The following other costs are involved when buying your own car:
Car Price (new or secondhand car)
Registration Fee
Road Tax
License Plate
Insurance
Monthly maintenance, tolls and insurance comes to about US$3,000 annually, while the cost of a base license plate is about US$ 4,000.
Car Showroom in ShanghaiWith the cost of top-of-the-line imported luxury cars in the US$ 100,000 range, most expatriates drive General Motors or VW cars, both of whom have factories located in Shanghai. The popular MPVs cost in the US$ 25,000 range, while VW has just come out with a two door passenger car in the US$ 10,000 range.
While the true cost of a car is its depreciation, the second hand car market is very new in Shanghai (personal cars have only been a factor for a couple of years), and determining your car's depreciation is difficult.