Getting around

Compare the full cost of the car

The purchase price is only one line. Insurance, fuel, parking, and the loan rate belong in the same sum.

1 minute

Before you change vehicles, add a year of insurance quotes, fuel, parking, maintenance, and loan or lease payments. A lower sticker price with a high rate or a costly insurance group can lose to a plainer car. If you already have a loan, ask the lender whether the rate can be reviewed, and check the fee before you refinance.

If you drive rarely, price a year of taxis, transit, and occasional car share against ownership. In some cities the sum favors not owning. In others the car is the cheaper way to work. Run your routes, not a national average.

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Get one competing insurance quote for the car you already drive. Note the annual difference, not only the monthly figure.