A compact car costs around €500 a month, a mid-size SUV over €800, and the biggest item is not a tank of fuel but depreciation. How to calculate your car costs in full and where the levers are.
In short
- Depreciation: 15 to 25 percent in the first year, around 50 percent after three years; the biggest single item.
- Fixed costs: insurance, tax, inspection, parking; variable costs: fuel or electricity, maintenance, tyres.
- Compact car 2026: around €500 a month at 15,000 kilometres, electric similar with cheaper running and higher depreciation.
- A three to five year old used car costs half the depreciation for 80 percent of the remaining use.
Depreciation
A new car for €35,000 is worth around €27,000 after a year, €18,000 after three, €13,000 after five. That is €4,400 a year or €370 a month before the car has driven a metre. For electric cars depreciation was higher from 2023 to 2025 because list prices fell and battery worries weighed on the used market; in 2026 that has evened out. Whoever does not see depreciation because no money leaves the account underestimates their car by half.
Fixed costs
Car insurance: liability plus fully comprehensive for a compact car €600 to €1,200 a year depending on no-claims class, region, age and mileage. Vehicle tax: combustion by engine size and CO2 €100 to €300, electric cars exempt until 2030. Main inspection every two years €150. Parking or garage €0 to €150 a month, in cities a resident permit up to €360 a year. Together €100 to €250 a month.
Variable costs
Fuel at 6.5 litres and €1.75 a litre over 15,000 kilometres: €1,700. Electricity at 17 kWh per 100 kilometres and 35 cents at home: €900, at public chargers at 55 cents €1,400. Maintenance and repairs €400 to €900 depending on age, less for electric cars because oil, spark plugs and brake wear fall away. Tyres €200 to €400 a year. Together €200 to €300 a month.
The total
New compact car, 15,000 kilometres: €370 depreciation, €150 fixed costs, €250 variable, together around €770 a month. The same car three years old for €18,000: depreciation €150, fixed €140, variable €280, together €570. A new mid-size SUV for €55,000: over €1,100 a month. The car cost calculator shows your figure with your values, per kilometre too, and compares combustion with electric.
The levers
Used instead of new: a three to five year old has the steepest part of depreciation behind it and ten years of use ahead. Keep longer: whoever drives the car ten years instead of three cuts annual depreciation by two thirds. Buy smaller: every class down saves 20 to 30 percent. Compare insurance annually, use workshop-bound tariffs and higher excesses. And ask whether the car is needed at all: under 8,000 kilometres a year, car sharing, rail and the occasional rental are often cheaper.
The comparison with the savings plan
€200 a month of difference between SUV and compact is around €92,000 over twenty years at 6 percent. That is no argument against the car you love. It is the figure you should know when you buy it.
Try it yourself
Car Cost CalculatorPrice, holding period, mileage, consumption, insurance: what your car costs per month and per kilometre.Frequently asked questions
Is an electric car cheaper?
In 2026 yes in running costs, similar in purchase and depreciation. Whoever charges at home and drives over 15,000 kilometres saves over the holding period; whoever has to charge publicly hardly does.
What does a company car really cost?
One percent of the gross list price a month as a taxable benefit, 0.25 percent for electric. At a €40,000 list price that is around €170 of tax a month for a car without own costs, usually a good deal.
How do I calculate my car’s depreciation?
Residual value portals and used car exchanges with comparable vehicles. As a reference: 20 percent in the first year, then 10 to 15 percent of the residual value annually.
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