Used Tesla vs new Jaecoo: the true cost of ownership

For the price of a new Jaecoo 7, you could buy a used Tesla Model Y. Should you? We’ve crunched the numbers to compare total ownership costs between these two cars.

Chinese brands are quickly becoming a common sight in the UK, with the Jaecoo 7 even topping sales charts in March and staying in the top 10 since. It’s popular because it’s cheap to buy, well-equipped, and offers strong value for money.

But there’s a catch when you look at the real cost over time. While a new Jaecoo 7 looks affordable upfront, a used electric car can sometimes work out cheaper over three years once you factor in fuel (electricity), tax, and depreciation.

To put this to the test, we ran the numbers on a used Tesla Model Y and a new Jaecoo 7. We compared them over a typical three-year ownership period to see which costs less to run – and whether leasing might actually be the smarter option.

Here, we’ll look at total cost of ownership (TCO): the overall cost of buying, running, and maintaining a car over the time you own it.

If you just want the final results, click below. Otherwise, here’s everything you need to consider.

Click here for full results

Remember, you can buy a brand new or used car right here on Carwow. And you can sell your car, too. We’re here to help you through every step of your car-changing journey.

Starting price

First, we’ll compare the starting prices of each car based on buying them outright. Of course, most people choose to finance their car through a loan or PCP agreement, so the total cost will usually include interest and additional fees. These costs can vary depending on the type of deal, when you buy, and current interest rates.

To keep things simple, we compared the recommended retail price (RRP) of a brand-new base model Jaecoo 7 Hybrid, priced at £29,210, with a used 2024 Tesla Model Y Long Range RWD, which has 24,440 miles on the clock and is listed on Carwow for £29,799.

Car	Price
Jaecoo 7	£29,210
Tesla Model Y	£29,799

Road tax

You’ve just bought the car – now it’s time to sort out your road tax.

If your car was first registered on or after 1 April 2017, the amount you pay in the first year depends on its CO2 emissions. You can check this first-year rate on the official GOV.UK vehicle tax tables, and it may also appear on manufacturer or dealer websites. After the first year, most drivers pay a standard annual rate of £200.

In our calculations, this applies to the Jaecoo 7. This car emits 125g/km of CO2, which results in a first-year tax cost of £455.

Thinking about the used Tesla instead? It’s worth knowing that EVs are no longer tax-free.

Since 1 April 2025, electric cars registered after April 2017 now pay the standard £200 annual rate.

With all this in mind, here’s a full breakdown of how much you could pay in tax over three years:

Car	Price
Jaecoo 7	£855
Tesla Model Y	£600

So, based on road tax alone, the Tesla Model Y is the cheapest option over three years, saving you £255 compared with the Jaecoo 7 over the same period.

Being a used car, you don’t have to pay the first-year rate for electric cars of £10. You just pay the £200 yearly fee.

Fuel and charging costs

Now costs get a bit more complicated, as fuel prices are changing all the time, and charging costs will depend on efficiency, energy prices, and where you charge: at home or at public chargers.

For our analysis, we used the national average petrol price of 158p per litre from RAC Fuel Watch at the time of writing.

Remember that fuel costs vary depending on where you live and the type of fuel station you use, whether that’s a motorway service station or a supermarket. The RAC Fuel Watch site provides a useful overview of prices, as does the Fuel Finder website.

So, if you drive a Jaecoo 7 hybrid for 10,000 miles per year, and use its official fuel economy figure of 51mpg, it would cost around £4,223 in fuel over three years in petrol.

