How Much Does It Cost to Own a Car? The Real Answer
Updated: Sep 16
Buying a car creates one wonderfully simple moment: someone hands you the keys.
Owning one is everything that happens afterward.
That distinction matters because when people ask how much does it cost to own a car, they are often really asking a different question:
Can I comfortably afford the life that comes with this car?
The monthly payment is only the most visible part of that life. There is insurance. Fuel or electricity. Tires. Maintenance. Repairs. Registration. Financing. Depreciation. Parking. Tolls. And occasionally the unpleasant surprise that seems to arrive precisely when the rest of your budget has already had a difficult month.
For buyers weighing premium depreciation against new-car predictability, our used luxury car vs new mainstream car guide applies this total-cost framework directly.
That is why the cheapest car to buy is not necessarily the cheapest car to own.
And the car you can technically finance is not necessarily the car that fits you.
AAA estimated that the average cost to own and operate a new vehicle in 2025 was $11,577 per year, or $964.78 per month, using its standardized ownership methodology. Depreciation alone averaged $4,334 annually.
But that average still does not tell us what your car will cost.
Your mileage matters. Your insurance profile matters. Where you live matters. Whether you park on the street or in a garage matters. Your financing matters. The vehicle's age matters. So does its complexity, fuel requirement, tire size, warranty status and likely depreciation.
At WhatCarFitsMe, that is the question we care about:
Not What car can you buy?
What car makes sense once you actually have to live with it?
Table of Contents
How Much Does It Cost to Own a Car? Start Beyond the Payment
A monthly payment is psychologically powerful because it turns an expensive object into a manageable-looking number.
A $45,000 vehicle sounds expensive.
“$699 a month” sounds different.
That is precisely why payment-first shopping can distort a buying decision.
The payment may tell you whether the financing structure fits your monthly cash flow. It does not tell you the vehicle's total economic impact.
Two cars with similar payments can have materially different ownership realities.
One may:
run on regular gasoline;
use relatively inexpensive tires;
depreciate moderately;
carry reasonable insurance premiums;
have a mature, proven powertrain;
and suit your mileage exceptionally well.
The other may:
require premium fuel;
use large performance tires;
carry higher insurance costs;
depreciate aggressively;
incorporate more expensive mechanical or electronic systems;
and be unnecessarily large for the way you actually drive.
The payment could be nearly identical.
The ownership experience will not be.
This is the first rule of intelligent car matching:
Never confuse acquisition affordability with ownership affordability.
They overlap, but they are not the same thing.
The Seven Costs That Actually Define Car Ownership
A realistic cost-of-ownership calculation should consider at least seven categories.
1. Purchase price and financing
The first cost is obvious: what you pay for the vehicle.
But if you finance, the transaction price is not the final amount that leaves your household.
Interest matters.
Experian reported that average auto-loan interest rates in the first quarter of 2026 were 6.39% for new vehicles and 11.43% for used vehicles, although actual rates vary significantly with borrower credit and loan structure.
That creates an important ownership lesson.
A less expensive used vehicle does not automatically create a cheaper financial outcome if the buyer finances it at a substantially higher rate.
Consider the buying decision as a system:
vehicle price + down payment + interest rate + loan term + ownership costs
—not merely:
monthly payment
Longer financing can make a vehicle appear more comfortable month to month while increasing the amount of time your finances remain committed to it.
At WhatCarFitsMe, we favor conservative affordability logic for exactly this reason. A vehicle should leave enough financial room for the rest of ownership.
2. Depreciation
Depreciation may be the biggest car expense you never receive a bill for.
If you purchase a vehicle for $50,000 and eventually sell it for $30,000, $20,000 of economic value disappeared during your ownership.
Nothing arrived in the mail marked:
DEPRECIATION INVOICE: $20,000.
But the cost was real.
AAA's 2025 analysis estimated average annual new-vehicle depreciation at $4,334 under its methodology.
This is why the vehicle with the lowest fuel cost is not automatically the vehicle with the lowest total ownership cost.
Depreciation can overwhelm smaller savings elsewhere.
It also explains why lightly used vehicles can be financially attractive in some circumstances: another owner may already have absorbed part of the early depreciation curve.
But used does not automatically mean better.
You are exchanging one type of risk for another.
A new vehicle generally provides greater warranty protection and a known history. A used vehicle may lower acquisition cost and depreciation exposure while increasing uncertainty around previous use, maintenance and upcoming repairs.
