vehicle differs in this regard, so when adding a new vehicle you can enter a differnet warranty amount for each.