How Much Does a Car Really Cost in Colorado Springs?

Colorado Springs figures checked November 3, 2026

The answer up front

For a $42,000 car in Colorado Springs, the five-year cost is $72,229, or about $1,204 a month. The monthly loan payment is $855. Here is the whole bill, in six buckets:

• Value lost (depreciation, the value the car loses): $21,000 ($42,000 minus $21,000 resale after five years)
• Insurance: $17,700 ($3,540 a year, the middle of $3,468–$3,608, x 5 years)
• Fuel: $12,695 (12,000 miles / 19 mpg x $4.02 a gallon, Colorado Springs metro average, x 5 years)
• Maintenance (upkeep): $5,000 ($1,000 x 5 years)
• Tax, fees and interest: $13,472 ($3,444 sales tax, $900 title and dealer fees, $9,128 loan interest)
• Registration and yearly ownership tax: $2,362 ($1,937 Specific Ownership Tax over five years plus $85 a year base registration x 5 years; no gasoline emissions tests in El Paso County, see below)

The rest of this page shows where every one of those numbers comes from, and what is still a range rather than a fixed price.

The tax you pay on day one: 8.20%

Colorado Springs charges 8.20% sales tax on a car bought at a Colorado Springs address. The pieces are: 2.9% state + 1.23% El Paso County + 3.07% city + 1% PPRTA (the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority, which funds regional transportation). On a $42,000 car, that is $3,444. A trade-in lowers the taxable price, so trading in an old car lowers this tax too. One wrinkle: some Colorado Springs mailing addresses sit in different tax districts (Fountain, Monument, Cimarron Hills), with combined rates from 5.13% to 9.2%, so the 8.20% here is the main city rate, and your exact address decides your rate.

The tax that comes back every year: the Specific Ownership Tax

This is Colorado Springs' sharpest hook, and the cost most buyers never see coming. The Specific Ownership Tax, Colorado's yearly tax on owning a car, paid when you renew your plates, is charged every year you own the car, on top of the day-one sales tax. A personal use pickup is Class B, so its taxable value is 75% of the car's original sticker price (MSRP, the sticker price when new). The rate falls each year: 2.1% in year 1, 1.5% in year 2, 1.2% in year 3, 0.9% in year 4, and 0.45% in years 5 through 9, then a flat $3 a year from year 10 on.

On a $42,000 truck, 75% of the sticker price is $31,500, so the schedule is:

• Year 1: $31,500 x 2.1% = $661.50
• Year 2: $31,500 x 1.5% = $472.50
• Year 3: $31,500 x 1.2% = $378
• Year 4: $31,500 x 0.9% = $283.50
• Year 5: $31,500 x 0.45% = $141.75

That is $1,937.25 over five years. A used car costs far less here, because the tax is tied to the original sticker price and the rate falls every year, one more reason a two- or three-year-old car is cheaper to keep in Colorado than a brand-new one.

Title and registration: the smaller stack

The state title fee is $7.20. Base registration runs roughly $75 to $92 a year plus surcharges, which vary by county. The example on this page uses $85 a year for base registration, near the middle of that range, or $425 over five years, plus the $1,937 ownership tax above, for a $2,362 registration bucket. Surcharges are not itemized separately, so a real Colorado Springs bill may land a little higher or lower. One range you will see elsewhere, about $150 to $250 a year for a typical sedan, is not used for this example car, because it understates a new $42,000 vehicle once the ownership tax is counted properly.

The example's $900 title and dealer fees line covers the $7.20 title fee plus dealer charges. The $7.20 is not added a second time.

Emissions: no test for a gasoline car here

Colorado Springs sits OUTSIDE Colorado's emissions-testing area, which covers the Denver metro and North Front Range (Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, and Jefferson counties, plus parts of Adams, Arapahoe, Larimer, and Weld). Gasoline cars registered in El Paso County owe no emissions test at registration or renewal, so emissions tests are $0 in the $72,229 total, not through an exemption, but because there is no gasoline program here at all. One wrinkle: parts of El Paso County require a diesel opacity test before a diesel vehicle is sold, so a diesel buyer should check with the county clerk. If you buy used and the car is a diesel in one of those areas, budget that test on top.

