TrueCostAuto Features Document

TrueCostAuto is an in-depth analysis tool designed for car owners and prospective buyers to evaluate the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) over a vehicle’s life cycle. Purchasing a car involves more than just the initial price tag; it is about how much you will spend after bringing it home. TrueCostAuto helps you capture all “hidden costs”—such as asset depreciation, daily energy consumption, maintenance, road and bridge tolls, and even the opportunity cost of the capital tied up in the purchase (potential gains if that money were placed in a deposit or investment account)—to calculate your truest car ownership budget.

1. What Problems Do We Solve?

1. Unveil the “Invisible Bills” of Car Ownership: Many buyers only focus on the sticker price or down payment, ignoring that depreciation, interest, and various daily expenses make up the bulk of ownership costs over the years. TrueCostAuto clarifies these invisible costs for you.
2. New Energy vs. Ice Vehicles: Which is More Cost-Effective?: EVs save on fuel but depreciate faster and carry higher insurance premiums; ICE vehicles hold their resale value better but have high fuel expenses; how do hybrids stack up? We help you input charging/fueling ratios and local energy prices to accurately compare the real running costs of different powertrains.
3. Decide on Your Next Car Without Hassle: Saving money isn’t everything; personal preference matters. TrueCostAuto features a unique Personal Recommendability Score (PRS), combining your subjective preferences (e.g., preference for spaciousness, HUD head-up displays) with ownership costs to help you make the most satisfying decision through scientific scoring.

2. Core Calculation & Evaluation Mechanisms

To provide high-precision comparisons, TrueCostAuto features built-in multi-dimensional ownership cost calculation engines:

2.1 On-road Price (Initial Outlay)

The initial vehicle purchase cost is the starting point for calculating ownership costs. The system computes the net vehicle price along with all initial expenses:

• Purchase Tax: Calculated automatically based on the vehicle price and local tax rates.
• First-Year Insurance: Estimates the comprehensive insurance premium for the first year of ownership.
• Other Fees: Includes registration, handling fees, and other necessary miscellaneous charges.
• Government/Manufacturer Subsidies: Deducts various purchase incentives to calculate the final true on-road expenditure.

Tip: The system intelligently distinguishes between new and used cars. For pre-owned vehicles, new car purchase tax is automatically waived and calculated based on pre-owned car insurance standards.

2.2 Asset Depreciation Model

Depreciation is the most significant but easily ignored financial drain of owning a car. The system generates intelligent estimates based on vehicle conditions:

• New Cars: Experience the highest depreciation rate in the first year (cliff-like depreciation), with subsequent annual depreciation slowing down.
• Used Cars: Bypass the steep first-year depreciation drop, entering a flatter subsequent depreciation phase directly.
• Depreciation Floor: The system defines reasonable salvage value floors for different vehicle segments that align with real-world used car market trends, preventing estimated values from dropping infinitely to zero. Through these calculations, the system provides clear outputs for Estimated Resale Value, Total Depreciation Loss, and Annual Depreciation Costs.

2.3 Real Energy Consumption & Energy Costs

The system tailors calculations for different powertrains, avoiding overstated official figures:

• Battery Electric Vehicles (EV): Combines real-world electric range achievement rates (e.g., range degradation in winter) and charging costs to reconstruct true electricity expenditures.
• Internal Combustion Engine Vehicles (ICE): Calculated based on the owner’s actual fuel consumption and local fuel prices.
• Hybrid/Range-Extended Vehicles (PHEV / EREV): Supports setting the “electric driving ratio.” For example, if you drive 80% on electric power and 20% on gasoline daily, the system automatically blends and calculates integrated energy consumption based on this ratio. This outputs the Annual Energy Cost required for each year.

2.5 Operating & Fixed Costs

Aggregates fixed annual recurring costs for the vehicle:

• Subsequent Insurance: Estimates the average annual insurance premium from the second year onward (often discounted based on safe driving years).
• Routine Maintenance: Average annual maintenance and repair costs estimated based on the vehicle model and powertrain type.
• Daily Miscellaneous Expenses: Daily costs including parking, car washes, etc.
• Road & Bridge Tolls: Smartly calculates annual tolls based on your “highway/toll road driving ratio” and toll rate standards.

