Buying a New Car: True Cost to Own
Since I’ve been in a car buying mood recently, I thought I’d share a useful calculator that I recently ran across. It’s the Edmunds.com True Cost to Own (TCO) calculator, which figures the ‘real’ cost of owning a vehicle over the first five years.
According to the blurb on the site:
The Edmunds.com True Cost to Own (TCO) pricing system calculates the additional costs you may not have included when considering your next vehicle purchase. These extra costs include: depreciation, interest on your loan, taxes and fees, insurance premiums, fuel costs, maintenance, and repairs.
In poking around this site, I was pleased to find that our new 2005 Honda CR-V LX 2WD falls out on the low end, particularly when compared to other cars in its class. The numbers were actually a bit of an overestimate, as we paid considerably less for our car than the figure that they used for the purchase price, and we didn’t finance it. Then again, assuming that the fuel costs are based on EPA estimates, they’re likely to be underestimated. Despite these possible inaccuracies, however, the TCO calculator still looks like a very useful tool for making apples-to-apples comparisons across makes/models when you’re in the market for a new car.
[Source: Money & Investing]
Published on October 5th, 2005 - 2 Comments
Filed under: Automotive, Online
About the author: Nickel is the founder and editor-in-chief of this site. He's a thirty-something family man who has been writing about personal finance since 2005, and guess what? He's on Twitter!
Related articles...
» One Year Ago This Week (October 1st – October 7th)» Thoughts on Frugality and the True Cost of Your Purchase
» From the Archives (September 30th – October 6th)
» Buying a New Car, Part II
» Buying a New Car, Part III
» From the Archives (August 31st – September 6th)
» The Three Worst Reasons to Buy a House
» Online Cost-of-Living Calculators
Was this article useful? Please sign up to receive our content via e-mail:
Leave a Reply
Top Cards by Category
Earn $200 Bonus Cash Back after you make $500 in purchases in your first 3 months. 5% Cash Back on up to $1,500 spent in bonus categories each quarter.
Earn 3X points on airfare, 2X points on gas and groceries, and 1X points on everything else.
Receive 10,000 Membership Rewards bonus points when you spend $500 in your first three months of card membership. Redeem bonus points for gift cards valued at $100. This is a charge card with no pre-set spending limit.
No Balance Transfer Fee!* 0% Intro APR for up to 15 months on purchases and balance transfers. This card offers Blueprint, free and customizable account features that help you avoid unnecessary interest and pay your balances down faster.
Enjoy no balance transfer fee for a limited time. 0% introductory rate on Balance Transfers and Purchases. Earn up to 5% Cashback Bonus in categories that change like gas, restaurants, department stores and more. Limitations apply*
Enjoy no balance transfer fee for a limited time. 0% introductory rate on Balance Transfers and Purchases. Earn up to 5% Cashback Bonus in categories that change like gas, restaurants, department stores and more. Limitations apply*
Enjoy amenities for you and your business, like: complimentary airport club access, including American Airlines Admirals Club(R) lounges.
5% Cashback Bonus in categories that change like gas, restaurants, department stores and more. Limitations apply*. Up to 1% unlimited Cashback Bonus on everything else. No annual fee
Earn 3X points on airfare, 2X points on gas and groceries, and 1X points on everything else.
Reports to 3 major credit bureaus monthly and acceptance at millions of locations worldwide, including website purchases and reservations.
- How to Become a Millionaire
- How to Get Out of Debt
- The Best Dollars I've Ever Spent
- How Our Estate Plan is Structured
- How We Paid Our Mortgage In Less than 10 Years
- Money Making Ideas
- How to Manage Your Asset Allocation with Multiple Accounts
- Consumption Smoothing - Save While the Saving's Good
- How to Save on Groceries
- How Much Life Insurance Do You Need?
- Eleven Great Books About Money
- Dave Ramsey is Bad at Math
- Dish Network Customer Service SUCKS
- $8,000 Homebuyer Tax Credit
- Pay Off Mortgage Early or Invest?
- How to Claim the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit
- Reduced Credit Limits? Share Your Experience
- $15,000 Homebuyer Tax Credit
- Ethanol Blended Gas = Lower Mileage?
- Termite Control: Sentricon vs. Termidor
- How Much Should You Pay a Babysitter?
- Federal Income Tax Rates Went Down but Your Federal Tax Withholding Increased. Here's Why...
- Would the "Fair Tax" Gut the Economy?
How to save money on insurance
- The Best Values in Colleges - 2012 Edition
- Five Myths About Renter's Insurance
- Own Your Investments, Rent Your Fun
- Citibank to Issue Credit Cards in China
- Heartstrings and Pursestrings
- Saving Money at the Grocery Store: Store Brand Pricing on the Rise
- Missing Tax Paperwork?
- Is Your Investment Allocation Right?
- Chase Freedom Experimenting With Quarterly Rewards Auto-Enrollment
- Income-Based Repayment Plans for Student Loans

Tip It!