{"id":1331,"date":"2019-08-14T10:40:39","date_gmt":"2019-08-14T14:40:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/articles.carcostcanada.com\/?p=1331"},"modified":"2025-03-06T16:23:20","modified_gmt":"2025-03-06T21:23:20","slug":"unmasking-7-hidden-costs-of-owning-a-car","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/articles.carcostcanada.com\/unmasking-7-hidden-costs-of-owning-a-car\/","title":{"rendered":"Unmasking 7 Hidden Costs of Owning a Car"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sure, it\u2019s really exciting to mosey on to your local dealership and pick out a new ride. But it\u2019s also important to pay attention to your wallet. Apart from the upfront fees, there are plenty of \u201chidden\u201d charges that rake up over time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To ensure you\u2019re not going to be breaking your budget down the road, check out these little-known fees that are often missed by new car buyers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Read till the end to find out how knowing the <\/span>dealer invoice price<\/span><\/a> can help you save BIG. Want to know the <\/span>dealer cost for a Toyota Tundra<\/span><\/a> for instance? A dealer invoice report is exactly what you need.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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  1. FUEL<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    This one is a no-brainer but you\u2019d be surprised how many people overlook it. If you plan to buy an all-electric vehicle, then you can skip this point. Large vehicles like pickup trucks, minivans and SUVs tend to be costlier as far as the fuel economy is concerned. Small cars like sedans and hatchbacks are your best bet. Fuel is the second biggest ownership expense after depreciation and accounts for over 24% of overall charges.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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    1. MAINTENANCE<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      The manufacturer\u2019s warranty will most likely cover all maintenance requirements for the first couple of years of ownership. However, you will eventually have to take on that burden. Maintenance accounts for about 4% of ownership expenses over a 5-year period. Make sure you check how expensive your vehicle will be to maintain before putting down your money.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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      1. TIRES<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        It costs anywhere between $60 to $125 to change one tire. It is recommended that you change your tires at least once every 3 to 6 years. Of course, always check them sooner to ensure they\u2019re not worn out. Just like fuel, tire costs vary dramatically from one model to another.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

          \n
        1. INSURANCE<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          You can\u2019t forget to tally the insurance expenses as it is illegal to drive without insurance in Canada. Ontario and Alberta have the highest rates in the nation. The average resident pays about 1,476 per year on insurance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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          1. FINANCING\/LOANS<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            Your monthly loan payments will probably be one of your biggest. You can extend the loan to lower your monthly payments, however, this, in turn, will increase long-term expenses as you will have to defray interest charges on each monthly payment. Interest accounts for over 11% of ownership expenses over a 5-year period.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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            1. LICENSING<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

              As a car owner, you will have to renew your license on an annual basis which costs about $100 in Canada. Registration is a bi-annual charge that costs around the same.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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              1. DEPRECIATION<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                Depreciation has a huge impact on the total cost of ownership. In fact, it is estimated that your car can depreciate by as much as 20% as soon as you drive it off the lot! The longer you wait between purchasing your vehicle and selling it, the more you stand to lose. Over a period of 5 years, vehicles depreciate by about 65%. This is why depreciation accounts for about 48% of total ownership expenses.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

                Find Out the True Cost of Your Next Car<\/b><\/p>\n

                How? Simple! With a dealer invoice report from Car Cost Canada, you can get a breakdown of factory incentives, lease rates and more! That way, you can easily skip the extra charges and find out how much the dealer actually paid to own the car. <\/span>Negotiating for a great deal is so much simpler.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

                 <\/p>\n

                Get your FREE report right here<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

                Psst: We send it to your email in minutes!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                Sure, it\u2019s really exciting to mosey on to your local dealership and pick out a new ride. But it\u2019s also important to pay attention to your wallet. Apart from the upfront fees, there are plenty of \u201chidden\u201d charges that rake up over time.\u00a0 To ensure you\u2019re not going to be breaking your budget down the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1333,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-container-style":"default","site-container-layout":"default","site-sidebar-layout":"default","disable-article-header":"default","disable-site-header":"default","disable-site-footer":"default","disable-content-area-spacing":"default","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[20,5,15],"class_list":["post-1331","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-carcostcanada","tag-buy-a-car-online-canada","tag-car-comparison-canada","tag-dealer-invoice-cost-new-car"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/articles.carcostcanada.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1331","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/articles.carcostcanada.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/articles.carcostcanada.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/articles.carcostcanada.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/articles.carcostcanada.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1331"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/articles.carcostcanada.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1331\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1332,"href":"https:\/\/articles.carcostcanada.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1331\/revisions\/1332"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/articles.carcostcanada.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/articles.carcostcanada.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1331"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/articles.carcostcanada.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1331"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/articles.carcostcanada.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1331"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}