How This Calculator Works

  • Enter your current vehicle's annual maintenance and fuel cost, and its resale value today.
  • Enter the new vehicle's purchase price and expected annual maintenance and fuel cost.
  • Enter the period you want to compare over (typically the finance term).
  • The calculator compares annual cost to keep vs. replace, and tells you which is cheaper per year.

Formula

Annual Replace Cost = ((New Price − Current Resale) ÷ Finance Years) + New Maintenance + New Fuel

This compares ongoing annual cost only — it doesn't include one-off transaction costs like registration or finance arrangement fees.

📌 Want This Calculated Automatically, Per Vehicle?

FleetFabric©, paired with BulkDataPro©, captures the underlying fuel, maintenance, and usage data behind this calculator automatically — no manual entry required. Request a demo to see it running against your own fleet.


Frequently Asked Questions

Does this include the cost of financing (interest)?

No — this compares the depreciation-equivalent spread of the purchase price against resale value, plus running costs. Add financing interest separately if the new vehicle will be financed.

When does replacing usually become cheaper than keeping?

Typically once a vehicle's annual maintenance cost — and its Maintenance Cost Per Kilometre trend — climbs high enough that it approaches or exceeds the depreciation-equivalent cost of a newer vehicle.

Should I use this for every ageing vehicle in my fleet?

Yes — running this per vehicle, rather than relying on a blanket age-based replacement policy, gives a more accurate picture of which specific vehicles are actually due for replacement.


Related Fleet Tools

Read more: Vehicle Lifecycle Cost — Full KPI Guide →

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