"Just $35 a week to run." You see it in finance ads for new cars. The number is fuel cost only, often based on absurd low-mileage assumptions, and ignores everything else that actually drains your bank account when you own a car in Australia.

The honest number for owning a typical mid-size car in Australia, including everything, is usually $9,000-$14,000 per year. State-by-state varies significantly because compulsory insurance (CTP) and registration costs differ enormously across the eight jurisdictions.

Here is the real breakdown for 2025-2026, with honest state-by-state numbers.

The 7 Real Cost Categories

Every Aussie car owner pays for some combination of:

  1. Registration ("rego") — annual renewal fee paid to your state government
  2. Compulsory Third Party insurance (CTP) — mandatory injury insurance, charged with rego in most states (separate in NSW)
  3. Comprehensive (or third-party property) insurance — optional but strongly recommended
  4. Fuel — petrol, diesel or electricity
  5. Servicing and maintenance — annual log book service plus tyres, wipers, batteries
  6. Repairs — unscheduled (averaged across years)
  7. Depreciation — value lost as the car ages (the big silent cost most owners forget)

State-by-State: Rego + CTP for a Typical Family Car

Indicative annual rego + CTP for a 4-cylinder petrol passenger car (no concessions):

State / Territory Rego CTP Total per year
NSW $370-$420 $520-$680 (privately quoted) $890-$1,100
VIC $830-$880 (incl. TAC charge) included in rego $830-$880
QLD $390-$450 $320-$370 $710-$820
WA $340-$420 (varies by tare weight) $330-$420 $670-$840
SA $430-$520 included $430-$520
TAS $320-$390 $180-$240 $500-$630
ACT $650-$720 $520-$580 $1,170-$1,300
NT $640-$740 $220-$280 $860-$1,020

Big takeaways:

  • NSW + ACT are the most expensive for combined rego + CTP, mostly because of higher CTP premiums
  • Tasmania is cheapest, often by a margin of $400-$700/year vs NSW/ACT
  • Victoria includes CTP in rego, simplifying comparison but the total is still mid-range
  • Concession-eligible owners (pensioners, low-income, vets) get significant discounts in most states — check eligibility

Comprehensive Insurance — The Wildcard

Comprehensive insurance varies enormously based on age, location, vehicle, claims history. Indicative annual premiums for a 35-year-old driver with clean record:

Vehicle category Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth Hobart
Mid-size sedan (Camry, Mazda 6) $950-$1,400 $880-$1,300 $780-$1,100 $680-$950 $830-$1,150 $650-$900
SUV / family wagon $1,050-$1,500 $950-$1,400 $880-$1,250 $780-$1,050 $920-$1,300 $720-$980
Ute (HiLux, Ranger) $1,200-$1,800 $1,100-$1,650 $980-$1,450 $880-$1,200 $1,050-$1,500 $820-$1,100
Performance / luxury $1,800-$3,500+ $1,650-$3,200+ $1,400-$2,800+ $1,250-$2,500+ $1,500-$3,000+ $1,150-$2,200+

Premium rises for: under-25 or over-70 drivers, performance models, theft-prone vehicles (some Range Rovers, Lexus models), high-claim postcodes (Sydney west, Melbourne north, Gold Coast).

Fuel — The Real Numbers

Average Aussie driver does about 13,000 km/year (per BITRE data).

Vehicle type Litres/100km Annual fuel cost (13,000km @ $1.85/L petrol)
Small petrol hatch (Hyundai i30, Toyota Corolla) 5.5-6.5 $1,320-$1,560
Mid-size petrol sedan (Camry, Mazda 6) 7.0-8.0 $1,680-$1,920
Mid-size SUV petrol (CX-5, RAV4) 7.5-9.0 $1,800-$2,160
Diesel ute (HiLux, Ranger) 8.0-10.0 ($1.95/L diesel) $2,025-$2,535
Large petrol SUV / 4WD (LandCruiser, Patrol) 11.0-14.0 $2,640-$3,360
EV (typical mid-size) 17-20 kWh/100km $575-$1,300 depending on charging mix

