How It Works

Methodology

Every number on MotiveGrid is derived from primary sources and documented assumptions. We show you what goes into each score, where the data comes from, and what we deliberately don't model — because honest limitations build more trust than false precision.

Analysis by the MotiveGrid Engineering Team · reviewed against primary sources

MotiveGrid ScoreCost of OwnershipPowertrainSafetyDriver AssistanceLivabilityData & Sources
TL;DR
The 5-Year Cost of Ownership number is the most complete financial picture of a vehicle purchase we can honestly compute from public data. It aggregates seven cost categories — depreciation, insurance, fuel or electricity, maintenance, tires, financing, and (for EVs) federal tax credits — into a single monthly equivalent. That makes a $30k gas SUV and a $48k electric crossover directly comparable on what they actually cost to own.

Depreciation

Depreciation is the largest single cost component for most vehicles, yet it's the one most buyers ignore at purchase. We model it as the dollar difference between what you pay and what the vehicle is worth after five years.

How it works
Each vehicle stores a value-retention curve: the fraction of original MSRP the model retains at years 1, 3, and 5, derived from historical resale data for that nameplate. The five-year depreciation cost is the MSRP multiplied by the fraction lost.
New model adjustment
2026 model-year vehicles have no used-market history yet. We project forward using the same nameplate's prior three years (2022–2024) of actual auction and private-sale data. This is the same approach used by ALG/J.D. Power for residual value projections in lease pricing.
EV adjustment
Battery-electric vehicles carry additional depreciation risk from battery replacement uncertainty. Where multi-year EV resale data exists for a nameplate, we use it directly. Where it doesn't, we apply a conservative segment-level adjustment derived from fleet auction data.

Insurance

Insurance is the part of ownership cost that varies most across drivers, so we model the part of it that depends on the vehicle — the contribution you can control by choosing a different car. This is MotiveGrid's own archetype-based model, built in-house and calibrated against MoneyGeek's vehicle-level premium data (national average gap held under 3%).

Vehicle archetype baseline
Every vehicle is classified into one of ten insurance archetypes — economy sedan, mainstream SUV, luxury sedan, performance luxury, mainstream EV, luxury EV, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, pickup truck, sports car. Each archetype has its own annual premium baseline calibrated against the national insurance market for a 35-year-old driver with a clean record and full coverage.
Risk modifiers
Four independent multipliers refine the archetype baseline: horsepower class (output tier of the base trim), EV repair severity (parts cost, service-network depth), theft and total-loss frequency for the segment, and a safety-tier discount for vehicles with strong NHTSA/IIHS ratings paired with comprehensive active-safety equipment. Performance trims (M, AMG, Raptor, Type R, etc.) carry an additional uplift pattern.
State and mileage scaling
State-level multipliers are derived from a blend of MoneyGeek state-average data and DOI rate filings, calibrated so high-cost states (Louisiana, Florida, Michigan, New York) land above the national average and low-cost states (Vermont, Maine, Ohio) below. Annual mileage scales the premium gently — insurers price low-mileage discounts, but the relationship is sub-linear.
What this number is
A modeled estimate of the vehicle-attributable portion of full-coverage premium, not a quote. Your individual quote will depend on driving history, credit, ZIP code, and chosen coverage limits.

Fuel & Electricity

Energy cost uses official EPA efficiency ratings and government-reported energy prices. The calculation is structurally identical for gas and electric vehicles — annual miles divided by efficiency, multiplied by energy price — but each powertrain type has its own data inputs and adjustment model.

Gas vehicles
EPA combined MPG from fueleconomy.gov. Fuel price from EIA's weekly retail gasoline survey, updated daily. State-level prices used where the calculator is configured for a specific state.
EVs — home charging
Default assumption. Uses EIA residential electricity rates by state (cents per kWh). Efficiency derived from EPA range and usable battery capacity — not the EPA label directly, which can obscure real-world variance.
EVs — mixed/public charging
Optional modes that apply multipliers to account for DC fast-charge pricing structures. Public charging is substantially more expensive per mile than home charging — a material fact for apartment dwellers and drivers without home charging access.
PHEVs
Blended fuel cost models both the electric and gas portions of expected driving using the EPA utility factor — the statistical split between EV and gas miles based on real-world trip distributions.

Maintenance & Repairs

Annual maintenance cost covers scheduled service and unscheduled repairs over the first five years of new-vehicle ownership. EVs carry a structural cost advantage — no oil changes, fewer brake events from regenerative braking, fewer wearing components — and that difference is reflected in the archetype baselines, not assumed at the model level. This is MotiveGrid's own model, calibrated against CarEdge first-5yr cost data.

Powertrain archetype baseline
Every vehicle is classified into one of nine maintenance archetypes — economy ICE, mainstream SUV, luxury ICE, performance luxury, mainstream EV, luxury EV, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, body-on-frame truck. Each archetype carries a scheduled-service annual cost figure for the first-5yr window.
Brand labor modifier
A multiplier on the scheduled-service portion that reflects per-brand service complexity and labor rates: Toyota, Honda, Mazda, and Lexus run lighter; BMW, Mercedes, and Land Rover run heavier. Brand modifiers apply only to scheduled service, not repair burden.
Unscheduled repair burden
A separate dollar amount for expected out-of-warranty repairs in years 0–5, scaled by a five-tier risk rating (very low through very high) derived from brand-level reliability proxies. New-car warranty absorbs part of this burden; the warranty discount is applied per make based on documented terms (Hyundai/Kia powertrain, Genesis, Rivian B2B, Lucid 4yr/50k, etc.).
Mileage scaling
Maintenance costs scale near-linearly with miles driven — the calculator interpolates the baseline (15,000 mi/yr) up or down for your selected annual mileage.

