Ownership builder

The price on the windscreen is not the price

A car arrives with a list of things it needs in its first month, and none of them are on the sticker. Tick the ones you will actually buy and see what the car really costs to put on the road. How much to spend makes the case for budgeting them before you commit to the car.

The car

Model€34,000 on the windscreen.

What it needs

These prices are estimates, not catalogue data. A tow bar has no entry in a car catalogue, so each line is an indicative fitted price for the European market — change any of them to your own quote.

Winter tyres on their own wheelsA second set, so the swap is a wheel change rather than a tyre change. Larger wheels cost more; this is a mid-size estimate.Home wallbox, installedHardware plus a qualified installation. Not an accessory on an electric car — it is the difference between cheap charging and public prices.Roof bars and boxBars and a box together. On an electric car, budget the range too: a box costs real kilometres at motorway speed.Mats, boot liner, first service kitThe small stuff every car needs in its first month, bundled into one line so it stops being invisible.Dashcam, hardwiredCamera plus a hardwire kit so it runs from the fusebox rather than the lighter socket.

On the road

€34,000

€34,000 for the car and €0 for everything else — 0.0% on top of the sticker price.

Extras: €0
As months of running cost: under a month
Depreciation on this car: 17% a year

Nothing ticked yet. Most cars need at least the small stuff — mats, a boot liner, the first service kit — and an electric one needs somewhere to charge.

What is and is not in this number

The car's price is the catalogue's. An indicative European street price for the version most people buy. Everything else on this page is an estimate you can overwrite.
The wallbox is not an accessory. On an electric car it is the difference between charging at a home tariff and paying public prices for every kilometre — which is the whole ownership case. It is only offered on cars you plug in.
The tow bar is only offered where the car can tow. The catalogue records a braked towing limit; a car rated at nothing does not get the option.
What is missing: insurance, tax and finance. They depend on you rather than on the car, so they belong in the running-cost calculator, where the monthly figure already accounts for them.

Euros and the European list, like the guides. Prices for fitted extras vary by dealer, by wheel size and by how much of the work you do yourself — treat the defaults as a starting point for your own quotes.

Find the car first Then what it costs to run