Total Cost of Ownership Calculator

What does total cost of ownership (TCO) actually include?

TCO is the all-in 5-year cost of running a car: (1) depreciation — how much value the car loses, by far the biggest line item at 40–55% of total; (2) fuel or electricity, depending on powertrain; (3) comprehensive insurance, mandatory for any financed vehicle in SA; (4) maintenance and servicing, including the costs that hit you after the manufacturer service plan ends; (5) tyres, annualised across their useful life; (6) annual motor vehicle licence renewal; and optionally (7) finance interest if you financed the car. The calculator shows each line separately so you can override any number you have a better quote for.

Why is depreciation always the biggest cost?

On a typical SA new car, depreciation eats 50–60% of the original price over the first 5 years. A R400,000 compact SUV is worth around R168,000 after 5 years on TransUnion residual data — that's R232,000 lost, or R3,867 per month, before you've spent a cent on fuel, insurance, or anything else. Bakkies are the SA exception: a Hilux or Ranger holds 50–55% of its value at year 5, against 35–45% for premium German sedans and EVs. The calculator's per-category depreciation curves reflect these SA-specific patterns.

Are EVs cheaper to own than petrol cars in South Africa?

Often yes on energy + maintenance, but no on depreciation. An EV uses about R0.43 of electricity per kilometre on Eskom Homelight (16 kWh/100km × 271c/kWh) versus R1.79 for a 7L/100km petrol car at R25.58/L — that saves you roughly R27,000 per year at 20,000 km. EVs also have lower maintenance (regen braking, no oil services). The catch in SA: EVs depreciate faster than ICE equivalents because the second-hand market is still small, battery age uncertainty discourages used buyers, and import duties make replacements expensive. On the calculator's 5-year window, the energy + maintenance saving usually offsets the higher depreciation for daily-driver use; for low-mileage urban use, an ICE car often wins on TCO.

How accurate is this calculator?

It's a planning estimator with a target accuracy of ±10–15% against any individual SA owner's actual 5-year cost. Depreciation (the biggest line) is well-bounded by TransUnion SA Vehicle Pricing Index patterns. Fuel and electricity are tightly bounded by user inputs (you can change L/100km and km/year). Insurance is the biggest source of uncertainty — the calculator uses a midpoint for a 35-year-old suburban driver; your actual quote depends on age, area, claim history, tracker and excess. Maintenance and tyres are also approximate. The calculator surfaces every line as an editable number so you can plug in your own quotes for a more precise result.

Should I buy or lease in South Africa?

For most SA private buyers, buying — even on finance — is cheaper than leasing over a 5-year horizon. Leasing in SA usually means an instalment-sale with a balloon (technically still buying) or a full-maintenance lease for businesses. A pure consumer rental product like a US-style closed-end lease isn't widely offered. The TCO model assumes you own the car at year 5 with the residual value showing in your favour. If you instead hand the car back at year 4 or 5 under a balloon-with-buy-back (BMW Select, Toyota Access), the cost shifts: lower upfront risk if the residual disappoints, but you don't capture the residual value either.

What's the cost per kilometre for a typical SA car?

On a R400,000 compact SUV at 20,000 km/year over 5 years, expect roughly R5.50–R6.50 per km all-in (including depreciation, fuel, insurance, maintenance, tyres and licensing). Bakkies are R6.50–R8.50/km because they cost more upfront. Entry hatchbacks are R3.50–R4.50/km. EVs land at R5.00–R6.00/km — fuel saving offsets faster depreciation. Performance cars are R10–R20+/km because tyres alone can cost R20,000 every 25,000 km. The cost-per-km figure scales inversely with annual distance: drive twice as much per year and the per-km cost drops 30–40% as fixed costs (insurance, licensing, depreciation) get spread over more kilometres.

How does annual mileage change the answer?

Mileage interacts with TCO in three ways. Higher km = higher fuel cost (linear), faster tyre wear (linear), and slightly faster depreciation (cars with high odometer readings sell for less). It does NOT change insurance, licensing, or service-plan-covered maintenance. The result: cost-per-km falls as annual km rises (fixed costs spread further), but total cost also rises. A 10,000 km/year urban runabout is cheap on cost-per-km terms but you're still paying full insurance and depreciation. A 35,000 km/year sales rep pays more total but each km is cheaper.

Why do bakkies cost so much to insure even though they're 'work cars'?

Three reasons. (1) Theft risk — Hilux, Ranger, and D-Max double cabs are the most-stolen vehicles in SA every year. (2) Replacement cost — modern bakkies are R700k–R1m+, so insurer payout is high. (3) Off-road and damage exposure — bakkies are bought to be driven on bad roads, towed with, and loaded heavily, all of which raise claim frequency. The TCO model uses an R1,800/month midpoint for double-cab bakkies (vs R1,300 for a similarly-priced compact SUV). If your bakkie is purely tarmac-and-school-run, your real quote will be lower — adjust the slider.