Insurance: Colorado Springs runs hotter than Denver

After the ownership tax, insurance is Colorado Springs' second differentiator, and it runs hotter than Denver. Full-coverage insurance, insurance that covers damage to your own car, not just damage you cause to others, runs $3,468 to $3,608 a year in Colorado Springs across sources: $3,468 (Insure.com, 2026 Quadrant data) to $3,608 (InsuranceQuotes, rates insurers filed with state regulators as of August 31, 2026, benchmark 40-year-old driver, 100/300/100, $500 deductibles). The example uses $3,540 a year, the middle of that range ($3,538) rounded to the nearest $5, or $17,700 over five years. Hail and theft exposure are part of why Colorado Springs sits this high. InsuranceQuotes calls Colorado Springs the most expensive of its four Colorado city guides, about $12 a month more than Denver. Your own quote will differ by driver, car, and coverage, treat the range as the honest figure, not any single number in it.

One figure is deliberately left out of that range: a NerdWallet analysis at $3,697 a year, built on a different driver profile (35-year-old, good credit, clean record, 2023 Camry LE). Mixing it into the same average would quietly move the answer, so it is shown here as an outlier, not blended in.

Gas: the Colorado Springs metro price

Gas here is a snapshot, not a five-year promise: the Colorado Springs metro average was $4.02 a gallon on November 3, 2026 ($4.06 the day before, $4.44 a week earlier, $3.96 a month earlier), versus $4.16 for Colorado as a whole and $4.05 for the Denver metro the same day. For a car driving 12,000 miles a year at 19 mpg, that is 631.6 gallons a year, or $12,695 over five years at the snapshot price. Unlike the Denver page, which used the state figure because no Denver-metro average was in the AAA pages retrieved, this page uses the Colorado Springs metro average itself. Gas prices move weekly.

What Colorado Springs drives

At the state level, the Ford F-150 is number one in Colorado, with a 3.2% share of 1- to 5-year-old used sales in the 2025 iSeeCars study. No reliable current Colorado Springs-metro-only ranking was found in that study (Denver is the only Colorado metro in its top-50 list), so no metro share is claimed here. An older iSeeCars result, from 2021, also had the F-150 on top in the Colorado Springs and Pueblo area, and it is shown here with its 2021 date attached, never as a current ranking.

A full Colorado Springs example: a $42,000 car

Every figure below uses the same $42,000 vehicle as the Texas example, so the cities compare fairly: 10% down ($4,200), 8% APR (the yearly interest rate on the loan), 60 months, $21,000 resale value after five years, $1,000 a year maintenance. The financed amount, price plus tax plus fees minus the down payment, is $42,000 + $3,444 + $900 − $4,200 = $42,144, which works out to $855 a month on the loan.

• Value lost: $21,000 ($42,000 minus $21,000 resale)
• Insurance: $17,700 ($3,540 a year x 5 years)
• Fuel: $12,695 (12,000 / 19 x $4.02 x 5 years)
• Maintenance: $5,000 ($1,000 x 5 years)
• Tax, fees and interest: $13,472 ($3,444 sales tax, $900 fees, $9,128 loan interest)
• Registration and yearly ownership tax: $2,362 ($1,937 Specific Ownership Tax plus $425 base registration; $0 gasoline emissions tests in El Paso County)

That totals $72,229 over five years, or about $1,204 a month. Colorado Springs' pattern in one sentence: the day-one tax is lighter than Denver's, the yearly ownership tax keeps billing after it, insurance runs hotter than Denver, and gas, below the state average, gives a little back.

