Know what a car will really cost you before you buy it
73 Auto combines vehicle data with how you drive, where you live and how you plan to own the car to estimate its real ownership cost.
Built using official UK vehicle data sources and transparent ownership-cost modelling.
Preview
£5,856
a year · LAND ROVER DISCOVERY SPORT 2018
Updated today · DVLA, DVSA MOT, ONS
Built on official UK data
The real cost
The price of the car is only the beginning
What you pay for the car, or the monthly finance payment, doesn't show the full ownership cost. Depreciation, fuel, insurance and servicing all add up over the time you own it, whether you're buying your first car or your fifth.
Layer 01
Purchase price
Or the monthly payment, the one number most listings show you.
- 02DepreciationValue lost over the period you own it
- 03Fuel / EnergyFollows your mileage and efficiency
- 04InsuranceFollows your profile and location
- 05Service & MOTScheduled maintenance over the period
- 06MaintenanceWear items, repairs and tyres
- 07Tax & Urban CostsVED, plus charges where you drive
- 08FinanceApplies when the car is not bought outright
Everything above
Real ownership cost
Over the period you actually keep the car.
How it works
One car. Your circumstances. One clearer answer
Vehicle
The vehicle
Registration, vehicle identity, fuel/type and available official records.
Usage
How you use it
Mileage, driving style, commute and usage pattern where applicable.
Profile
Your profile
Location and relevant insurance/driver inputs.
Ownership
How you own it
Cash/finance assumptions, ownership period, servicing and user-supplied values where applicable.
Personalised ownership cost
One number, built from your four inputs
Relevant inputs are applied where they affect the estimate, since not every field changes every category.
What's in your report
10 categories, every one explained
Depreciation
What the car loses in value while you own it.
e.g. £1,618/yr
Fuel / Energy
Real mpg or efficiency against current prices.
e.g. £1,084/yr
Insurance
Group, postcode band and your driver profile.
e.g. £680/yr
Service & MOT
Scheduled servicing plus the annual MOT.
e.g. £769/yr
Maintenance & Repairs
Wear items, parts and unscheduled repairs.
e.g. £470/yr
Urban Costs (CC / ULEZ / Parking)
Congestion charge, ULEZ and parking where they apply.
e.g. £240/yr
VED / Road Tax
The current DVLA road tax band.
e.g. £180/yr
Tyres
Replacement cycle at your mileage.
e.g. £135/yr
Roadside Assistance
Breakdown cover appropriate for the car’s age.
e.g. £130/yr
Finance / Leasing
Interest or lease cost if not paying cash.
e.g. £550/yr
Personalised for you
A car doesn't cost the same for everyone
The same vehicle can cost two owners very different amounts. Mileage, location, insurance profile, parking, driving pattern and financing can all change the ownership picture.
Held constant
Same car
Same cost model
Owner A
Owner B
- Annual mileage7,400 miles/yearHigher annual mileage
- PostcodeRural postcodeUrban postcode
- Driving styleNormalDifferent driving style
- Payment methodCash purchaseFinance
- Ownership period3-year ownershipLonger ownership period
Same car. Different owner. Different ownership cost
Each of these feeds specific cost categories: mileage into fuel, tyres and servicing; postcode into insurance and urban charges; ownership period into depreciation and finance. Which categories an input affects depends on the vehicle and the data available.
Illustrative example, not your data.
Start with a registration, and you can complete your ownership profile afterwards.
Your report
See exactly where the money goes
This is a real 73 Auto example report, showing the same category breakdown, cost totals and methodology you get from checking your own car.
Land Rover Discovery Sport 2018
£5,856per year to own
£488 a month · £0.79 per mile · £17,568 over 3 years Calculated
- Annual mileage
- 7,400 miles
- Driving style
- Normal
- Ownership period
- 3 years
- Payment
- Finance
- Efficiency
- 45 mpg
- Fuel price
- £1.45/L
What drives it
Depreciation
£1,618/yr
28% of the annual total
Fuel / Energy
£1,084/yr
19% of the annual total
Service & MOT
£769/yr
13% of the annual total
Everything else
Which figures come from official data, which are calculated, and which are modelled: see the methodology.
See a sample reportMore real examples
See all examplesCompare
See which car costs less to own, not just less to buy
73 Auto can compare up to four checked vehicles side by side, under the same ownership assumptions. That's useful the moment you're choosing between shortlisted cars, not just one.
Model A
Hyundai Tucson 2016
Model B
Mercedes-Benz GLC 2016
Largest category differences
Depreciation
£585/yr
Hyundai Tucson 2016 £1,031 · Mercedes-Benz GLC 2016 £1,616
Finance / Leasing
£215/yr
Hyundai Tucson 2016 £394 · Mercedes-Benz GLC 2016 £609
Insurance
£120/yr
Hyundai Tucson 2016 £560 · Mercedes-Benz GLC 2016 £680
Depreciation is the single largest category difference between these two example reports, at £585 per year.
Compared under the same assumptions
- Annual mileage
- 7,400 miles
- Driving style
- Normal
- Ownership period
- 3 years
- Payment
- Finance
Built to be explained
Know what is data. Know what is estimated
Every figure in a 73 Auto report is either sourced from official records, calculated from published rates, or modelled, and labelled accordingly, with a confidence level where it matters.
- Source data
- Official and authoritative vehicle records, where they are available for the vehicle.Source data
- Calculated
- Arithmetic over stated values and published rates, with the basis disclosed on the figure.Calculated
- Modelled estimate
- A 73 Auto model where no direct figure exists, labelled as an estimate, with its assumptions shown.Modelled estimate
Know the real cost before you buy
Check a car and build an ownership-cost estimate around the way you plan to own it