The full budget of buying a car in France in 2026
The mini-calculator works out the registration certificate and adds your quotes, giving what the purchase costs on top of the price.
The sticker price of a car in France is never the whole cost. On top of it come the registration certificate, known as the carte grise, the number plates, sometimes a roadworthiness test, insurance and, if someone handles the paperwork for you, a service fee. Only the carte grise follows a public scale, and it is the item that varies most between regions, because each region sets its own rate per fiscal horsepower. On 20 October 2026, a three-year-old 6 CV diesel costs €271.76 to register in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and €427.76 in Île-de-France. A 5 CV petrol car over ten years old drops to €121.76 and €185.76, since the regional tax is halved. A new car emitting 128 g/km carries a CO₂ malus of €818, taking the certificate to €1,245.76 in Île-de-France. Everything else depends on the seller, insurer and garage: get written quotes and enter them in the calculator.
The full budget of a used-car purchase
Budget on top of the price
€954
| Registration | €313.76 |
| Plates | €40 |
| Roadworthiness test | €0 |
| Insurance | €600 |
Replace the plates, test and insurance amounts with your own quotes.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
Five items to add to the price
- Registration: the regional share, proportional to fiscal horsepower (the CV figure in box P.6 of the certificate), then €13.76 of flat national charges for handling and posting the certificate and, for a new or imported car, the CO₂ and weight malus. This is the only item the calculator works out.
- Number plates: a pair made and fitted once the number is issued, or replaced if the old number no longer applies. Ask the fitter for a price.
- Roadworthiness test: for a used car over four years old, the seller as a rule supplies a report less than six months old. A follow-up test or a fresh one has to be priced by an approved centre.
- Insurance: compulsory before the first journey, and priced on a personal quote.
- A professional’s fee: optional. Applying is free on the ANTS website; an approved professional can apply for you for a service fee charged on top of the taxes. The taxes vs service fees page shows how to tell the two apart on an invoice.
Four sample budgets with the registration worked out
The amounts below come from the site’s engine on 20 October 2026, for four common profiles in four regions with contrasting rates. The new petrol car is a 6 CV model emitting 128 g/km and weighing 1,350 kg; the recent used car a 6 CV diesel first registered in May 2023; the older one a 5 CV petrol car from June 2014; the electric car a new 4 CV model of 1,800 kg.
| Profile | Île-de-France | Bourgogne-Franche-Comté | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes | Hauts-de-France |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New petrol, 6 CV | €1,245.76 | €1,191.76 | €1,089.76 | €1,089.76 |
| Three-year-old used, 6 CV | €427.76 | €373.76 | €271.76 | €271.76 |
| Used, over ten years, 5 CV | €185.76 | €163.76 | €121.76 | €121.76 |
| New electric, 4 CV | €289.76 | €253.76 | €185.76 | €99.76 |
For every profile, plates, the test, insurance and any service fee are amounts to request and enter yourself. None of them follows a national scale, and an average would only give a false sense of precision.
New petrol car
The CO₂ malus of €818 is identical in every region, because it follows a national scale tied to the year of first registration. At 1,350 kg the car stays below the 1,500 kg threshold of the weight malus, so that line is zero. Regional differences come from the regional tax alone: €413.70 in Île-de-France, transport surcharge included, against €258 in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. With a dealer, check whether these taxes already sit inside an on-the-road package.
Recent used car
No malus is due: it was paid when the car was first registered in France. The certificate comes down to the full regional share plus the flat national charges, which makes this the profile where your home region, the one that sets the rate, weighs most in relative terms.
Used car over ten years old
Once the first registration is ten years old or more, the regional tax is cut by half. A 5 CV car then costs €163.76 to register in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, a region charging the legal maximum. If the purchase falls a few weeks short of that milestone, the ten-year rule guide prices the gap.
New electric car
No CO₂ malus and no weight malus, even above 1,500 kg. The regional tax remains: full rate almost everywhere, half in Hauts-de-France, hence €99.76 there against €289.76 in Île-de-France. The electric and hybrid car page covers hybrids, which still pay a malus.
Timing changes the bill
A new car’s malus follows the scale of the year it is first registered, not the year it was ordered. The same petrol car at 128 g/km pays €818 if registered in 2026 and €1,276 if registered in 2027, as the threshold drops to 103 g/km. In Île-de-France, the surcharge moves the other way, from €14 to €12 per CV on 1 January 2027, unless the transport authority decides otherwise. For a delivery late in the year, have the registration date written on the order form.
For a used car, the application in your name is due within one month of the sale (Highway Code, article R322-5); after that the fixed fine is €135 (Code of Criminal Procedure, article R49). Keeping the sum ready on signing day means there is no reason to wait.
Using the mini-calculator
Pick the region where you live and the fiscal horsepower in box P.6: the registration is worked out for a six-year-old used car, with no malus. Then overwrite the suggested figures for plates, the test and insurance with your own quotes; they only fill the boxes and are not averages. The total is what comes on top of the purchase price. For a new or imported car, or a car of a different age, use the full calculation, which includes the malus, and carry its result over to the registration line. For a private sale, the used car transfer page lists the documents to gather.