The right answer depends on the person.
3. Insurance: The Cost Buyers Commonly Estimate Too Late
Many buyers compare vehicles for weeks before requesting an insurance quote.
That sequence should often be reversed.
Insurance costs are influenced by factors beyond vehicle value, and two similarly priced cars can generate substantially different premiums.
Before committing to a vehicle, obtain real quotes using the exact model—or preferably the exact VIN when practical.
This becomes particularly important when moving:
from a mainstream vehicle into a luxury segment;
from a sedan into a larger SUV;
from an older car into a much newer one;
into a performance-oriented vehicle;
or into a vehicle with expensive body, lighting, sensor or wheel components.
The emotional mistake is easy to understand.
The buyer thinks:
“It's only another $80 per month.”
Then insurance adds another amount.
Then premium fuel adds another.
Then the first set of tires arrives.
The original $80 difference was never really $80.
4. Fuel or Electricity: Your Routine Matters More Than the Label
Efficiency matters, but efficiency only becomes economically meaningful when paired with mileage.
A driver traveling 22,000 miles every year has a very different relationship with fuel economy than someone driving 5,000 miles annually.
This is why asking whether gasoline, hybrid, plug-in hybrid or electric is “cheapest” without discussing behavior is usually the wrong question.
The U.S. Department of Energy's Vehicle Cost Calculator itself incorporates driving habits when comparing ownership costs, illustrating why usage patterns belong in the calculation rather than relying solely on vehicle specifications.
Consider three drivers.
Driver A commutes 70 miles every weekday.
Fuel economy can have a major financial effect.
Driver B works remotely and drives 4,500 miles per year.
Saving 10 mpg may matter considerably less than purchase price, depreciation, insurance or maintenance.
Driver C wants an EV but lives in an apartment with no reliable home charging.
An EV may still work beautifully—but the convenience and economics need to be evaluated around actual
charging access rather than theoretical efficiency.
This is one of the central ideas behind WhatCarFitsMe:
Powertrain recommendations should follow lifestyle, not ideology.
Gasoline is not automatically wrong.
Electric is not automatically right.
Hybrid is not automatically the compromise everyone needs.
The correct powertrain is the one that fits where, how and how much you drive.
5. Maintenance Is Predictable. Repairs Are Not.
Maintenance and repairs are often grouped together, but they should be treated differently.
Maintenance is the cost of caring for a functioning machine.
Oil or fluids where applicable. Filters. Tires. Brakes. Alignment. Wipers. Inspections. Scheduled service.
Repairs are what happens when something no longer functions as intended.
The distinction matters because good vehicle budgeting should anticipate maintenance while creating a reasonable reserve for repairs.
Age and mileage change that equation.
A three-year-old vehicle with 25,000 miles and remaining warranty coverage presents one kind of risk.
A nine-year-old vehicle with 105,000 miles presents another.
That does not make the higher-mileage car a bad purchase.
It simply means its purchase price should leave room for the reality of older components.
Mileage is not a verdict
One of the least useful rules in used-car shopping is:
“Never buy a car above X miles.”
Mileage needs context.
A well-maintained vehicle with documented highway use may represent less ownership risk than a lower-mileage example with deferred maintenance, accident history or poor care.
What matters is the relationship between:
mileage;
age;
service history;
mechanical complexity;
current condition;
upcoming maintenance;
purchase price;
and intended ownership period.
Mileage should influence the decision.
It should not make the decision by itself.
6. Tires: The Ownership Cost Hiding in Plain Sight
Tires deserve their own discussion because modern vehicle design has quietly made them an increasingly meaningful ownership variable.
Large wheels look excellent in photographs.
They can also produce larger replacement bills.
Performance-oriented tires may wear more quickly. Larger SUVs require substantial tires. Certain vehicles use staggered sizes or specialized specifications that reduce shopping flexibility.
None of this means you should avoid them.
It means you should understand what you are buying.
Imagine two SUVs.
One uses modestly sized, widely available tires.
The other rides on enormous wheels that look spectacular.
The second SUV may still be your preferred vehicle. But if replacement tires create financial resentment every few years, that specification was not merely aesthetic.
It was an ownership decision.
NHTSA emphasizes tires as a critical safety component and recommends ongoing attention to tire condition and maintenance.
At WhatCarFitsMe, this is the type of detail we believe belongs in vehicle matching.
