racv car running costs

The RACV publishes annual car running costs that tally the real-world expenses of owning a car in Victoria, not just the rosy brochure bits.

It covers fuel, servicing and tyres, insurance, rego/CTP, finance interest, roadside, and the wallet-thinning headliner: depreciation.

To ballpark your own figure in AUD, multiply your car’s fuel use (say 7.5 L/100 km) by your annual kilometres and local fuel price, then add your scheduled service/tyre averages plus your actual insurance and rego.

If you’re financing, include interest; if you’re not, include the opportunity cost (or pretend money grows on gum trees—your call).

Depreciation is usually the biggest hit over the first five years, so weigh resale strength as carefully as economy numbers.

For model-specific numbers, check RACV’s latest running-costs report or calculator, then sanity‑check with your own bills for accuracy.