Cost guide · Updated July 2026
Car maintenance cost calculator: what upkeep really costs
By the CarBudget team · Verified sources at the bottom of the page
To estimate car maintenance costs, add up servicing, oil and filters, tyres, brakes, the annual test (MOT/inspection) and any repairs. For a typical car this comes to £400–£900 per year, or roughly £0.05–£0.10 per mile. Newer cars sit at the low end; cars over 8–10 years old average £800+. Maintenance is only part of your total operating cost — add fuel or charging, insurance and road tax for the full running-cost picture.
Maintenance is the running cost people most often underestimate. Fuel is visible at every fill-up and insurance arrives once a year, but maintenance is lumpy and unpredictable — nothing for months, then a set of tyres, a service and a failed part all at once. The trick to budgeting for it is to stop thinking about individual bills and start thinking about an annual or per-mile figure. This guide shows you what’s realistic, how to estimate it for your own car, and why the only number you can truly rely on is your real spend.
Typical maintenance cost by car age
Maintenance cost rises with age and mileage as wear items are used up and the chance of a component failing climbs. A rough guide for a mainstream petrol or diesel car:
- 0–3 years: often under £500/year. Usually just routine servicing; many parts are still under warranty.
- 4–7 years: around £500–£800/year as tyres, brake pads and discs, and the first bigger service items come due.
- 8+ years: commonly £800+/year, with occasional larger repairs (suspension, clutch, cooling, electrics) pushing some years well above average.
Electric cars tend to sit below these figures for mechanical maintenance — fewer moving parts, no oil changes, and regenerative braking that spares the brakes — though tyres can wear faster due to instant torque and extra weight.
What counts as maintenance
Maintenance is everything that keeps the car safe and working, split into two buckets:
- Scheduled (predictable): annual or mileage-based service, oil and filter changes, brake fluid and coolant, and the annual roadworthiness test.
- Wear and repair (variable): tyres, brake pads and discs, battery, wipers, bulbs, exhaust, and unplanned repairs when something fails.
Note the distinction from running costs: maintenance is upkeep and repair, whereas total running (or operating) cost also includes fuel or charging, insurance and road tax. To model the whole lot, use the car cost calculator or read how much it costs to run a car in 2026.
How to estimate your maintenance costs
You can estimate top-down or bottom-up. Both are useful:
Bottom-up: annual service + oil/filters + (tyre cost ÷ years of tyre life) + (brakes ÷ years) + annual test + a repair buffer.
Top-down: multiply your yearly mileage by a per-mile allowance of about £0.05–£0.10.
For example, a car doing 10,000 miles a year at £0.07/mile implies roughly £700/year for maintenance. Always keep a contingency: real years are rarely average, and one failed part can equal several years of routine servicing. Then divide the annual total by 12 for a monthly figure, or by your mileage for cost per mile — the fairest way to compare two cars.
The big items: servicing, tyres and brakes
Three categories dominate most maintenance budgets. Servicing is the recurring baseline — an interim service is cheaper, a full or major service costs more, and following the manufacturer’s schedule both keeps the car healthy and protects its resale value. Tyres are the biggest variable expense for many drivers: a full set is a significant outlay, and tread wears faster with hard driving, heavy loads and poor alignment. Brakes (pads and discs) are a predictable wear item whose life depends heavily on how and where you drive. Budgeting for these three in advance removes most of the nasty surprises.
Why tracking real costs beats any estimate
Every figure above is an average, and no one drives an average car in an average way. Your actual maintenance cost depends on the specific model, its history, your mileage, your driving style and even your local labour rates. An estimate is a starting point; your own data is the truth.
That’s the case for logging what you actually spend. When you record each service, tyre, MOT and repair, the lumpy, unpredictable stream turns into a clear monthly and yearly number you can plan around — and you can spot when a car is becoming uneconomical to keep. CarBudget does exactly this: log a cost in seconds (or snap the receipt and let AI read it), and see your real maintenance and running cost per month, per year and per vehicle, with reminders so a service or MOT never catches you out.
Sources and methodology
The ranges in this guide are based on widely published motoring cost data:
- Annual maintenance and per-mile running-cost estimates: motoring associations’ cost-of-motoring studies (RAC, AA) and consumer motoring guides.
- Maintenance rising with vehicle age/mileage: reliability and repair-cost analyses from consumer and industry sources.
- Lower mechanical maintenance for EVs (no oil changes, regenerative braking): EV total-cost-of-ownership comparisons.
Know your real maintenance cost
Stop guessing. With CarBudget you log every service, tyre and repair in seconds and see your true cost per month and per year — with reminders so nothing slips.