Because “Can I afford this car?” eventually becomes:
“Will I still like owning this car when something needs replacing?”
7. Taxes, Registration, Parking and the Cost of Geography
The same vehicle can have different ownership economics in different households.
A suburban homeowner with a driveway may pay nothing to park overnight.
A city resident may pay hundreds of dollars a month for a garage.
A commuter may spend heavily on tolls.
Another driver may have none.
Registration, inspection and taxes vary by jurisdiction.
Fuel and electricity prices vary by location.
Insurance varies enormously.
This is why national averages are useful for perspective but dangerous as personalized answers.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that U.S. consumer units spent an average of $13,174 on transportation in 2024, but that broad category encompasses transportation spending across households and should not be interpreted as the cost of owning one particular car.
Your number is the number that matters.
The Real Ownership Equation
A more intelligent way to answer how much does it cost to own a car is:
True ownership cost = depreciation + financing + insurance + energy + maintenance + repairs + tires + taxes/fees + parking/tolls − eventual resale value already reflected through depreciation
But even this misses something.
There is also what we call the friction cost.
Friction is not always financial.
It is inconvenience.
A huge SUV in a tight urban garage.
An EV without convenient charging.
A low sports sedan on damaged local roads.
A three-row vehicle carrying one person 95% of the time.
A small crossover that technically accommodates a family but makes every vacation feel like a luggage puzzle.
A luxury vehicle whose maintenance costs make its owner nervous every time a warning light appears.
These cars may fit the spreadsheet.
They do not necessarily fit the owner.
And reducing this mismatch is where intelligent vehicle selection creates enormous value.
Cheap to Buy Can Become Expensive to Own
A low purchase price has extraordinary psychological gravity.
It feels safe.
But sometimes a suspiciously inexpensive vehicle is inexpensive precisely because the market has already priced in disadvantages.
Maybe demand is weak.
Maybe resale prospects are poor.
Maybe mileage is high.
Maybe previous ownership was difficult.
Maybe the specification is unpopular.
Maybe the vehicle is simply approaching an age when several wear items will eventually require attention.
This does not mean “avoid cheap cars.”
It means price is information.
When a vehicle appears significantly cheaper than equivalent alternatives, ask why.
The rational buyer does not celebrate the discount until understanding what created it.
Why the Most Expensive Car Is Sometimes the Better Value
The opposite can also be true.
Suppose Vehicle A costs $24,000.
Vehicle B costs $27,000.
Buying purely on price says Vehicle A wins.
But imagine Vehicle B has:
better service history;
lower mileage;
newer tires;
more remaining warranty;
stronger resale demand;
no immediate maintenance requirements;
and the exact configuration you actually need.
The $3,000 premium may be rational.
Price and value are not synonyms.
The objective is not to spend as little as possible.
It is to avoid spending money badly.
That distinction defines mature car shopping.
How Much Does It Cost to Own a Car for Different Drivers?
There is no useful universal answer without a lifestyle attached to it.
Consider how differently ownership costs behave across common buyer profiles.
The high-mileage commuter
This buyer should care disproportionately about:
fuel or electricity efficiency;
seat comfort;
reliability;
tire longevity;
maintenance intervals;
highway refinement;
and depreciation caused by rapidly accumulated mileage.
A marginal improvement in fuel efficiency may matter significantly over 20,000 annual miles.
This driver may rationally pay more upfront for a vehicle that reduces operating cost and fatigue.
The budget-conscious low-mileage driver
This driver should be careful not to overpay for efficiency that will barely be used.
If you travel only 5,000 miles per year, buying a materially more expensive vehicle solely to save fuel may take a long time to justify.
Purchase price, insurance, depreciation and reliability may deserve more weight.
This is where buyer psychology frequently creates overspending:
People optimize the cost they see most often—gasoline—while ignoring larger but less visible costs.
The growing family
Families rarely experience vehicles as spreadsheets.
They experience them at 7:42 a.m. when everyone is late.
A technically sufficient cargo area may become inadequate once a stroller, groceries, bags and children's gear arrive simultaneously.
A third row may be valuable even if it is not used daily.
Rear-seat access matters.
Door openings matter.
Car-seat installation matters.
NHTSA provides vehicle safety ratings and resources specifically designed to help consumers compare safety information when purchasing vehicles.
For families, buying slightly more capability than today's minimum can prevent an expensive second purchase when life changes.
But buying far more vehicle than realistically needed can create years of unnecessary fuel, tire and depreciation costs.
