Is there a website or mechanism for comparing total costs of two vehicles over their lifespan?

Asked by shilolo (18085

) June 13th, 2009

I am in the market for a (new) used car. I have a couple of cars in mind that are roughly the same price, though one will likely cost several thousand more. I am under the impression that one will be significantly more expensive in the long run owing to lower gas mileage and possibly higher expenses. Is there a simple way to get an estimate of future total costs?

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4 Answers

Edmunds.com does a cost analysis for maintenance and such.

hearkat (22922

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@shilolo…If I recall a radio ad I heard a number of times but never really listened to, BMW provides such a comparison on their web-site. They were specifically promoting their car with zero maintenance costs (their current plan even covers routine oil changes) so you may need to compare each of the autos to the BMW, but then you should be able to compare your two from the data provided. Again, this info was somewhat subliminally obtained, but you might want to give it a try. Good luck…wtf
PS: In case it was a local BMW dealer thing, check Los Angeles area BMW dealer web-site.

whatthefluther (13830

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@hearkat You were right. Edmunds does have a True Cost to Own calculator, which confirmed my hunch that the more expensive European car would cost me almost $20K more over 5 years. Ouch.

shilolo (18085

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Yikes! That’s a huge difference! Is it simply the parts and labor that jack the cost up so much?

I am curious which 2 cars you’re comparing…

hearkat (22922

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