A new report released by the American Automobile Association (AAA) has revealed the cost of operating a vehicle is 3.4 percent higher than a year ago. According to the Auto Club report, a variety of issues are to blame for the increase, including rising gas prices and even bad deals on vehicle resales.
Average Annual Cost to Own a Car $8,776
AAA’s 2011 “Your Driving Costs” revealed the average annual cost to own and operate a sedan (not including auto loan payments) in the U.S. rose to $8,776 this year. That number represents a 1.9 cents per-mile increase over last year to 58.5 cents per mile, based on 15,000 miles of driving per year.
The increase in car ownership costs were attributed to the following:
- Rising gas prices: Gas prices alone fueled an 8.6-percent increase to an average of 12.34 cents per mile to operate a sedan.
- Tire costs: Keeping good tires on a car is more expensive due to the increasing cost of raw materials, energy and transportation. The report found that the cost of tires rose 15.7 percent to an average of 0.96 cents per mile.
The study also found that average depreciation costs, which are the largest costs for vehicle owners, rose 4.9 percent to an annual average of $3,728 for sedans.
Some Ownership and Maintenance Costs Decrease
Despite the fact that the cost associated with owning and operating a vehicle increased, the report revealed that some ownership and maintenance costs decreased:
- Small sedans depreciate less: According to the report, small sedans such as the Chevrolet Cobalt, Ford Focus, Nissan Sentra, Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla depreciated less than bigger vehicles. In other words, the resale value of this category held up well.
- Maintenance and insurance costs declined: The report also found that maintenance costs dropped 2.2 percent to an average of 4.44 cents per mile for sedans. Also, average insurance costs for sedans dropped 6.1 percent to $968 a year.
With gas prices increasing significantly around the country, the cost of ownership could increase even more in time. The report found that tire costs could also continue to increase, making ownership even more expensive in the near future.
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