Buying a New Car: True Cost to Own

Written by Nickel - 2 Comments

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
email this article email this article - add to tip'd - stumble it - digg it - bookmark it

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
» Online Cost-of-Living Calculators
» From the Archives (August 31st – September 6th)
» The Three Worst Reasons to Buy a House

Was this article useful? Please sign up to receive our content via e-mail:

You will receive only the daily updates, and can unsubscribe at anytime.

Comments (scroll down to add your own):

None so far - share your thoughts and be the first!

Leave a comment

Subscribe without commenting

  1. < $10,000
 

Disclaimer...

The terms of third-party offers referenced on this website are subject to change without notice. While we strive to maintain timely and accurate information, offer details may be out of date. Visitors should thus verify the terms of any such offers prior to participating in them. Please see our terms of service for additional details.