The goal is not maximum space.
It is appropriate space.
The luxury buyer
Luxury buyers are not exempt from ownership economics merely because their budget is higher.
Their question simply changes.
Instead of:
“Can I afford this?”
it may become:
“Is this worth allocating money toward?”
A sophisticated luxury buyer compares:
depreciation;
warranty coverage;
service convenience;
tire and consumable costs;
insurance;
expected usage;
comfort;
brand experience;
and emotional value.
If a $90,000 vehicle brings genuine daily satisfaction and fits comfortably within the household's finances, that may be entirely rational.
If it sits unused while losing substantial value, perhaps not.
Luxury is most satisfying when the expense feels intentional.
Buying Path Comparison: Which Ownership Strategy Fits?
Buying path | Upfront economics | Ownership predictability | Main advantage | Main risk | Often suits |
New vehicle | Highest purchase price | High, especially under warranty | Known history, latest technology, warranty | Early depreciation | Long-term owners prioritizing predictability |
Lightly used | Moderate | Generally strong | Can balance depreciation and remaining vehicle life | History must be verified | Value-focused buyers wanting newer features |
Older used | Lowest acquisition cost | Lower predictability | Reduced capital commitment | Repairs and deferred maintenance | Lower-mileage buyers with repair reserves |
Lease | Lower ownership commitment | Relatively predictable | Regular replacement cycle, warranty-period use | Mileage/condition limits; no retained vehicle equity | Drivers valuing convenience and frequent upgrades |
WhatCarFitsMe-guided comparison | Budget-specific | Evaluates multiple ownership variables | Matches vehicle and buying logic to real use | Requires being realistic about your habits | Buyers prioritizing fit over impulse |
No option is universally superior.
A person keeping a vehicle for ten years should evaluate depreciation differently from someone who changes vehicles every three.
A low-mileage driver may tolerate an older vehicle better than a 25,000-mile-per-year commuter.
A buyer who hates repair uncertainty may rationally pay more for warranty protection.
The “best deal” depends on what happens after the deal.
Reliability Is a Financial Variable, Not a Reputation Contest
Reliability discussions often collapse into brand arguments.
That is too simplistic.
Vehicle reliability should be considered through several layers:
Powertrain maturity. Has the underlying mechanical architecture had time to mature?
Generation timing. Completely redesigned vehicles can bring substantial improvements, but early production years may introduce more uncertainty than later years of a mature generation.
Mechanical complexity. More systems, performance hardware and sophisticated features can mean more potential expense as a vehicle ages.
Maintenance history. A theoretically reliable vehicle that has been neglected can be a worse ownership proposition than a more complex vehicle that has been meticulously maintained.
Mileage and age. Rubber, seals, suspension components, batteries, cooling systems and electronic components experience time as well as mileage.
Previous use. Twenty thousand miles of careful ownership and twenty thousand miles of abuse are not equivalent.
This is why WhatCarFitsMe favors conservative matching.
When two vehicles meet a user's needs similarly, there is value in favoring the one with the clearer ownership story.
Do Not Buy More Car Than Your Life Requires
Modern car shopping subtly encourages escalation.
You enter looking for a compact crossover.
Then you discover the larger crossover.
For “only a little more,” there is the three-row SUV.
Then the premium trim.
Then the larger engine.
Then the wheel package.
Eventually you have optimized the vehicle for adventures you take twice per year rather than the routine you live 350 days per year.
Capability feels reassuring.
But unused capability is rarely free.
Larger vehicles can bring more expensive tires, greater fuel consumption, higher acquisition costs and potentially greater depreciation in absolute dollars.
Buy enough car.
Not the most car.
This principle becomes particularly powerful when matching family vehicles.
If you genuinely need three rows every week, buy three rows.
If you tow regularly, buy appropriate towing capability.
If six people routinely travel together, prioritize six-person comfort.
But do not carry the financial burden of rare hypothetical scenarios when another solution would handle those exceptions.
Your vehicle should be designed around your normal life, not your most imaginative weekend.
The Ownership Stress Test We Wish Every Buyer Used
Before purchasing, imagine five moments.
Month 1: The payment arrives
Does it feel normal—or does it immediately require financial rearrangement?
Month 6: Insurance renews
Would a meaningful increase make the vehicle uncomfortable to keep?
Month 14: Four tires are needed
Can you replace the correct tires without postponing something more important?
