Recently, we put together a comprehensive car affordability review of the 2022 Toyota Corolla Ascent Sport Automatic. The review was for a prospective buyer, Victoria.
Victoria budgeted on the following key estimates:
- 4 and a half year ownership
- 16,000 annual kilometres
- Car Loan with an interest rate of 5.85%
Based on Victoria’s estimated usage and settings, the average estimated Total Cost of Ownership for her Corolla was $1,155.40 per month. This made the Corolla an affordable option, given her $1,200 monthly budget.
Car Washing
Victoria enjoys washing her car. But she doesn't have the equipment or space to wash it at home.
Many years ago, Victoria began washing her car at the self-service car wash within her local petrol station. She found it to be fast, convenient and well priced.
Over recent years, Victoria has routinely washed her car every fortnight, moving from the petrol station to her local, independent, self-service car wash.
Car Wash Settings
Results
When defining the Corolla's car wash budget, she maintained a fortnightly car wash at $8 per wash (before inflation). The result was 117 washes throughout her ownership at an estimated total cost of $1,063.49.
Can your Car Wash choices leave a car unaffordable?
Victoria’s car wash settings piqued our curiosity. Could the Corolla become unaffordable based on different car wash choices?
To work this out, we jumped onto CarCalc to run some calculations and assess the affordability. Let’s see what happened.
Set the Car Wash Frequency to 'Weekly' and increase the Cost (per Car Wash) to $10
Car Wash Settings
Results
Changing the Car Wash Frequency from ‘Monthly’ to ‘Weekly’ and increasing the Cost per Wash by $2 to $10 increased estimated Total Car Wash costs by $1,597.48 to $2,660.97.
Based on Casey’s budget however, the Corolla remained within her $1,200 monthly budget with an estimated monthly average Total Cost of Ownership of $1,184.98. An increase of $29.58 per month.
Set the Car Wash Frequency to '‘Monthly’' and increase the Cost (per Car Wash) to $65
Car Wash Settings
Results
Opting for a ‘Monthly’ car wash at $65 per wash before inflation had a significant financial impact.
Total Car Wash costs increased to an estimated $3,992.88 despite the drop in car wash frequency from 'Weekly' to 'Monthly'.
This pushed the averaged monthly estimated Total Cost of Ownership to $1,209.65 per month.
Despite being $9.65 above budget, the TCO remained affordable thanks to Victoria's $50 budget tolerance.
Return the Car Wash Frequency to 'Fortnightly' and leave the Cost (per Car Wash) at $65
Car Wash Settings
Results
The Fortnightly Car Wash Frequency pushed estimated Total Car Wash costs to $8,646.23. The estimated averaged monthly Total Cost of Ownership also rose to $1,295.82.
This moved the Corolla into 'unaffordable' territory by $45.82 per month based on Victoria's $1,250 total monthly budget.
Put simply, should Victoria decide to have her car washed by a reputable provider every fortnight, the Corolla becomes unaffordable.
How do the Car Wash numbers compare?
Summary
Clearly, your car wash choices can definitely impact your affordability.
The key is to understand and assess your options before you buy.
CarCalc
Want to know how much it costs to own and run a 2022 Toyota Corolla Ascent Sport Auto Review? Thanks to CarCalc, we can tell you.
CarCalc have developed the world's most comprehensive Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) calculation engine for cars. Every calculation referenced in this article was generated using Carcalc.
CarCalc helps you to:
1. Understand all your options and make an informed decision on which car to buy. Take control.
2. Know what car(s) you can afford before you buy. Be prepared.
3. Make the right decision regardless of your circumstances. Save time. Save money.
CarCalc allows you to assess the affordability of any car, based on how you use it. It includes all available finance options and ownership costs, for EVs, hybrids and internal combustion engine vehicles.
If you'd like to know the best option for your next car purchase, join our upcoming private launch and try CarCalc before you buy your next car.
Don’t buy it until you CarCalc it.