How Much Does It Cost to Buy and Maintain a Car in California?
In this topic, I'll share with you the costs involved in owning a car in California. Generally, California has a relatively higher cost of living than other states, and so do the costs associated with vehicles. Please take a look and let's discuss.
First, let's talk about the Out the Door (OTD) price of a car. Simply put, it's the final price you'll need to pay to buy a new car. I bought my car at AutoNation Toyota Cerritos. The on-the-road (OTD) price includes:
Original list price of the car + various accessories purchased from the dealership + shipping fees: $37,153 USD
Paperwork processing fee: $85 USD
Sales tax: $3,899 USD
Electronic Vehicle Registration fee: $33 USD
Vehicle License Fees: $578 USD
California Tire Fees: $8.75 USD
Additional 3-year windshield insurance: $805 USD
Therefore, the total cost of my car on the road is $42,562 USD. Converting this to VND at an exchange rate of 26,000 USD, it's approximately 1.1 billion VND. A reasonable price for a Camry XSE, the top-of-the-line model, without considering additional options.
Now let's talk about the maintenance costs of owning a car. These costs include:
Gasoline: I estimate the average price of gasoline in California is $4.80 USD/gallon, which is about 32,000 VND/liter. Based on my experience, my car averages a fuel economy of 48 MPG, or 4.9 liters/100km. A full tank of gas lasts for 480 miles, or 770km. On average, I drive about 1500km per month. Calculating it, I refuel about twice a month, each time costing $60 USD, which is $120 USD per month. That's about 3 million VND per month, or 36 million VND per year.
Annual Vehicle Registration Fees: $573 USD. This is included in the on-the-road price, so I don't have to pay it again until May 2025. That's about 15 million VND per year.
Insurance: Car insurance is mandatory in California. I pay $2,056 USD per year, approximately 53.5 million VND per year.
Parking: I have free underground parking at home. I rarely pay for parking on the road because there's plenty of public parking. However, I have to pay for parking at school, $60 USD per semester and $20 USD during the summer semester. That's $140 USD per year, equivalent to 3.7 million VND per year.
Car Wash: As I mentioned in a previous post, my current car wash cost $40 USD per month, or $480 USD per year, approximately 12.5 million VND per year. I realized how expensive car washes are; I might try to reduce this expense in the future.
Regular Maintenance: I haven't had my first maintenance yet. From what I know about Toyota North America's warranty policy, newly purchased cars come with the ToyotaCare package, offering free maintenance for 2 years or 25,000 miles. After that, according to average statistics I found online, a Toyota Camry costs approximately $450 USD annually for maintenance. That's about 12 million VND per year. Regarding maintenance, driving a Toyota is great, especially for students like me; saving money is a good thing.
Custom license plates incur additional fees: I just registered for custom license plates. Using these plates will cost me an extra $40 USD per year, about 1 million VND per year.
Asset depreciation: Cars are depreciable assets. Each car has a certain depreciation rate, but Toyota cars are relatively durable, so I'm not too worried. Back in 2014, my family bought a Camry to drive, and after two years, we sold it without losing much value, about 200 million VND. But I'll skip that part because it's a bit complicated 😁
So, to sum it up, to buy the 2025 Camry XSE, I spent a total of 1.1 billion VND on the car outright. After that, I spent an additional 133.5 million VND annually, which works out to over 11 million VND per month. How much do you guys spend on maintaining your car? Please share below!