Month 30: The warranty is over and a $1,500 repair appears
Annoying?
Or financially destabilizing?
Those are very different situations.
Year 4: You want to sell
If the vehicle is worth less than hoped, are you still financially comfortable?
If several of those scenarios create anxiety before you have even purchased the car, the vehicle may be above your comfortable ownership range.
That does not mean you are unable to buy it.
It means buying it may not improve your life.
And improving life should be the point.
Why Monthly Payment Is the Wrong Finish Line
Experian reported average Q1 2026 payments of $770 per month for new financed vehicles and $531 for used financed vehicles.
Those numbers describe financing outcomes.
They do not describe affordability.
If someone earns considerably more than the average buyer, a higher payment may be perfectly sustainable.
If someone's housing, childcare, debt or savings obligations are substantial, a lower-than-average payment may already be too much.
Affordability must therefore be personal.
At WhatCarFitsMe, we would rather recommend a slightly less glamorous car that leaves its owner financially comfortable than a more impressive vehicle that turns every maintenance visit into stress.
That is not being conservative for the sake of conservatism.
It is recognizing something automotive marketing rarely says clearly:
A car should serve your life. Your life should not reorganize itself around the car.
New vs. Used: Calculate Risk, Not Just Price
The argument between new and used vehicles is often presented as though one camp has discovered the financially intelligent answer.
Reality is more nuanced.
New vehicles generally offer:
warranty protection;
known history;
modern safety and convenience technology;
fewer near-term wear items;
and greater ownership predictability.
Used vehicles may offer:
lower purchase prices;
reduced exposure to early depreciation;
access to higher segments for the same budget;
and potentially lower absolute financial commitment.
But the used-car calculation should include money for uncertainty.
If your entire available automotive budget is $25,000, buying a $25,000 older used vehicle with no repair reserve may not actually be conservative.
A $21,000 vehicle plus several thousand dollars of financial breathing room could be the stronger ownership decision.
This is especially true as mileage increases.
We do not believe mileage alone makes a car “too old.”
We do believe higher-mileage vehicles deserve more conservative financial planning.
The Cheapest Powertrain Depends on Your Life
Powertrain discussions frequently become tribal.
They should be mathematical.
Gasoline
Can be ideal for buyers who want flexibility, drive moderate mileage or lack convenient charging.
Hybrid
Can be particularly compelling for drivers with substantial stop-and-go use who want efficiency without depending on charging behavior.
Plug-in hybrid
Can work extremely well when the owner actually plugs it in regularly and typical daily mileage aligns with electric operation.
Without regular charging, some of its theoretical advantage may disappear.
Electric
Can offer low energy and routine-maintenance requirements for many drivers, particularly with convenient home charging.
But acquisition price, insurance, charging access and depreciation must also be included.
AAA's 2025 ownership analysis found EVs to have the lowest maintenance, repair and tire costs among the categories it evaluated, while simultaneously showing the highest depreciation in that study.
That is a perfect illustration of the WhatCarFitsMe philosophy:
There is almost never one number that tells the whole story.
Your Cost Per Mile Can Reveal the Truth
There is another useful way to evaluate a vehicle:
Total annual ownership cost ÷ annual miles driven = approximate cost per mile
This matters because vehicle ownership contains both fixed and variable costs.
Insurance and depreciation continue even when the car sits.
Fuel rises primarily when you drive.
A low-mileage owner may therefore discover that an expensive vehicle costs an extraordinary amount per mile of actual use.
Meanwhile, a high-mileage driver may spread fixed costs across substantially more transportation.
This does not mean low-mileage drivers should never own expensive cars.
Cars provide convenience, autonomy, enjoyment and utility—not merely mileage.
But cost-per-mile can reveal whether your vehicle choice reflects an intentional luxury or an unnoticed financial habit.
There is nothing wrong with intentional luxury.
Unnoticed cost is different.
What Should You Actually Budget for a Car?
Instead of asking:
“What's the most expensive car I can afford?”
Ask:
“What ownership cost feels comfortable enough that I will still enjoy the vehicle?”
Then build the budget backward.
Estimate:
Purchase price or payment
Insurance
Fuel/electricity based on your mileage
Routine maintenance
Tire replacement
Registration and applicable taxes
Parking and tolls
Repair reserve if buying used
Expected depreciation
Financing cost
Then create two scenarios:
Expected ownership
and
Annoying year
The annoying year is when tires, maintenance and an unexpected repair arrive together.