Formula

The five-year total is the sum of six buckets: value lost, insurance, fuel, maintenance, tax, fees and interest, and registration and yearly ownership tax. Value lost is the $42,000 price minus the $21,000 resale value after five years, which is $21,000. Insurance is $3,540 a year times 5 years, which is $17,700. Fuel is 12,000 miles a year divided by 19 miles per gallon, times $4.02 a gallon, times 5 years, which is $12,695. Maintenance is $1,000 a year times 5 years, which is $5,000. Tax, fees and interest is $3,444 of sales tax, $900 in title and dealer fees, and $9,128 of loan interest, which is $13,472. Registration and yearly ownership tax is $2,362 over five years: $1,937 of Specific Ownership Tax plus $85 a year of base registration times 5 years, which is $425. Gasoline emissions tests are $0 in El Paso County.

Added together, $21,000 plus $17,700 plus $12,695 plus $5,000 plus $13,472 plus $2,362 equals $72,229, or about $1,204 a month. The financed amount is the $42,000 price plus $3,444 sales tax plus $900 in fees, minus the $4,200 down payment, which is $42,144. At 8% APR over 60 months, the payment on $42,144 is $855 a month, and the loan costs $9,128 in interest over five years.

Calculation transparency

Jurisdiction. Colorado Springs, Colorado, in El Paso County. Sales tax, titling, registration, and insurance rules are set by your state, county, and city, so your exact numbers depend on where you buy and register the car. The 8.20% rate in this example is the main city rate; some Colorado Springs mailing addresses sit in different tax districts, with combined rates from 5.13% to 9.2%.

Rules and time period. Five years, 12,000 miles a year, a new $42,000 car, 10% down, 8% APR, 60 months. Colorado Springs sales tax 8.20% ($3,444, no trade-in), $900 in title and dealer fees, gas at the $4.02 Colorado Springs metro AAA average from November 3, 2026, insurance at the $3,540 example value, $1,000 a year maintenance, $21,000 resale after five years. Gasoline cars registered in El Paso County owe no emissions test, so that line is $0.

Scope and limitations. Educational estimate only. Not in this total: a diesel opacity test, required in parts of El Paso County before a diesel vehicle is sold; and any difference between the main city rate and your own address rate. A NerdWallet figure of $3,697 a year is shown on the page as an outlier and is not blended into the insurance range. Insurance quotes, gas prices, and local rates vary by driver and address. Get a real quote for the same car, coverage, and loan before you decide.

Source links checked November 6, 2026. Figures: Colorado DMV and Department of Public Health and Environment guidance; Colorado General Assembly Legislative Council November 2025 Specific Ownership Tax brief, Class B personal use pickup at 75% of MSRP; El Paso County motor-vehicle tax guidance, 8.20% main city rate; AAA Colorado Springs metro gas $4.02 a gallon, November 3, 2026, against $4.16 statewide; full-coverage insurance $3,468 to $3,608 a year; Insure.com, InsuranceQuotes; iSeeCars 2025 used-car study, state level.

Primary sources: Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles; Colorado General Assembly, Specific Ownership Tax brief; AAA gas prices. How the numbers are calculated is written down on the methodology page, and every source is listed on the sources page.

Definitions

Sales tax. The tax on the price of the car, paid when you buy it. Colorado Springs charges 8.20% on a car bought at a Colorado Springs address: 2.9% state plus 1.23% El Paso County plus 3.07% city plus 1% PPRTA. On a $42,000 car, that is $3,444. Some Colorado Springs mailing addresses sit in different tax districts, with combined rates from 5.13% to 9.2%.

PPRTA. The Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority, which funds regional transportation. It is the 1% piece of the 8.20% Colorado Springs sales tax.

Specific Ownership Tax. Colorado's yearly tax on owning a car, paid when you renew your plates. A personal use pickup is Class B, so its taxable value is 75% of the car's original sticker price. The rate falls each year: 2.1% in year 1, 1.5% in year 2, 1.2% in year 3, 0.9% in year 4, and 0.45% in years 5 through 9, then a flat $3 a year from year 10 on. On a $42,000 truck, 75% of the sticker price is $31,500, so the schedule is $661.50, $472.50, $378, $283.50, and $141.75, or $1,937.25 over five years.

