What Does a Car Really Cost to Own?
The sticker price is maybe two-thirds of the story. Pick any car, variant and city, tell us how much you drive, and get the true multi-year cost — on-road price, fuel, insurance renewals and servicing — as one ₹/month and ₹/km number, plus the petrol-vs-diesel-vs-CNG break-even for your exact usage. Every assumption is on screen and editable.
Running cost
₹10,212/month
Cost per km
₹8.5/km
5-yr total incl. on-road
₹14,36,485
| On-road price in Delhi Ex-showroom + 7% road tax + year-1 insurance + TCS — computed from Delhi's slab | ₹8,23,755 |
| Fuel, 5 years 14,400 km/yr ÷ 15 × ₹105 | ₹5,04,000 |
| Insurance renewals, years 2–5 Year-1 premium decayed with IDV (₹26,532, ₹23,216, ₹19,899, ₹16,583) | ₹86,230 |
| Servicing, 5 years ₹4,500/yr — edit above to match your brand's service costs | ₹22,500 |
| Running total (5 yrs, excl. on-road) | ₹6,12,730 |
Tata Nexon: fuel vs fuel at your 1,200 km/month
| Fuel | Cheapest variant | Fuel ₹/km | Fuel/month |
|---|---|---|---|
| petrol | Smart (₹7.37L) | ₹7.0 | ₹8,400 |
| diesel | Creative 1.5D MT (₹12.6L) | ₹5.1 | ₹6,133 |
| cng | Pure iCNG (₹9.16L) | ₹3.4 | ₹4,080 |
At default efficiencies, the CNG variant's ₹1,79,000 price premium over petrol pays back in about 41 months at 1,200 km/month (3.5 years).
Excludes depreciation, loan interest (see the EMI calculator), tolls, parking and repairs. Every assumption above is editable — the defaults are indicative, your inputs make it yours. Fuel-vs-fuel rows use each fuel's default efficiency.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the total cost of ownership include?
On-road price (ex-showroom + your state's road tax + year-1 insurance + TCS), fuel for your actual monthly running, insurance renewals estimated on depreciating IDV, and yearly servicing (editable). It deliberately excludes depreciation, loan interest, tolls and repairs — those depend on you, not the car, and we'd rather show a defensible number than a padded guess.
Diesel vs petrol — which is cheaper to own?
It depends almost entirely on your monthly running. Diesel variants cost more to buy but less per km; the tool computes the exact break-even for your car and kilometres — for most models the diesel premium only pays back above roughly 1,200–1,800 km/month within a 5-year ownership. CNG breaks even much faster where it's available, at the cost of boot space.
Why is the mileage field editable?
Because claimed (ARAI) mileage is a lab number — real-world figures typically run 15–25% lower. We prefill a realistic default per fuel type and show the manufacturer's claim beside it; put in what your driving actually delivers and the maths becomes yours, not a brochure's.
How accurate is the insurance renewal estimate?
Year-1 comprehensive insurance is estimated as a percentage of ex-showroom (the same model used across this site), and renewals decay with the car's IDV each year. Actual quotes vary by insurer, no-claim bonus and add-ons — treat the renewals line as a realistic planning figure, not a quote.