# Car Running Costs by Reg: What Will This Car Cost to Run?

> Free car running costs by reg: fuel, road tax and MOT a year, a month and a mile, from the car's MOT mileage, CO2 figure and today's UK fuel prices.

Enter a registration: every free check estimates the car's running costs a year, a month and a mile, from its MOT mileage, official CO2 figure, today's fuel price and its road tax.

Enter a registration in the search box above and the free check estimates what that car costs to run: **a year, a month and a mile**, split into fuel (or charging for an electric car), road tax and MOT, with room to add your own insurance and servicing. It is **free in every car check**, and you can change any figure to your own to see the cost for the way you drive.

## What the running costs estimate shows

| Cost | How the free check works it out | Full report adds |
|---|---|---|
| Miles a year | The average of the car's own MOT mileage readings | Every mileage reading, with the anomaly check |
| Fuel economy (mpg) | Estimated from the official CO2 figure on its DVLA record | The manufacturer's mpg figures, where recorded |
| Fuel price | Today's UK average pump price | – |
| Road tax | GOV.UK rates for its CO2 band, registration date or engine size | The band and the 12 and 6-month road tax recorded for the car |
| MOT | The maximum fee once a year; nothing until the car is 3 years old | – |
| Insurance and servicing | Your own figures (they depend on you, not the car) | – |

You get the total a year, the cost a month and the cost per mile, and each line updates as you type. The same card is on our [fuel cost calculator](https://carcheckup.co.uk/fuel-cost-calculator/) if you want to work out a car you haven't found yet.

## How we estimate running costs

**Miles a year.** We take the car's MOT history from the DVSA and divide the miles it covered between its tests in the last three years by the time between them. A car that did 30,000 miles between its MOTs in March 2023 and March 2026 is shown at 10,000 miles a year. When the readings are too close together, we use the latest reading over the car's age. A car without enough MOT readings yet gets the national average for its kind of car from the Department for Transport's National Travel Survey (2025, England): 6,200 miles for petrol, 8,000 for diesel, 8,100 for hybrids and 9,400 for electric cars.

**Fuel economy.** The DVLA record holds the car's official CO2 figure in grams per km, and CO2 comes from the fuel burnt. A litre of petrol gives about 2,320 g of CO2 and a litre of diesel about 2,650 g (the German motor trade association ZDK's [conversion figures](https://www.deutsche-handwerks-zeitung.de/kraftstoffverbrauch-so-viel-co2-stoesst-ihr-auto-aus-149402/); the [US Environmental Protection Agency's](https://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/greenhouse-gas-emissions-typical-passenger-vehicle) are within 2%). So litres per 100 km is the CO2 figure divided by 23.2 for petrol or 26.5 for diesel, and UK mpg is 282.48 divided by litres per 100 km. A petrol car with 120 g/km uses about 5.2 litres per 100 km, which is 54.6 mpg. Official figures are lab results and real-world economy is often lower, more so for cars tested before the WLTP test came in (September 2017), so put in your own mpg if you know it. We don't estimate mpg for a plug-in hybrid (its official figure assumes a charged battery) or for a car without a CO2 figure, such as most cars registered before 2001: enter the mpg and the card does the rest.

**Fuel price.** Today's UK average pump price for the car's fuel, from the government's Fuel Finder data (every forecourt's prices), or the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero's weekly UK average when the live data isn't available. See the latest figures on our [UK fuel prices](https://carcheckup.co.uk/uk-fuel-prices/) page, and prices near you with [cheapest fuel near me](https://carcheckup.co.uk/cheapest-fuel-near-me/).

**Electric cars.** 3.3 miles per kWh (the EV Database's real-world average of 303 Wh a mile), charged 80% at home at the Ofgem price cap rate and 20% on public chargers at Zapmap's average pay-as-you-go price: about 32p per kWh in all. Change the efficiency or the price if you charge differently: rapid chargers cost far more than home charging.

