Rent, Lease or Buy a TLC Car? Cost Calculator

In short: Enter the weekly price of a TLC rental and the costs of buying the same kind of car: price, down payment, loan, insurance, repairs, fees and what you could sell it for later. The calculator shows the total and the weekly cost of each choice over the months you plan to drive. TLC's own cost study (December 2024) found that renting a gas car cost about 31% more per mile than owning one. But buying only works if the car can get a TLC license, and the price you can sell it for decides most results.

Before you compare: can the car you buy be licensed?

How to use it

1. Enter how many months you plan to drive this car.
2. Rent/lease side: the weekly price, any monthly costs you pay on top, the deposit, and the part of the deposit you expect back.
3. Buy side: the price with tax and fees, down payment, loan rate (APR) and length, insurance and repairs per month, yearly plate, registration and inspection costs, and the price you think you could sell it for at the end.
4. Read the two totals and the cost per week. The cheaper one is highlighted.

How the numbers are worked out, with sources

• Lease cost = weekly price × 52/12 × months, plus monthly extras × months, plus the deposit, minus the deposit you get back.
• Buy cost = down payment + loan payments made + loan balance still owed at the end + insurance + repairs + fees − resale value. Loan payments use the standard fixed-rate formula.
• Fuel is left out because it is the same either way for the same car.

If you don't have your own numbers yet, TLC's driver expense study (by James A. Parrott for TLC, December 2024, from a survey of app drivers) gives typical figures:

These are survey medians and averages from 2024, not quotes. Your rent, insurance and car price will differ. The study explains the renter's extra cost by the 20.875% rental tax, higher insurance and a "registration rent" tied to the limit on new FHV licenses.

Worked example

Using the study's figures as inputs for 24 months: rent $528 a week; or buy a $40,000 car with $5,000 down at 7% over 60 months, with $379 a month insurance and $375 a month maintenance (the study's yearly medians ÷ 12), and no other fees.

The lesson: over a short time, a loan's unpaid balance and the resale price matter more than the weekly numbers. Over a longer time with high mileage, the study assumed little resale value left after five years of full-time driving.

Limits: what this tool can't tell you

• It does not know whether you can get or keep a TLC license for the car (see the warning above), or about TLC vehicle age and retirement rules. Check TLC vehicle retirement age before you buy.
• It leaves out income-tax effects, days off the road for repairs, and lost shifts.
• Tolls, tickets and E-ZPass deposits in rentals follow the lease. See renting a TLC vehicle: how tolls get billed.
• It is an estimate, not financial advice. Read any lease or loan contract in full. TLC rule 59A-21 requires an FHV lease to be in writing, with every cost and fee listed, and a deposit return date no later than 30 days after the lease ends. If a lessor breaks these rules, TLC's Driver Protection Unit takes complaints: (718) 391-5539.

More on the choice in renting a TLC car: costs, buying or leasing a TLC vehicle and TLC driver costs per mile. Yellow taxi leases work differently, with TLC caps: see DOV taxi lease-to-own and leasing a taxi for less than 12 hours. To compare gas and electric running costs, use the EV savings calculator.