Ownership costs · 2 min read
What does your car cost per month? Start with the receipts
Work out your monthly car costs from twelve months of receipts, with a table and a worked example.
CapCar Editorial ·
The fuel receipt is easy to find. The annual insurance bill and the set of tyres are easier to forget. Start with everything you actually paid over the last twelve months. Then turn it into a monthly average.
| Category | What to include | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed costs | Insurance, vehicle tax, parking space | €___ |
| Driving | Fuel or charging | €___ |
| Upkeep | Workshop bills, servicing, tyres, inspection fees | €___ |
| Projects | Mods, accessories, tools bought for a project | €___ |
| Monthly average | Recorded payments divided by 12 | €___ |
Enter an annual bill once. If you divide it into monthly amounts for comparison, don’t count those amounts as additional spending. Leave missing figures blank.
Worked example, not a BMW cost estimate: €600 fixed costs, €1,200 fuel, €480 upkeep, and €120 projects add up to €2,400 a year, or €200 a month. Financing and depreciation aren’t included. If you want to compare the total cost of owning two cars, consider depreciation too. Keep the cash you paid separate so you can still answer “What actually left my account?”
ADAC’s car cost overview distinguishes fixed costs, running costs, workshop spending, and depreciation. The E90 diary shows how to keep unpublished figures out of the total.
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