Tires

Tire replacement is the most mileage-driven operating cost — tires wear out per mile, not per year — so the model is per-segment with an EV uplift, and the calculator scales the baseline with how much you actually drive.

Per-segment baseline
Annual tire cost is anchored per segment (sedan, compact SUV, midsize SUV, three-row SUV, midsize truck, full-size truck), amortized over a ~45,000-mile replacement interval. Heavier and wider vehicles carry higher baselines.
EV uplift
Battery-electric vehicles use a higher per-segment baseline reflecting documented faster tread depletion — instant torque from a heavier curb weight produces more wear per mile than the same body style in gas form.
Performance / off-road premium
Trims that ship summer tires, oversized wheels, or aggressive off-road compounds (Raptor, Wrangler Rubicon, M, AMG, Type R, etc.) carry an additional flat premium on top of the segment baseline.
Mileage scaling
The annual figure scales with miles driven using a power-law curve. At 30,000 mi/yr tires cost roughly 1.9× the baseline; at 7,500 mi/yr they cost roughly 0.54×. The curve is sub-linear on the low end because tires also age out on a ~6-year dry-rot interval — a low-mileage driver doesn't save the full linear amount.

Registration

Annual vehicle registration is one of the most state-variable costs in ownership. Flat-fee states like Arizona look nothing like ad-valorem states like California or Virginia, where what you pay is a fraction of the vehicle's assessed value. The model captures both shapes plus the EV-fee layer most states have added since 2020.

Two-component formula
For each state the annual fee is computed as a fixed base (the DMV renewal portion) plus a value-based rate applied to the vehicle's price. Flat-fee states have a zero value-component; ad-valorem states have a non-trivial one. In states where the recurring cost is collected as a local personal-property tax (Virginia, Connecticut, South Carolina, Missouri, North Carolina, Massachusetts, New Hampshire), a representative statewide-average rate is folded in.
5-year-average rate
Value-based rates use a five-year-average effective rate rather than the year-1 number. Year-1 assessed value is highest and the rate declines as the vehicle depreciates, so the 5yr mean better reflects average ownership cost than a single-year snapshot.
EV surcharge
Many states levy a flat annual EV fee to replace gas-tax revenue. Where applicable, the full BEV surcharge is added on top of the base + value-based components. PHEV-specific lower fees exist in some states; the model conservatively applies the full BEV surcharge to all electric drivetrains rather than under-reporting.
National default
When no state is selected, the calculator uses the national-average annual registration figure seeded per vehicle. This keeps comparisons honest when a buyer hasn't yet narrowed by location.

Financing

Financing cost is computed from standard loan amortization using the loan amount, interest rate, and term. The model is transparent — all inputs are visible and adjustable in the calculator.

Default rate
7% APR over 60 months — the average new-car loan rate as of 2025–2026 per Edmunds and Federal Reserve consumer credit data.
Loan basis
Out-the-door price including sales tax, destination, and documentation fees. No federal EV purchase credit is applied — the §30D credit was repealed and ended September 30, 2025.
The financing component is the most sensitive to individual circumstances. Buyers with excellent credit will pay less; subprime buyers will pay substantially more. The default is a reasonable midpoint, not a guarantee.

Federal EV Tax Credit

The federal Clean Vehicle Credit (IRS Section 30D — up to $7,500 for new EVs and $4,000 for used) was repealed by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and ended on September 30, 2025. Any vehicle purchased on or after October 1, 2025 receives no federal purchase credit, so MotiveGrid applies no federal credit to any 2026 vehicle’s cost of ownership.

Why we no longer model it
Because the credit no longer exists for current purchases, including it would overstate savings and misprice the financing and depreciation basis. Our 5-year totals reflect the full purchase price with no federal incentive subtracted.
State & utility incentives
California, Colorado, New York, and a number of states and electric utilities still offer their own EV incentives. These are not included in the default national calculation to avoid false precision — check what is available where you live before counting on it.

What We Don't Model

An honest cost number requires honest boundaries. The following are excluded because they are either impossible to generalize or are specific to individual decisions that vary too widely to produce a useful estimate.
Parking & tolls
Location-dependent. National averages would be meaningless for buyers in Manhattan vs. rural Montana.
Down payment opportunity cost
Depends entirely on individual investment returns and risk tolerance.
County-level sales tax
State-level only. County-level variation exists but adds data complexity without material accuracy gain for most buyers.
Extended warranties
Optional, highly variable pricing, and actuarially complex to model honestly.
Accident costs above premiums
Insurance premiums capture expected average risk. Individual accident costs are by definition outside expected averages.
Related reading

Last updated: May 2026 (v2 scoring + own TCO models) · hello@motivegrid.com

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