Your Driving Costs, AAA NewsRoom
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Your Driving Costs
AAA Exposes True Cost of Vehicle Ownership
Average fresh vehicle will cost almost $8,500 annually to own and operate
ORLANDO, Fla. (August 23, 2017) – Wielding and operating a fresh vehicle in two thousand seventeen will cost a driver an average of $8,469 annually, or $706 each month, according to a fresh explore from AAA. The annual evaluation of driving costs exposes that petite sedans are the least expensive vehicles to drive at $6,354 annually, however petite SUVs ($7,606), hybrids ($7,687) and electrified vehicles ($8,439) all suggest lower-than-average driving costs to U.S. drivers. Conversely, of the nine categories included in the evaluation, pickup trucks are the most expensive vehicles to drive at $Ten,054 annually.
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“Determining the cost of a fresh vehicle car is more than calculating a monthly payment,” cautioned John Nielsen, AAA’s managing director of Automotive Engineering and Repair. “While sales price is certainly a factor, depreciation, maintenance, repair and fuel costs should be identically significant considerations for anyone in the market for a fresh vehicle.”
In addition to analyzing the ownership costs for sedans, SUVs and minivans, AAA’s Your Driving Costs investigate added four fresh vehicle segments in two thousand seventeen – petite SUVs, pickup trucks, hybrids and electrified vehicles.
*Based on 15,000 miles driven annually
To estimate the overall cost to own and operate a fresh vehicle, AAA evaluated forty five 2017 model-year vehicles across nine categories and focused on mid-range, top-selling vehicles. AAA’s annual driving cost is based on a sales-weighted average of the individual costs for all of the vehicle types. Key findings include:
Depreciation – the declining value of a vehicle over time – is the largest, and most often overlooked, expense associated with purchasing a fresh car. Fresh vehicles lose an average of $15,000 in value during the very first five years of ownership. In 2017, puny sedans ($Two,114) and petite SUVs ($Two,840) have the lowest annual depreciation costs, while minivans ($Three,839) and electrified vehicles ($Five,704) are at the high end of the scale.
To calculate annual maintenance and repair costs, AAA examined factory-recommended maintenance, replacement tires, extended warranty costs and services associated with typical wear-and-tear. Fresh vehicles, on average, will cost a driver $1,186 per year to maintain and repair.
The inescapable costs associated with maintenance and repair should be an significant consideration for car shoppers, as a latest AAA survey found that one-third of U.S. drivers could not afford an unexpected repair bill. AAA Approved Auto Repair facilities suggest free vehicle inspections, AAA member discounts and a 24-month/24,000-mile warranty for AAA members. Visit AAA.com/AutoRepair to find a nearby facility.
Fuel costs vary significantly by vehicle type, ranging from Three.68 cents per mile (electrified vehicles) to 13.88 cents per mile (pickup trucks). Fresh vehicle owners, on average, will spend just over ten cents per mile – about $1,500 annually – to fuel their vehicles.
For gasoline-powered vehicles, AAA recommends selecting a TOP TIER gasoline, as its independent research found it to keep engines nineteen times cleaner, improving vehicle spectacle and fuel economy. AAA cautions drivers that using premium-grade gasoline in a vehicle that does not specifically require it is an unnecessary expense.
Fresh to the Your Driving Costs probe in 2017, AAA found that electrical vehicles have lower-than-average driving costs at $8,439 per year. Without a gasoline engine to maintain, electrified vehicles have the lowest annual maintenance and repair costs, at $982 per year. By relying on electro-therapy instead of gasoline, fuel costs are also significantly lower than average, at under four cents per mile. Depreciation, however, is presently enormously high for these vehicles, losing an average of almost $6,000 in value every year.
A latest AAA survey exposed that 1-in-6 Americans are likely to choose an electrical vehicle, the majority motivated by their lower long-term ownership costs.
“Although electrified vehicles can have higher up-front costs, lower fuel and maintenance costs make them a remarkably affordable choice in the long run,” said Nielsen. “For even lower costs, car shoppers can avoid high depreciation costs by selecting a used electrified vehicle.”