Costs people often miss
- Interest and fees when insurance or the car is paid monthly.
- Immediate servicing, tyres, brakes or a timing-belt interval.
- Parking permits, clean-air charges, tolls and university parking.
- Breakdown cover and a realistic emergency repair reserve.
- Higher mileage after work, university or living arrangements change.
Use a range, not one optimistic number
Run the calculator once with a normal maintenance estimate and again with a higher repair allowance. If the second total is unaffordable, the purchase may leave too little resilience.