**Road tax.** The GOV.UK vehicle tax rates for the car: the standard rate for cars registered from April 2017 (electric cars included since April 2025), the CO2 band for cars registered from March 2001 to March 2017, and the engine size for older cars; vans have their own rate. Cars registered from April 2017 that cost over £40,000 new pay a supplement for five years, and the DVLA record doesn't hold the list price, so the card shows the higher figure as a note. Our [car tax calculator](https://carcheckup.co.uk/car-tax-calculator) explains the bands.

**MOT.** The maximum fee for a car MOT once a year, from GOV.UK, and nothing until the car is three years old (four in Northern Ireland). Many garages charge less than the maximum.

**Insurance and servicing.** Insurance depends on the driver, the postcode and the cover more than on the car, so we leave it for you to add. As a guide, the average premium paid was £566 a year (Association of British Insurers, April to June 2026) and a service at an independent garage about £260 (Which?, 2025).

## Free estimate or full report?

The running costs estimate uses only free official data: the DVLA vehicle record and the DVSA MOT history, plus fuel prices and tax rates. The full report adds what the free data doesn't hold: the manufacturer's combined, urban and extra-urban mpg where recorded, the road tax band and the 12 and 6-month road tax recorded for the car, and the checks that decide whether to buy it at all: [outstanding finance](https://carcheckup.co.uk/outstanding-finance-check), [insurance write-offs](https://carcheckup.co.uk/written-off-vehicle-check), [stolen markers](https://carcheckup.co.uk/stolen-car-check), previous keepers and more. See them in the [sample full report](https://carcheckup.co.uk/sample-car-history-report).

## How to keep a car's running costs down

- **Compare cars before you buy.** Two similar cars can be hundreds of pounds a year apart in fuel and road tax. Run a free check on each and compare the totals.
- **Read the MOT advisories.** Worn tyres, brakes or suspension flagged at the last test are bills you will pay soon. Our free [MOT history check](https://carcheckup.co.uk/mot-check) lists them.
- **Shop around for fuel.** Prices differ by several pence a litre between forecourts in the same town.
- **Charge at home if you can.** For an electric car, home charging at the price cap rate costs well under half the rapid charger price.

## Car running costs FAQs

**Is the running costs check free?** Yes. Every free car check includes the running costs estimate, worked out from the car's own DVLA and MOT records. There is nothing to pay and no account to make.

**How much does it cost to run a car in the UK?** With published averages (7,100 miles a year, a 45 mpg petrol car at 175p a litre, the standard road tax rate, an MOT, the average insurance premium and one service), about £2,300 a year, or about 33p a mile, before depreciation, tyres, repairs and finance. Fuel is usually the biggest part, so the car's mpg and your mileage matter most.

**Can I check a car's mpg by registration?** The free check estimates it from the car's official CO2 figure. The full report shows the manufacturer's mpg figures where they are recorded.

**How accurate is the estimate?** It is a guide, not a quote. The mileage is the car's own past average, the mpg is the official figure (real-world mpg is often lower) and the fuel price is the UK average. Change any figure to your own and the totals update.

**Does it work for electric cars?** Yes. For an electric car the card shows charging costs from a typical efficiency and a mix of home and public charging prices, which you can change, plus road tax and MOT.

**Why is there no fuel cost for my car?** The car has no official CO2 figure on its DVLA record (common for cars registered before 2001) or it is a plug-in hybrid. Enter its mpg and the fuel cost and totals appear.

**Does the estimate include insurance?** Not unless you add it: insurance depends on you, your postcode and your cover. Type your premium into the insurance line and it joins the totals.

Run the check: enter a UK registration or VIN at https://carcheckup.co.uk/car-running-costs-check (free: DVLA details, MOT history and mileage readings; finance, write-off, stolen, keeper records and the mileage anomaly check are in the full report). HTML page: https://carcheckup.co.uk/car-running-costs-check