Vehicle EconomicsCandidate Vehicle A vs B vs Current Car
Between these two candidate vehicles and keeping your current car, which one actually costs least?
Why this comes up
Current Car vs Candidate Vehicle answers the question for one specific replacement at a time. Once you actually have two real options on the table, comparing each candidate to the current car separately loses the direct comparison between the candidates themselves. This engine runs all three in one result.
How we calculated this
The current vehicle's forward cost reuses the same real value-projection and amortization model as Current Vehicle Remaining-Life Cost. Each candidate's cost reuses the same real-amortization model as Current Car vs Candidate Vehicle: its financed principal (price minus down payment minus trade-in) is amortized at its own APR and term, and combined with its own depreciation and operating cost assumptions. The lowest of all three totals wins.
Worked example, using this page's own defaults: the current vehicle totals$21,479, Candidate A totals $14,338, and Candidate B totals $20,844 over 3 years, so Candidate A wins, beating the runner-up (Candidate B) by $6,506.
What this means
- The best-fit option is not always the cheapest single candidate in isolation, keeping the current vehicle can still beat both if neither candidate's price and financing clear the bar.
- Once you know which candidate wins, run Current Car vs Candidate Vehicle with just that one candidate to solve its exact break-even price against the current vehicle.
- A close result between any two options is more sensitive to your resale-value and repair-cost assumptions than a wide gap is, double-check those entries before deciding.
Limitations
Every candidate and current-vehicle figure is your own scenario, not an appraisal or forecast. See Methodology.
Methodology
This engine combines Vehicle Economics' fixed-rate amortization model (the standard loan-payment formula run out as a full month-by-month schedule), equity and depreciation projection model (your value and loan payoff projected forward from your own depreciation figure until they cross), ownership total cost model (every ownership cost, depreciation, financing, fuel, insurance, maintenance, repairs, and fees, summed over your horizon), and fuel and charging cost model (your own miles, MPG or kWh, and rates converted directly to a dollar cost). See Methodology for the full detail.