Car Maintenance Costs in 2026: Italy's Inspection Fee Hike Is Coming (Just Not Yet), Plus the Hidden EV Advantage

An Approved Hike That Has Not Kicked In Yet

Anyone booking a mandatory roadworthiness test (revisione) in Italy in 2026 will eventually pay more for it, just maybe not this year. An amendment (7.0.1, tabled by senators Rosso and Ternullo) to the conversion bill for the Milleproroghe decree has already cleared parliament and will raise the inspection fee from 79.02 euros to 88.20 euros, a jump of 9.18 euros, or roughly 11.6 percent. The stated reason is to update what inspection centres are paid, since they face pricier equipment and increasingly complex checks on modern cars loaded with electronics, ADAS sensors, and hybrid or electric powertrains.

Here is the detail most coverage glosses over: as of mid-2026, the increase is approved but not yet in force. It still needs an implementing decree from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, published in the Gazzetta Ufficiale, before the new fee actually applies. Until then, anyone booking a test still pays 79.02 euros. Worth knowing if your car's inspection is coming up soon: there is no price-driven rush, though it is worth watching for the official decree over the coming months.

The schedule itself has not changed: the first inspection is due four years after a car is first registered, then every two years after that.

What a Routine Service Actually Costs

Beyond the inspection, routine maintenance is the bigger recurring expense for most owners. A standard service, covering an engine oil change, air/oil/cabin filters, and a brake and fluids check, runs 150 to 400 euros depending on make and model, and is due every 15,000-30,000 km or every 12-24 months, whichever comes first.

The catch is that these costs are not standing still. Parts and labour prices are climbing 3-4 percent a year on average, faster than general inflation. Annual routine maintenance for a car in Italy now falls between 300 and 800 euros, with a wide gap between an economical city car and a premium model backed by a pricier dealer network.

The Full Bill Approaches 4,500 Euros a Year

Add up fuel, maintenance, insurance and the road tax (bollo), and the total cost of running a car in Italy has hit record levels: one recent analysis puts a typical household's annual spend at up to 4,486 euros. That figure is a big reason more buyers are pausing to do real total-cost-of-ownership math before switching cars, rather than looking only at the sticker price.

Electric vs Petrol: Where the Savings Are Real (and Where They Are Not)

This is the part regular EV-industry watchers already know, but it is worth stating plainly with numbers. On average, maintaining an electric car costs around 182 euros a year, against 314 euros for an equivalent combustion model, a 42 percent average saving that climbs as high as 75 percent for some models over the first six years.

The reason is mechanical, not marketing: an EV has no engine oil to change, no fuel filter, no timing belt, and no clutch to wear out. Regenerative braking also meaningfully extends brake pad life, one of the parts that wears fastest on a conventional car.

Then there is the road tax. In most Italian regions, electric cars are exempt from bollo for the first five years, then pay 25 percent of what an equivalent petrol car would owe from year six onward. Altogether, the bollo saving over those first five years can reach 1,400 euros.

That said, an EV's total cost of ownership only matches a petrol car's when the purchase price premium stays under roughly 8,000-10,000 euros. Above that threshold, lower running costs stop making up the difference, which matters even more on the used market, where the new-car price gap has often already narrowed.

Why It Matters Even More When Buying Used

On a used car, maintenance costs bite harder than on a new one, because once the factory warranty runs out, every repair comes out of the owner's pocket. Before buying, always ask for the service book with dates and mileage for past work: a car with a clean, regular service history is almost always worth the extra few hundred euros at purchase, since it tends to come with far fewer mechanical surprises down the line.

On VendiVoce, listings that spell out a clear service history are worth actively seeking out, alongside the date of the last inspection, before booking a viewing.

The Practical Takeaway

2026 brings two parallel stories for anyone who owns or is about to buy a car in Italy: the inspection fee is going up, just not immediately, so there is no need to panic-book a test; and the overall cost of running a car keeps climbing, which makes it increasingly worth looking past the purchase price toward total cost of ownership, especially when weighing an electric or hybrid against a petrol car.

Sources

1. La revisione obbligatoria costera di piu - L'Automobile (ACI)
2. How much will the car inspection really cost from 2026 - Automobilista.it
3. Inspection fee rising to 88.2 euros from 2026 - Motori.it
4. Car Maintenance 2026: service, oil change, inspection - Automobile360.it
5. Record car costs in Italy: up to 4,486 euros a year - Facile.it
6. Electric car maintenance: real costs vs petrol - AutoScout24.it
7. Electric vs Petrol vs Diesel: 2026 Cost Comparison - CostoRealeAuto.it