If the car only works financially during the perfect year, it probably does not fit your budget.
How WhatCarFitsMe Thinks About Cost Differently
Most automotive platforms begin with inventory.
We prefer to begin with you.
Because before asking which vehicle has the best horsepower, screen, cargo measurement or acceleration figure, we want to understand the constraints that actually shape satisfaction:
What do you realistically want to spend?
How much do you drive?
Where do you drive?
Who travels with you?
How much space do you actually use?
How long do you expect to keep the vehicle?
What kind of ownership uncertainty can you tolerate?
Which features genuinely matter?
Which compromises will annoy you every day?
Which capabilities are merely nice to imagine?
Then the car becomes the answer instead of the starting point.
Our matching philosophy deliberately accounts for realistic budget alignment, use case, reliability expectations, powertrain suitability, mileage, vehicle age and sensible generation-year considerations rather than treating every technically affordable vehicle as equally appropriate.
A recommendation should survive contact with real life.
That is the standard.
The Best Car Is the One You Can Forget About Financially
There is a special kind of satisfaction in owning a vehicle that fits.
You get in.
It has enough room.
Your commute feels comfortable.
The payment does not bother you.
Fuel costs feel reasonable.
Insurance is expected.
Maintenance is manageable.
The car does not dominate your financial thinking.
It simply works.
That experience is arguably more luxurious than stretching for a prestigious badge and then quietly worrying about every sound, tire, service notification or parking scratch.
Ownership confidence matters.
Sometimes it comes from spending less.
Sometimes it comes from spending more for better reliability, capability or comfort.
The important thing is understanding why.
So, How Much Does It Cost to Own a Car?
The most accurate answer is not a national average.
It is:
the total cost created by the specific vehicle, driven by the specific person, in the specific life they actually live.
AAA's $11,577 annual new-vehicle benchmark is useful because it demonstrates how substantial total ownership can become once depreciation, insurance, fuel, financing, maintenance and other expenses are recognized.
But your car could cost substantially less.
Or substantially more.
And that is precisely why vehicle selection should begin before you start comparing listings.
Decide what your life asks from a car.
Decide what financial commitment feels genuinely comfortable.
Understand how much you drive.
Understand whether efficiency, space, performance, luxury, reliability or flexibility deserves the greatest weight.
Then choose the vehicle.
Not the other way around.
Find Out Which Car Actually Fits Your Life
If you are asking how much does it cost to own a car, you are already asking a smarter question than “What can I afford per month?”
Now take it one step further.
Try WhatCarFitsMe and compare vehicles through the lens that matters most: your real budget, real driving habits, real priorities and real ownership life.
Because the best car is rarely the one with the most impressive specification sheet.
It is the one that still feels like the right decision years after somebody hands you the keys.
FAQ
How much does it cost to own a car per month?
There is no universal monthly figure because ownership cost depends on the vehicle, financing, insurance, mileage, fuel or electricity use, depreciation, maintenance, repairs and location. AAA estimated average new-vehicle ownership and operating costs of $964.78 per month in its 2025 study, but individual costs can differ substantially.
What costs should I include when calculating car ownership?
Include the purchase price or financing cost, depreciation, insurance, fuel or electricity, maintenance, repairs, tires, taxes, registration, parking and tolls. For used vehicles, it is also sensible to maintain a repair reserve.
Is buying a used car always cheaper than buying new?
No. A used vehicle usually costs less to purchase, but financing rates, maintenance, repair risk, warranty coverage and resale value can change the total equation. Experian reported higher average interest rates for used versus new auto loans in Q1 2026, illustrating why purchase price alone does not determine total cost.
What is the biggest hidden cost of owning a car?
Depreciation is one of the most easily overlooked costs because owners do not receive a monthly bill for it. AAA estimated average depreciation of $4,334 per year in its 2025 new-vehicle ownership analysis.
How can I estimate the true cost of a car before buying?
Estimate financing, insurance using an actual quote, annual fuel or electricity based on your driving, maintenance, tires, registration, parking, repair reserves and expected depreciation. Compare several vehicles using the same assumptions rather than comparing monthly payments alone.
Does driving more miles make a car more expensive to own?
Generally, additional mileage increases fuel or electricity use, maintenance, tire wear and depreciation exposure. However, fixed expenses such as insurance are spread across more miles, which is why both annual cost and cost per mile can be useful measures.
