New car. Used car.
Compare the whole cost.

Cash purchases use price + running costs + fees − resale value. Finance uses deposit + regular payments made + fees + settlement/final payments + running costs − resale value. Return and lease options subtract no car value; contractual end charges are added. The purchase price is not added again to financed payments.

All finance periods end settled, returned or exchanged in this model. An early sale requires a settlement quote; the model does not show an ongoing unpaid balance. Upfront fees are included in the initial cash figure; end / exit fees are included in total outflows. Quote regular payments are treated as due monthly from month one. Check non-standard schedules manually. Initial lease rental is separate from the regular payment count.

For retained cars, resale value is an asset estimate, not cash received. For intermediate cars and exchanges, it represents disposal proceeds. Gross cash outflows exclude these proceeds; estimated net cost deducts them. Replacement deposits must be entered in full, before applying exchange proceeds.

Annual costs are spread evenly; energy cost uses common mileage × months / 12. UK mpg uses 4.54609 litres per gallon. Electric costs use kWh/100 miles and a home/public price mix. Extra repairs in stress tests apply once per whole option. No opportunity cost, discounting, inflation, automatic tax calculation, refinancing or voluntary-termination assessment is included. Negative costs or unusually low totals warrant checking inputs; there is no automated quote verification.

UK context · checked 30 October 2026. Sources: MoneyHelper: PCP explained; MoneyHelper: buying a car. Contract terms vary; these are general explanations.