What to put in the reserve
Use the car’s inspection findings, your intended mileage and realistic workshop quotes. The reserve is a budget allocation, not a prediction of what will fail. A year with no repair bill does not make the reserve wasted; a major fault can exceed it.
Compare like with like
Use the same annual distance and currency when comparing two cars. US and Imperial gallons differ, so select the correct mpg basis. Fuel price is always entered per litre here. Purchase price, finance payments and depreciation are excluded.