About crunchcost

crunchcost answers one deceptively hard question: should you buy this, or rent it? The sticker price and the monthly rent are easy to compare, and almost always misleading. What actually matters is the true total cost of ownership over the time you'll keep the asset: depreciation, insurance, registration, maintenance, financing interest, the return your money could have earned elsewhere, and what you'll really get back at resale, versus what renting the same thing would cost over the same period.

We compute both paths honestly and tell you which one wins, by how much, and the exact monthly rent at which the answer flips. It's a decision tool, not a sales funnel; we don't sell cars, loans, insurance, or rentals.

How the numbers are made

Each model gets its own depreciation curve rather than a flat guess, fitted from market data, with every parameter interpretable. Resale is anchored to what you actually pay, so it can never exceed your purchase price, and we show a range rather than false precision. The full method, including what we include, what we deliberately leave out, and what "estimated" means, is on the methodology page.

Honesty about the data

Curves currently labeled estimated come from a calibrated market model tuned to local segment-level figures, not yet from a live feed of real listings. They are genuinely different per model and are honest ballparks, but we label them plainly and never show a number the fit can't stand behind. As real listing data replaces the estimates, the label disappears per model.

Not financial advice

Everything here is decision support, not financial advice. Always check your actual insurance quote, loan offer, and rental contract before committing. See our terms and privacy policy.

crunchcost is an independent, self-funded project. Questions, corrections, or data you'd like us to add? Get in touch. We read everything.