Car Total Cost of Ownership

Dealers negotiate on the monthly payment because it is the number that hides the most. Insurance, fuel, maintenance and depreciation are the rest of the car, and they do not appear on the sticker.

What This Workbook Does

• Purchase price, down payment and trade-in, rate and term, producing the financed payment.
• Insurance, fuel, maintenance and registration as ongoing monthly costs.
• Depreciation, which is the largest cost of most cars and the one nobody budgets.
• A true monthly figure you can compare against another car, or against keeping the one you have.

How to Use It

1. Enter price, down payment and any trade-in value.
2. Enter the rate and term you were actually offered, not the advertised one.
3. Fill in insurance from a real quote for that specific car — premiums vary more by model than people expect.
4. Estimate fuel from your actual annual mileage, not the national average.
5. Compare the true monthly total against the alternative, including keeping your current car.

What It Will Not Do

Depreciation is modelled as a straight rate. Real depreciation is front-loaded and varies sharply by model, so treat the figure as a planning estimate rather than a resale forecast.