What do you actually need to earn to own your dream car?
We run every number — tax, loan, insurance, running costs — in 30 seconds.
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Select a car above
Step 1 of 5—
Data sources for this car
Vehicle price—
Dealer fee—
Insurance est.—
Maintenance—
Fuel est.—
1
Vehicle price & dealer fees
Drive-away base before tax
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$
$
%
Dealer fee amount
$0
2
Stamp duty & government charges
NSW example: 3% up to $45K, 5% above
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%
$
3
Loan repayments
Standard amortisation formula
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$
% p.a.
yrs
4
Comprehensive insurance
Annual comprehensive premium
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$
5
Annual running costs
Maintenance, fuel & registration
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$
$
$
—
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Monthly cost breakdown
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Here's what you actually need to earn to own this car
Total monthly cost
$0 /mo
→
Comfortable income
$0/yr
Car costs ≤ 10% of gross monthly income. You could genuinely enjoy owning this.
Tight but doable
$0/yr
Car costs ≈ 33% of gross income. Doable, but the car owns you a little.
How we calculate this
Comfortable ruleMonthly car cost ÷ 10% = min monthly gross Industry standard
Tight ruleMonthly car cost × 3 = min monthly gross ~33% income rule
Insurance avg$2,226/yr national avg (2025) Source: Canstar 2025
Dealer fees2–4% of vehicle price Industry avg (carsales.com.au)
Loan rate~7–8.5% avg new car loan Source: RBA / Mozo 2025
Personal affordability profile
Which cars can you actually afford?
Enter your income and situation. We'll rank every car in our directory — showing you what's comfortably in reach, what's a stretch, and what you're working toward.
Your financial profile
$
$
$
%
Monthly gross
—
before tax
Car budget / mo
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at 15% rule
Cars in reach
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comfortably affordable
Dream gap
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needed for top dream car
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Your most expensive dream car. Here's how far away you are.
Extra income needed / year
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Car directory
Browse all 144 cars
Every car in our database — filter, sort, and jump straight to the full cost calculator for any one of them.
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The hard way vs the easy way
This is what finding car costs used to look like
Most people visit 6 different websites, spend 30–45 minutes, and still aren't confident in the numbers. Watch the whole painful journey — then see what AffordAut0 does instead.
Time spent
00:00
Press play to begin
Tap each step as it lights up — takes about 90 seconds
🚗
Step 1 of 6Manufacturer websitetoyota.com.au~5 min
https://www.toyota.com.au/models/rav4
STARTING FROM
$46,900*
*Excludes dealer delivery, stamp duty, CTP & other on-road costs
You find the base price — but it says "excludes on-road costs." What does that actually mean? You're not sure. You write the number down.
😐 Somewhat painful — asterisk everywhere
🏛️
Step 2 of 6State Revenue Officerevenue.nsw.gov.au~8 min
$45,001 – $134,999: $1,350 + $5 per $100 over $45k
$135,000+: $5,530 + $7 per $100 over $135k
Note: rates differ for commercial, primary producers and pensioners
You find a table of rates. But which bracket are you in? Your car is $46,900 — so it crosses the $45k threshold. You pull out a calculator. What's 3% of $45,000, plus 5% of $1,900? This takes a while.
You get a monthly repayment number. But wait — you had to input the loan amount yourself, which means you needed to already have the drive-away price calculated (which you didn't fully work out in step 2). You go back and forth between tabs.
😩 Very painful — tab-switching, indicative only, approval required
🛡️
Step 4 of 6Insurance comparison sitecomparethemarket.com.au~12 min
A 5-step form asking for your age, address, garage situation, annual km, previous insurer, claims in the past 3 years… just to get an estimate. And you're not even buying a car yet — you're just researching.
🤯 Extremely painful — full personal data required just for a quote
💬
Step 5 of 6Reddit / owner forumsreddit.com/r/AusFinance~10 min
You get a range of $800–$3,000+ depending on who you ask. None of these people have the same car, same age, same driving habits. The information is real but it's impossible to know which number applies to you.
😕 Frustrating — anecdotal, massive range, no single answer
📊
Step 6 of 6Google Sheets / Exceldocs.google.com/spreadsheets~8 min
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1BxiMVs0…
Item
Monthly
Annual
Loan repayment
$759
$9,108
Insurance (est.)
$175
$2,100
Maintenance (est.)
$108
$1,300
Fuel (est.)
$131
$1,575
Registration
$68
$820
TOTAL
$1,241
$14,903
Note: insurance from comparethemarket, still waiting for full quote. Maintenance = Reddit avg $1,100 (hope this is right?)
45 minutes later, you have a spreadsheet full of estimates, asterisks, and uncertainty. Half the numbers came from Reddit strangers. You still don't know what income you need to comfortably afford this car.
🤦 Exhausting — 45 minutes for numbers you're not even confident in
⬇️
Or you could have done this instead:
AffordAut0 does all of this in
30 seconds. Not 45 minutes.
6
Websites replaced
45min
Saved every time
0
Forms to fill in
125+
Cars in database
One tool. Every cost. The exact income number you need to hear. Plus a shareable card so you can send it to anyone still doing this the hard way.
All figures are estimates only and do not constitute financial advice. Prices are based on manufacturer list prices and third-party data sourced from CarExpert, CarsGuide, and carsales.com.au as at 2024–2025. Insurance, maintenance, and fuel estimates are averages and will vary based on your individual circumstances, age, state, and driving history. This tool is intended for general information purposes only. Please consult a licensed financial adviser before making financial decisions. All brand names and trademarks are the property of their respective owners. AffordAut0 is not affiliated with or endorsed by any manufacturer.