Cost examples updated November 8, 2026
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A $35,000 car costs $53,051 over 5 years, about $884 a month. This free spreadsheet runs the same math for any car. Change the yellow numbers and the totals move.
Download the free worksheet (Excel)
Go ahead, play with it. Change any number and watch the total move.
How to use it
- Download the file. It opens in Excel, Google Sheets, LibreOffice, or Apple Numbers. Free, no sign-up, no email needed.
- Change the yellow numbers to your car: price, down payment, loan rate, loan months, miles a year, miles per gallon, gas price, insurance, and maintenance.
- Read your totals: the 5-year total, cost per year, cost per month, cost per mile, and the verdict.
The sheet comes pre-filled with the worked example below, so you can see it working before you change anything. The second sheet, called How it works, explains every line in plain words and lists where the starting numbers come from.
The worked example: a $35,000 car
This is the same example as the calculator on the homepage. A $35,000 car, $5,000 down, 6.5% APR, 60 months, 7% sales tax, $900 in fees, 12,000 miles a year, 28 miles a gallon, gas at $4.153 a gallon, insurance at $180 a month, maintenance at $1,200 a year, and the car worth $16,800 after 5 years.
| Line | 5-year amount |
|---|---|
| Amount financed | $33,350 |
| Monthly loan payment | $653 |
| Total interest paid | $5,802 |
| Depreciation (price minus resale) | $18,200 |
| Fuel for 5 years | $8,899 |
| Insurance for 5 years | $10,800 |
| Maintenance for 5 years | $6,000 |
| Sales tax | $2,450 |
| Title and fees | $900 |
| 5-year total | $53,051 |
| Cost per year | $10,610 |
| Cost per month | $884 |
| Cost per mile | $0.88 |
| Verdict | Solid deal |
The buckets add up: $5,802 interest plus $18,200 depreciation plus $8,899 fuel plus $10,800 insurance plus $6,000 maintenance plus $2,450 tax plus $900 fees, which is $53,051, or about $884 a month. The loan payment is $652.53 a month, shown as $653 in the table. Try a $30,000 car in the sheet and it comes to $49,170, about $820 a month, the same as the calculator on the homepage.
Formula
Every line in the sheet is a live formula, not a typed-in number. The loan payment uses the standard loan formula, the same one banks use: the payment stays the same every month, and the interest is the payment times the months minus what you borrowed. Fuel is your yearly miles divided by miles per gallon, times the gas price, times 5 years. Depreciation is the price minus what the car is worth after 5 years, and resale is set to 48% of the price, the national average. Type your own resale number if you know it. Insurance is your monthly amount times 60 months. Maintenance is your yearly amount times 5 years. Sales tax is the price times your tax rate.
The starting numbers are the ones on the homepage calculator: a $35,000 car, $5,000 down, 6.5% APR, 60 months, 7% sales tax, $900 in fees, 12,000 miles a year, 28 miles a gallon, gas at $4.153 a gallon, the EIA national average for the week ending November 2, 2026, insurance at $180 a month, maintenance at $1,200 a year, resale at 48% of the price, worth $16,800 at year five. Change any of them and the sheet re-runs the whole cost.
Take it to the dealership
The sheet is yours to take with you. When a dealer quotes you a price, a rate, or a monthly payment, type their numbers into the yellow cells and see what the car really costs over five years. If their payment is higher than the sheet's payment for the same price and rate, ask why. The sheet never tells you what to do. It shows you the numbers, and you decide.
Download the worksheet, change the yellow numbers to the car in front of you, and the totals update on their own. Then check the same car on the calculator or on its own model page.
Calculation transparency
Scope. One worked example, a $35,000 car on the homepage calculator assumptions, over 5 years, gas compared first, plus a blank sheet that runs the same math for any car you type in.
Rules and time period. Common basis: $5,000 down; 6.5% APR; 60 months; 7% sales tax; $900 in fees; 12,000 miles a year; 28 miles a gallon; gas at $4.153 a gallon, the EIA national average for the week ending November 2, 2026; insurance at $180 a month; maintenance at $1,200 a year; resale at 48% of the price, worth $16,800 at year five.
Scope and limitations. Educational estimate only. Your own quotes can move the totals: insurance, mileage, your loan rate, and your resale market at year five. Prices vary by car, shop, and city. Get a written quote for your own car before you decide.
Source links checked November 10, 2026. Figures: car prices from Kelley Blue Book, September 2026; gas at $4.153 a gallon, the EIA national average for the week ending November 2, 2026; insurance from AAA, September 2026; loan rates from Experian, second quarter 2026; sales tax from the Tax Foundation, midyear 2026.
Primary sources: EIA, U.S. weekly retail gasoline prices; Kelley Blue Book; AAA, new vehicle ownership costs. How the numbers are calculated is written down on the methodology page, and every source is listed on the sources page.
Definitions
Depreciation. The value a car loses over time. On this page, the $35,000 car loses $18,200 over five years, because it is worth $16,800 at year five.
Resale value. What the car is worth when you sell it. The sheet sets it to 48% of the price, $16,800 for the $35,000 car. Type your own number if you know it.
APR. Annual percentage rate, the yearly interest rate on the loan. This example uses 6.5%. For context, Experian reported average rates of 6.35% on new cars and 11.19% on used cars in the second quarter of 2026.
Sales tax. A tax on the purchase price, charged by your state. On this page, the example uses 7% sales tax.
Spreadsheet. A file of rows and columns with live formulas, so changing a number updates every total that uses it. This one opens in Excel, Google Sheets, LibreOffice, and Apple Numbers.
Questions people actually ask
What is the car cost worksheet?
A free Excel spreadsheet that runs the true 5-year cost of any car. Change the yellow numbers and the totals update on their own. It comes pre-filled with the worked example: a $35,000 car costs $53,051 over 5 years, about $884 a month.
Do I need Excel to use it?
No. It opens in Excel, Google Sheets, LibreOffice, or Apple Numbers. The formulas are standard and work in all of them. In Google Sheets, upload the file to Drive and open it from there.
What numbers do I change?
The yellow cells: price, down payment, loan rate, loan months, miles a year, miles per gallon, gas price, insurance per month, and maintenance per year. Resale is set to 48% of the price. Type your own resale number if you know what the car will be worth in 5 years.
Does it match the site calculator?
Yes. Same math, same starting numbers. The $35,000 example on the homepage and in the sheet both come to $53,051, and a $30,000 car comes to $49,170, about $820 a month, in both.
Is it really free?
Yes. Free to download, free to use, free to share. No sign-up and no email needed. The email signup on this page is separate and optional.
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