How much does a car cost to own, really?

Hand on heart: Do you know how much a car costs? It is easy to think that a car only costs what you pay at the time of purchase, but if you look a little closer, there are more parameters to take into account.

Many car buyers stare blindly at the car's price tag but fail to check how much it costs in total to own. How much you have to pay for vehicle tax and insurance naturally affects how high your monthly cost will be. The vehicle tax, in turn, depends on the type of fuel and carbon dioxide emissions or vehicle type and tax weight. And how high the insurance premium will be depends, for example, on the car's mileage, price and engine. And you, the car's total cost of ownership is sometimes referred to as TCO (total cost of ownership) - so now we've straightened that out.

The famous depreciation

You've probably heard the phrase "A brand new car loses value the second you drive it for the first time!". And of course that's usually true, because the single biggest cost for cars is depreciation. But this mainly applies to new cars. When it comes to used, the biggest drop in value has already happened. For some models, it is even the case that the value is halved already in the first year. Anyone who really wants to save money is therefore best off buying a used car . But if you absolutely want to have brand new, it is important not only to look at the price of the car, but to look at all the costs that result from ownership.

Guesses wrong by up to SEK 36,000

It's also easy to misjudge how much a car costs to own, whether it's new or used. When Kvdbil conducted a survey a couple of years ago, it turned out that most people thought that a three-year-old car costs around SEK 1,000 to SEK 3,000 less to own per month than it actually does. This corresponds to an additional cost of up to 50 percent.

So how can you get a handle on the total cost of ownership? In addition to being aware of the depreciation, review future vehicle tax, insurance and service costs. Even possible costs for a parking space or new tires are easy to miss. And how much the car rolls per year, and the fuel costs incurred.

Examples of costs to keep track of

Tax

How big the vehicle tax is depends on which car model you choose and how much carbon dioxide it emits. If you buy from us at Kvdbil, you can always see the tax you need to pay for the car under the section "Car facts" in the car ad.

Insurance

Do you need full or half insurance? The cost of insurance varies and depends on the extent it gives you, but also which car you have and of course which company you take out insurance through.

Psst! If you buy a car via kvd.se, we always offer you 14 days of insurance through our Kvdbil Försäkring . In this way, you are safe from the first moment.

What soup?

Do you drive many miles per year? Choose a fuel-efficient car. It is mainly with many miles that fuel-efficient cars really make an impact for both the wallet and the environment.

Do you have the opportunity to charge at home or at work, for example? Then an electric car or electric hybrid might be something for you.

Have a repair buffer

The need for repairs varies, of course, but having a repair buffer for unforeseen events of SEK 5,000 per year is a good benchmark. If you do not use the buffer, you can spend the money on the annual service instead.