2.5 Opportunity Costs & Hidden Financial Costs

Tying up cash in a car also has an invisible time value:

• Cash/Down Payment Opportunity Cost: The potential interest returns this money could have generated if it were placed in a secure investment/deposit instead of purchasing a vehicle.
• Financing Interest: If you choose to finance the vehicle, the system calculates the cumulative interest incurred over the entire repayment term. The system amortizes these two hidden costs over your ownership duration to reveal the true financial cost.

2.6 Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Summary

By aggregating depreciation, routine operating costs, and financial interest, the system presents intuitive metrics:

• Annualized TCO: The total real amount spent to own and run the vehicle per year.
• Monthly/Daily TCO: Amortizes the total cost to a monthly and daily basis to see the daily expense of the vehicle.
• Cost per Mile/Kilometer: The comprehensive cost of travel per mile/kilometer.

2.7 Personal Recommendability Score (PRS) System

Buying a car is about both financial practicality and personal preference. The PRS system balances ownership costs and user preferences perfectly:

• Cost-Benefit Weight Adjustment: Adjusts the balance of your emphasis between “savings (economy)” and “experience (preferences)” in real-time via a slider.
• Experience Factors Scoring: Allows you to score more than 30 dimensions such as space, safety, autonomous driving, and exterior styling (ratings from -10 to 10).
• Correction for Factor Count: The system adjusts score weighting based on the number of rated items to maintain objective ratings, outputting a custom ranking of your candidate vehicles.

2.8 Vehicle Health Rating

Using a radar chart, the system evaluates the vehicle’s cost structure across five dimensions: Depreciation Control, Energy Efficiency, Maintenance Pressure, Resale Indicator, and Reliability. The overall rating is classified as: Excellent (exceptionally cost-effective), Good (room for minor optimization), Average (noticeable bottlenecks), or Poor (excessive holding costs or steep depreciation).

3. Feature Highlights

3.1 Vehicle Comparison (PK) & Sensitivity Analysis

• One-Click Vehicle PK: Select multiple vehicles (up to 2 in the Free version, up to 16 in the Pro version) for side-by-side comparison. The system automatically lists them by PRS to help you identify the best-value choice.
• Mileage-Cost Sensitivity Analysis:
  • Plots a relationship curve between “annual mileage and holding cost” to calculate the exact mileage point where the fuel savings of an EV offset its higher purchase cost.
  • Smart Solid/Dashed Line Styling: The cost curve is displayed as a solid line during your planned ownership years and automatically transitions to a dashed line for subsequent years, distinguishing planned vs. projected costs at a glance.

3.2 Regional Presets & Multi-Currency Support

• 20+ Global Presets: Built-in tax, licensing, and energy standards for regions including Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, USA, Japan, Singapore, and more.
• Sync & Custom Overrides: Selecting a region automatically updates the local currency symbol, measurement units (km or miles), typical tax rates, average fuel/electricity prices, etc. You can manually override these defaults; changes are saved per region and can be reset at any time.
• Currency Anti-Confusion: For currencies that share symbols but have vastly different values (such as JPY and CNY both using ¥, or GBP and EGP both using £), the system separates them at the database level to ensure calculations remain correct.

3.3 Smart Numeric Input Parsing

• Adaptation to Global Typing Habits: In many countries, commas (,) are used as decimal points, and periods (.) or spaces represent thousands separators (e.g., 24,5k or 24.500). The system intelligently identifies and normalizes global numeric input styles so your vehicle prices and consumption figures are interpreted correctly without calculation errors.

3.4 Flexible Pro Services

• Free Version: Create up to 2 vehicles for comparison and use basic calculation features.
• Pro Subscription & Lifetime Premium: Unlock higher garage limits, advanced comparative views, deep mileage sensitivity analysis, and completely remove advertisements.
• User-Friendly Offline Capabilities: The system caches your subscription status securely on your device. Pro features remain fully functional even when offline (e.g., in underground parking lots or during long-distance driving) with up to a 7-day offline grace period.

4. Cross-Platform Design & Reliability

• Consistent Cross-Platform Experience: Supports major platforms including iOS and Android with a unified calculation engine to ensure matching results across all devices.
• Data Security & Privacy: All input data is stored and calculated locally on your device to protect your financial and usage privacy.
• Highly Efficient Local Engine: Optimized models offer sub-second calculations even offline, presenting complex comparative charts instantly.