Have you thought about how much your vehicle really costs you? We have! Fortunately, we’re happy to share our knowledge.
Let’s consider the True Cost to Own (TCO) your car. Here’s a handy calculator that will tell you the TCO for your vehicle. Does the number surprise you?
Now that you have a number, let’s breakdown what the number means and where the costs come from. There are several factors to that go into the cost of your car. It isn’t just your monthly payment. It can include gas, insurance, and the silent punch – depreciation. Here’s a list of all the costs you need to consider when it comes to TCO.
- Car payment
- Insurance
- Gas
- Maintenance and repairs
- Registration fees
- Taxes
- Depreciation
For cars driven 15,000 miles in 2017, the average cost of ownership was almost $8,500. Yikes! Many drivers have no idea their vehicles are costing so much.
Thankfully, your car gets less expensive the longer you own it. While this seem counterintuitive, it’s true. The largest part, 40%, of your yearly car cost comes from the loss of value due to depreciation. This is a massive blow in the beginning of car ownership, but decreases more and more over time. This isn’t a cost you can see (which is why we call it the silent punch) but it does affect your resale value.
Compared to the cost of a new car, and the price of depreciation, service and repair costs aren’t actually that much in the grand scheme of things. Although a repair bill can seem like a big chunk of change at the time, it’s definitely more cost-effective to keep up with your maintenance and repairs than to lease or buy a new car every few years. Or, to deal with car payments and the depreciation hit all over again.
We offer estimates on repairs that help you determine whether it’s more cost-efficient to fix the vehicle or get rid of it. Because of the cost of buying a new car – it’s almost always worth it to fix! Do you have questions about the True Cost to Own your vehicle? Central Avenue Automotive is happy to help!