Class B. The class for a personal use pickup, whose taxable value is 75% of the car's original sticker price (MSRP, the sticker price when new).

Title fee. The one-time fee to put the car in your name. The state title fee is $7.20, and it sits inside the $900 title and dealer fees line in the example, not added a second time.

Registration. The yearly fee for the license plate. Base registration runs roughly $75 to $92 a year plus surcharges, which vary by county. The example uses $85 a year, near the middle of that range, or $425 over five years.

Emissions test. A check that the car's exhaust is clean enough. Colorado Springs sits outside Colorado's emissions-testing area, so gasoline cars registered in El Paso County owe no emissions test at registration or renewal, and emissions tests are $0 in the total. Parts of El Paso County require a diesel opacity test before a diesel vehicle is sold.

Full-coverage insurance. Insurance that covers damage to your own car, not just damage you cause to others. In Colorado Springs it runs $3,468 to $3,608 a year across sources, and the example uses $3,540 a year, the middle of that range rounded to the nearest $5, or $17,700 over five years.

APR. Annual percentage rate, the yearly interest rate on the loan. This example uses 8%. For context, Experian reported average rates of 6.35% on new cars and 11.19% on used cars in the second quarter of 2026.

Depreciation. The value the car loses over time. On this page, the $42,000 price minus the $21,000 resale value after five years, which is $21,000.

Common questions

What is the cost of owning a car in Colorado Springs?

For the $42,000 example on this page, $72,229 over five years, or about $1,204 a month, value lost, insurance, gas, upkeep, tax, fees, loan interest, and yearly registration and ownership tax included.

How much is sales tax on a car in Colorado Springs?

8.20% for a Colorado Springs address: 2.9% state, 1.23% El Paso County, 3.07% city, and 1% PPRTA (the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority). On $42,000, that is $3,444. A trade-in lowers the taxable price.

What is Colorado's Specific Ownership Tax?

Colorado's yearly tax on owning a car, paid when you renew your plates. A personal use pickup is Class B, so its taxable value is 75% of the car's original sticker price, and the rate falls each year: 2.1%, 1.5%, 1.2%, 0.9%, then 0.45% in year 5. On a $42,000 truck: $661.50, $472.50, $378, $283.50, and $141.75, or $1,937.25 over five years.

Does a car need an emissions test in Colorado Springs?

Not a gasoline car. El Paso County sits outside Colorado's emissions-testing area, so gasoline cars registered here owe no test at registration or renewal. Parts of the county require a diesel opacity test before a diesel vehicle is sold.

How much is car insurance in Colorado Springs?

Full-coverage insurance in Colorado Springs runs $3,468 to $3,608 a year depending on the source, the driver, and the car. The example on this page uses $3,540 a year, the middle of that range rounded to the nearest $5, or $17,700 over five years.

Related: Nearby, Aurora runs the same math with its own costs. The Ford F-150 is a popular Colorado Springs pickup with its own cost page, and how much car insurance costs explains the insurance side in plain words.

See the same math for other cities

The same $42,000 example, run with each city's own costs: Texas, New York City, Los Angeles, Boston, San Francisco, St. Louis, Chicago, Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Miami, San Antonio, Austin, Seattle, Phoenix, Philadelphia, and Detroit, Minnesota, Canada, and Wyoming, Kansas, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, and Denver.

Figures from Colorado DMV and Department of Public Health and Environment guidance, the Colorado General Assembly Legislative Council November 2025 Specific Ownership Tax brief (Class B personal use pickup at 75% of MSRP), El Paso County motor-vehicle tax guidance, Air Care Colorado program-area guidance, AAA Colorado Springs metro gas average (November 3, 2026), Colorado Springs insurance sources (2026 ranges), and the iSeeCars 2025 used-car study (state level; the only Colorado Springs-area result cited is dated 2021). Insurance quotes, gas prices, and county surcharges vary by driver, car, and county, the structure above is the part that does not change.