What a car really costs to run in Australia each year
Updated 15 December 2025 · 5 min read
The purchase price is the part everyone compares. The running costs are the part that decides whether a car is affordable, and they vary more between states and models than most buyers expect.
The fixed costs
Registration and compulsory third party insurance are set by your state and by the vehicle type, and together they typically run from several hundred to well over a thousand dollars a year. Comprehensive insurance depends heavily on the driver's age, address and claims history — always quote before you buy.
The variable costs
Fuel is the big one. At 8 L/100 km and 15,000 km a year, a petrol car uses about 1,200 litres annually. Servicing on a mainstream car runs to a few hundred dollars per visit under capped-price schemes, with a larger bill at the major interval. Budget for a set of tyres every three to four years.
- Registration and CTP: state-dependent, budget annually
- Comprehensive insurance: quote before purchase
- Fuel: kilometres x consumption x current pump price
- Servicing: capped-price schedule where available
- Tyres: one set every 40,000 to 60,000 km
Depreciation, the invisible cost
For most cars depreciation is larger than fuel and servicing combined. Buying a three-to-five-year-old car lets the first owner absorb the steepest part of the curve, which is why that age bracket is the sweet spot for value on the Australian used market.
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