Servicing & Maintenance — Annual Average

Vehicle category Annual service + tyres + minor consumables
Mainstream petrol (Toyota, Mazda, Hyundai, Kia) $700-$1,100
Diesel ute (HiLux, Ranger, Triton) $900-$1,400
European mainstream (VW, Skoda, Peugeot) $1,000-$1,600
European premium (BMW, Audi, Mercedes) $1,400-$2,500+
Land Rover / Range Rover $2,000-$4,000+
EV (Tesla, Hyundai Ioniq, Kia EV) $300-$700 (mostly tyres + wipers + brake fluid)

This excludes major repairs (timing belts every 100,000-150,000 km, transmission services, suspension overhauls). Budget an extra $400-$800/year averaged across the life of the vehicle for these.

Depreciation — The Silent Big Cost

The cost most owners ignore. A new $45,000 car loses about $11,000-$15,000 in its first 3 years (25-35%). That is $3,500-$5,000 per year in depreciation alone.

Some categories depreciate slower: Toyota HiLux, LandCruiser, Mazda CX-5 hold value better than equivalents. European luxury (BMW, Mercedes, Audi) and EVs (in 2024-25 particularly) depreciate faster.

If you keep the car 10+ years, annual depreciation drops dramatically (most loss has already happened). If you change every 3-5 years, this is your biggest cost.

Putting It All Together — Worked Examples

Example 1: Sydney resident, 2018 Mazda CX-5, owned outright

  • Rego + CTP: $1,000
  • Comprehensive insurance: $1,100
  • Fuel (13,000 km): $1,950
  • Service + maintenance: $900
  • Repairs (averaged): $400
  • Depreciation (year 7-8): $2,500
  • Annual total: $7,850

Example 2: Brisbane resident, 2022 Ford Ranger, financed

  • Rego + CTP: $760
  • Comprehensive insurance: $1,300
  • Fuel (13,000 km diesel): $2,300
  • Service + maintenance: $1,100
  • Repairs (averaged): $300
  • Depreciation (year 3-4): $4,000
  • Finance interest (estimated): $1,800
  • Annual total: $11,560

Example 3: Hobart resident, 2015 Toyota Corolla, owned outright

  • Rego + CTP: $565
  • Comprehensive insurance: $750
  • Fuel (13,000 km): $1,440
  • Service + maintenance: $700
  • Repairs (averaged): $500
  • Depreciation (year 10-11): $1,200
  • Annual total: $5,155

Where the Real Savings Live

  • Older car, owned outright beats newer car on finance — by far. Depreciation + interest dominate other costs.
  • State of residence matters — Tasmania vs NSW for the same car can differ by $1,500/year in rego+CTP+insurance combined
  • Vehicle category matters — a Corolla costs less than half what a HiLux Premium does annually, with the same driver and same kilometres
  • Insurance shopping annually — biggest single lever most owners can pull. $200-$600/year savings is realistic.

Sources & Further Reading

  • Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics (BITRE) — Australian transport cost and usage data
  • ACCC — fuel price monitoring, vehicle finance consumer protection
  • NRMA — vehicle running cost reports (annual, by model and category)
  • RACV — Victorian running cost data and rego/CTP reference
  • RACQ — Queensland-specific cost data
  • Service NSW — NSW rego costs and CTP info
  • VicRoads — Victorian rego and TAC charges
  • Canstar — annual Aussie car insurance comparison and award reports — canstar.com.au
  • RedBook — depreciation tracking for specific make/model — redbook.com.au
  • Carsales — current resale value benchmarks — carsales.com.au

Why We Care

My Mekavo is free for Australian car owners. Track every cost — rego renewal, insurance premium, every fuel fill, every service, every kilometre. After 12 months you have your true cost-per-km. After 3 years you have the data to make informed decisions about whether your next car should be the same model, smaller, EV, or a different category entirely.