To calculate charging costs for the Model Y, we used three different rates to reflect how much prices vary depending on where you charge – whether at home, at a public slow charger, or at a rapid charging point. Here are the average charging rates used in our analysis, as of the time of writing:

• Home charging: 7p/kWh (E.ON Next)
• Slow public charging (AC): 54p/kWh (Zapmap)
• Fast public charging (DC): 79p/kWh (Zapmap)

Here’s a breakdown of how much it could cost you to charge up a Tesla Model Y with home charging, public slow charging, and rapid charging over three years and 30,000 miles:

Home charging	Public slow charging	Public rapid charging
£525	£4,050	£5,925

Our analysis shows that the Tesla Model Y is almost £3,700 cheaper to charge over a three-year period compared with filling up the Jaecoo 7 – but only if you charge exclusively at home on a smart tariff. However, if you don’t have access to home charging and rely only on rapid public chargers, the Jaecoo 7 would cost around £1,700 less to fill up over the same period.

Depreciation

When you buy a car, you also need to consider depreciation – the amount a car loses in value over time. This varies depending on the model and a range of other factors.

In the first year, a car may typically lose around 15-35% of its value. After this initial drop, depreciation usually slows, with vehicles losing around 10-15% of their value in the second year.

Here’s a breakdown of how much you’ll lose on these cars over three years and 30,000 miles, based on valuation data from Cap HPI, a body which monitors depreciation, assuming all vehicles are being traded in at a dealership in good condition.

Car	Depreciation loss
Jaecoo 7	£14,460
Tesla Model Y	£16,299

Our analysis of Cap HPI data shows that the used Tesla Model Y loses around 55% of its value over three years, compared with a 49.5% drop for the new Jaecoo 7.

Even so, the Tesla has already depreciated significantly: at two years old, it has lost around £17,200 in value from its original £47,000 price.

How much will it cost you overall?

When we add up the road tax, fuel and charging costs and depreciation, here’s how much it would cost you to own these three cars over three years:

Car	Total	Total with home charging	Total using slow charging	Total using rapid charging
Jaecoo 7	£19,738	–	–	–
Tesla Model Y	–	£17,424	£20,949	£22,824

Our analysis shows that a used Tesla Model Y is the cheapest to run over three years when buying in cash, at around £2,300 less than the Jaecoo 7, but only if you rely solely on home charging. It becomes the most expensive option if you rely exclusively on rapid charging – you’d be saving around £3,000 if you bought a new Jaecoo 7.

However, if your heart’s still set on a Jaecoo 7, but want to keep costs even lower, there’s another alternative to consider.

Is leasing a better option?

Leasing can be a good option if you like driving a new car every few years and want fixed, often lower monthly payments without the long-term commitment of ownership.

We calculated this for the new Jaecoo 7 to see whether leasing works out cheaper than buying. We used the same fuel costs as in our buying analysis to keep the comparison consistent. Leasing costs are based on relevant Carwow deals at the time of writing, assuming a three-year term and 10,000 miles per year.

Our calculations show that it’ll cost £16,629.68 in total to lease a Jaecoo 7, with monthly payments of £256.44 per month and an initial payment of £3,431.28. This will save you around £3,100 over three years compared with the total cost of ownership.

Leasing a Jaecoo 7 under these terms would also save you around £800 compared with buying a used Tesla Model Y and charging it solely at home, and around £6,200 if you rely only on rapid charging.

Remember that road tax is included in monthly lease payments, so you don’t need to factor it into your running costs. You also don’t have to worry about depreciation, as you don’t own the car at the end of the lease.

Taken together, these factors make leasing a car a particularly appealing option, and our analysis suggests it offers the best overall value.

Final verdict on costs

Our calculations show that owning a Tesla Model Y without access to home charging rarely makes financial sense. However, if you can charge regularly at home on a cheap overnight tariff, a used electric car offers the lowest total cost of ownership over three years and 10,000 miles per year.

Our analysis also shows it’s significantly better to lease the Jaecoo 7 than to buy it, making it the most cost-effective option overall.

Car change? Carwow!

Looking for a new set of wheels? With Carwow you can sell your car quickly and for a fair price – as well as find great offers on your next one. Whether you’re looking to buy a car brand new, are after something used or you want to explore car leasing options, Carwow is your one stop shop for new car deals.

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