The payment is about half of what a car costs.
True Weekly is a free calculator for people buying a car in New Zealand. Almost everyone budgets the price, or the weekly repayment, and stops there. The costs left out add up to about as much again.
What an ordinary car actually costs to run
On a $19,500 petrol hatch driving the New Zealand average of 11,500 km a year, the running costs come to about $98 a week — $5,119 a year — before a cent of finance:
- Fuel, about $57 a week at 8.6 L/100km
- Insurance, about $25 a week on average comprehensive cover
- Servicing and minor repairs, about $12 a week
- Registration, $3.49 a week for a petrol car ($181.45 a year)
- Warrant of Fitness, about $1.15 a week
- Road user charges, about $17 a week more if it is a diesel or an EV
So a car quoted at $95 a week really costs about $193 a week. Paying cash removes only the finance — the $98 stays.
What else it works out
- Registration at the petrol rate or the higher diesel and EV rate, and road user charges by distance.
- Fuel excise counted where it already sits — inside the pump price, not added on top.
- Warrant of Fitness intervals, including the changes landing in November 2026 and November 2027.
- The interest rate implied by a quoted weekly payment, term and any balloon.
- A balloon as money you must save, and a warning if it exceeds the car's projected value.
- Depreciation on a diminishing-value basis, or from a resale price you expect.
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