How we calculate what your car costs

It comes from the register of the European Environment Agency (EEA), which records every car registered in the EU with its displacement, power, mass, emissions and official fuel consumption. We use those registered in Spain from 2010 to 2024 and, in each generation, every engine with at least 20 registrations. Versions from before 2010 come from the Spanish Tax Agency tables (explained below). For many hybrids the EEA only gives the petrol engine's power: if the version is in the tax office tables, we use the hybrid system's power.

Type-approval fuel consumption is derived from CO₂ emissions: each litre of petrol is about 22.6 g/km and each litre of diesel about 26.2. In the 2022 and 2023 register, the consumption of many Volkswagen Group cars (Audi, Seat, Cupra, Skoda, Volkswagen) and Hyundais doesn't match their CO₂: a 128 g/km Audi A1 is listed at 4.1 l/100 km, when it should be 5.7. When it deviates by more than 8 %, we use the figure given by the CO₂, which is the value that gets checked.

Until 2018-2019 cars were type-approved on the NEDC cycle, much gentler than today's WLTP. For real-world consumption we start from the NEDC figure and add how far cars of that time really deviated according to the ICCT («From laboratory to road» studies): 9% in 2001, 23% in 2010 and about 40% from 2015. We use the first year that engine appears with those emissions, because the gap depends on when it was approved.

In Spain the EEA register has no power figures until 2018 (nor the fuel type for almost all of 2013). We take it from the same cars registered in France, Italy, Portugal, Germany and Belgium, with the same model, displacement and CO₂, and if they're not there, from the Spanish Tax Agency tables.

From 2000 to 2009 there is no European register. Those generations come from the Spanish Tax Agency tables: engine, displacement, power, fiscal horsepower, price when new and years on sale. Fuel consumption, CO₂ and weight are estimated, and every page says so: NEDC consumption is that of the same engine of that model in the EEA data (plus 1.5% for every earlier year, roughly how much new cars improved) or, if it is not there, that of 2010-2011 cars with the same displacement and power; weight is that model's in the EEA data with the same fuel, slightly lower the older it is. We don't know how many of those versions were registered.

Official consumption figures fall short. Real-world data collected by the European Commission (OBFCM) show that petrol cars use 24% more and diesels 18% more. Plug-in hybrids use on average 3.5 times the official figure because they're rarely charged; in the calculator you can say how often you charge yours. For electric cars we add 15%.

The fuel price is the average of the petrol stations in your municipality (or province) according to the Geoportal of Spain's Ministry for the Ecological Transition. Latest data: 15/10/2026 17:58:43, with a national average of 1,78 €/l for 95 petrol and 1,89 €/l for diesel. Electricity starts at 0,15 €/kWh, charging at home; change it if you charge elsewhere.

We work out the fiscal horsepower with the official formula (RD 2822/1998): 0,08 × (displacement per cylinder)^0,6 × no. of cylinders; for electric cars, power in kW / 5.152. If the version is in the tax office tables, we use its official fiscal horsepower and number of cylinders. Otherwise, as the EEA doesn't publish the number of cylinders, we estimate it from engine size (3 cylinders below 1,250 cm³).

With that, we look up the rate in your council's tax bylaw, including discounts for electric cars and hybrids. Right now we have 61 municipalities; for the rest we use the legal minimum rates, so the real figure will be somewhat higher.

A car has its first ITV at 4 years old, then every 2 years, and every year from 10 years old. We count the inspections due while you own it and use your region's rate (we have 19); if we don't have it, 45,22 €.

For value loss and second-hand prices we use the used-car market curve (Ganvam-DAT index and other reports, the ones behind the valuation tool): a petrol car is worth 90 %, 83 %, 76 %, 70 %, 65 % of what it cost new at 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 years. Hybrids hold up a bit better and electric cars worse. The tax office (Hacienda) table, which sits well below the market, is only used for taxes (ITP and imports). The purchase price is approximate: enter your own.

Each version's new price is its value in the tax office's 2026 average sale price tables (Orden HAC/1501/2025), the ones used for registration tax and ITP. It's usually a bit below the list price because it's what people pay on average. If a version isn't in them, we give an approximate price. See the order in the Official Gazette (BOE)

The average premium for policies taken out in 2025 was around €420 a year (CHECK24 comparison site), and the most popular cover is third-party, fire and theft. From there we give a rough price for each type of cover; fully comprehensive depends on the car's value. For example, for a €25,000 car:

• Third-party: around 350 € a year
• Third-party, fire and theft: around 450 € a year
• Comprehensive with excess: around 700 € a year
• Fully comprehensive: around 1.050 € a year

Your actual price depends on your age, your record and your postcode, so in the calculator you can enter what you pay and we'll get it spot on.

This is the hardest item to measure and the one we'll fine-tune most. For now it's our own estimate by segment at 15,000 km/year (services, oil, filters, brakes and minor repairs), 10% less for hybrids (they brake with the electric motor) and 40% less for electric cars. It goes up 5% for every year from the fifth onwards.

Tyres depend mainly on their size, which grows with power: a 75 hp city car runs on 15-inch wheels and a 400 hp sports car on 20 or 21. We count the price of a mid-range tyre for the power, a bit more for large SUVs and premium brands, plus 15 € per tyre for fitting (removal, valve, balancing and recycling).

A set lasts about 40.000 km; 32.000 on cars over 200 hp, 25.000 over 300 hp and 32.000 on electric cars, which are heavier and have more torque.

Finance, parking, tolls, fines or major repairs outside the warranty. If you have them, add them on separately.