Free UK car running cost calculator. Work out true annual, monthly and cost-per-mile for petrol, diesel, hybrid or electric cars — fuel, insurance, tax, service, MOT, tyres, depreciation.
The average UK car costs roughly £2,500 to £3,500 a year to run on 8,000 miles: around £900 fuel, £500 insurance, £180 road tax, £54.85 MOT, £180 to £350 servicing, plus tyres and repairs. Use the calculator here to work out your own figure by mileage and MPG.
Answered by Bob — 32 years on the tools, DVSA-approved MOT centre, Birnam, Perthshire.
What running a car really costs in the UK
Fuel is the number everybody watches and rarely the biggest one. Depreciation, insurance, road tax, servicing, tyres, MOT and the repairs that arrive whether you budgeted for them or not usually add up to more than the fuel bill on anything newer than about eight years old.
The calculator puts all of it in one place so you can compare cars honestly. Enter your annual mileage, fuel type and consumption, insurance, tax band and expected servicing, and you get a pence-per-mile figure — the only number that lets you compare a diesel estate with a petrol hatchback or an EV.
The costs people forget
Tyres are the classic omission. A set of four on a family car is a real annual cost once you divide it across the miles. So is the MOT at £54.85, an annual service, brake pads and discs every few years, a battery every four to six years, and cam belt or chain work at the manufacturer's interval — often the single largest scheduled bill a car will ever present.
Depreciation is the quiet giant on a newer car. A three-year-old car can lose more value in a year than it burns in fuel, which is why older, cheaper cars often work out less expensive per mile even when they need more repairs.
Diesel, petrol, hybrid or electric
Diesel still makes sense for high annual mileage and towing, provided the journeys are long enough for the DPF to regenerate. Diesels on short urban trips are a false economy: blocked filters, clogged EGR valves and injector problems cost far more than the fuel they saved.
Petrol suits low and medium mileage with cheaper repairs and cheaper tyres. Hybrids shine in town. EVs win on home-charged pence per mile but need honest sums on the purchase price, insurance and tyre wear from the extra weight.
Using the number to make a decision
Work out your total pence per mile, then multiply by your real annual mileage rather than the figure you would like it to be. Most people drive less than they think, which flatters the cheap-to-buy, expensive-to-run option and punishes the expensive-to-buy, cheap-to-run one.
Then check the specific car. Its MOT history shows repeated advisories and how it has been maintained, which tells you whether the repair line in your budget is optimistic.
Frequently asked questions
What is the biggest running cost?
On a newer car, depreciation. On an older one, repairs and maintenance. Fuel is usually second in both cases.
How do I compare two cars fairly?
Work out total cost per mile including depreciation, insurance, tax, servicing, tyres, the MOT and expected repairs — not just mpg.
Is a diesel cheaper to run?
Only with high mileage and long journeys. On short urban trips DPF, EGR and injector problems wipe out the fuel saving.
How much should I budget for repairs?
On a car over eight years old, a few hundred pounds a year is realistic even when nothing dramatic happens — tyres, brakes, a battery and the MOT alone get you there.