Changan UNI-Z Three-Year Ownership Cost Worksheet

Define the vehicle and the ownership task

Identify gasoline or iDD, production version, condition, necessary equipment and the exact destination. State the planned holding period and annual distance, including any expected change in work or family use. The powertrain comparison should settle whether the alternatives genuinely serve the same task before costs are combined. A three-year period is a comparison boundary, not a recommendation that every buyer should sell after that time. Use the same distance, passenger load and receiving location for competing offers, or label the differences. Keep essential suitability as a separate requirement so a low calculated total cannot justify a vehicle the owner cannot lawfully or practically use.

Start with complete prepared acquisition expenditure

List the vehicle payment, agreed inspection, preparation, inland movement, freight and known receiving expenditure using the landed-cost worksheet. Record currency, source date, inclusions and exclusions for each line. Seek appropriate local advice for destination charges rather than applying a universal duty estimate. Separate a cash outlay from a refundable item or a financing schedule so the same amount is not counted twice. Where acquisition totals remain uncertain, retain a base case and an explicitly labelled alternative. A low advertised FOB amount should not be compared with another vehicle’s ready-to-use total; match the usable boundary before calling either offer less expensive to own.

Estimate energy from the routine you will actually use

Use stated annual distance and credible route assumptions. For gasoline, retain the applicable fuel price and a justified or clearly labelled consumption input. For iDD, divide the expected routine into charging-supported and fuel-backed use, retaining purchased electricity, fees and petrol expenditure separately. The no-home-charging decision helps when public access dominates. Installation expenditure belongs in acquisition or setup, while recurring energy belongs in the operating period. Do not subtract the full brochure electric range from every day’s distance or compare unlike test cycles as if they were measured owner consumption. Identify assumptions that need replacement with actual observations after the vehicle arrives.

Use applicable service and receiving-support scope

Obtain the identified vehicle’s maintenance instructions and usable provider quotations. The maintenance and parts plan separates routine operations from diagnosis or consequential repairs, while the first service after import deals with the accepted starting condition. Include relevant tyres, brakes and auxiliary-battery work when evidence or instructions make them part of the planned period; do not invent universal replacement intervals. Keep insurance, registration, parking and other local ownership expenditure on a consistent basis with the alternative. Distinguish a quoted cost from an allowance. A contingency is a planning buffer, not evidence that a named component will fail or that every repair will fit within that amount.

Keep resale uncertainty visible instead of promising recovery

Use a labelled end-of-period value assumption only when it has an understandable basis, and compare at least a less favourable resale case. Do not forecast an exact UNI-Z used value from a current advertised listing in another market. Identify whether planned selling costs are included. The trim-premium review keeps repeated equipment benefits separate from an assumed future premium. Total period cost can be expressed as accepted acquisition plus operating expenditure minus an explicitly assumed disposal receipt, with any financing expense handled consistently. This is a comparison worksheet, not an appraisal or investment return. Keep uncertain resale out of a claim that a higher-priced candidate is guaranteed to be cheaper overall.

Use sensitivity to identify the purchase decision that matters

Change annual distance, charging availability, energy price, defined work and resale separately before combining an adverse case. Record which change reverses the preferred offer. The iDD premium calculation can test one energy-related difference without replacing the full ownership comparison. If a consequential unknown dominates the result, obtain better evidence or choose another supported candidate rather than adding more decimal places. Carry accepted preparation and exclusions into the purchase equipment schedule. Refresh the worksheet after a changed VIN, destination, quotation or household routine. The useful result is an accountable comparison and a clear list of conditions, not a polished total whose unsupported assumptions have disappeared.

Compare the acceptance conditions

Comparable costs

Matched vehicles and consistent expenditure boundaries support a useful period comparison.

Assumption-sensitive

Charging, resale or defined work changes the preference; keep that condition explicit.

Evidence needed

A consequential unknown requires better information rather than a precise-looking total.

Buyer evidence checklist

• State exact powertrain and holding period.
• Match complete acquisition boundaries.
• Separate electricity, fuel and setup.
• Use applicable care and actual support quotations.
• Label contingency and resale assumptions.

Questions before you buy