AAA Says It Now Costs More Than $12,000 A Year To Drive A Vehicle

September 26, 2023

Hits 96 Staff,

Gas Prices Rising — A motorist parks near fuel pumps at a service station Thursday, June 22, 2023, in Denver. The national average for gas prices stood at about $3.78 a gallon on Tuesday — about 25 cents higher than that seen one month ago, according to motor club AAA. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Chattanooga, Tennessee—(Pulse)

It’s time for the American Automobile Association’s (AAA) 2023 “Your Driving Costs” study. The spreadsheet breaks down the average yearly costs of owning a new vehicle and driving it for either 10,000, 15,000, or 20,000 miles.

According to Autoblog, in 2019, Your Driving Costs came up with an annual outlay of $9,282 for the first five years of ownership, driving 15,000 miles per year. That was a 5% bump over 2018. In 2021, the annual cost had risen to $9,666 for the same use case.

This year’s study is out, and no one will be surprised to find costs are up: AAA says it costs an average of $12,182 every year, $1,015.17 every month, to drive for five years at 15,000 miles per year.

Earlier this month, Experian Automotive research said the average monthly car payment is $729 for a new car and $528 for a used car. J.D. Power followed that up with news about the rising costs of auto insurance, rates getting so high that more households have stopped buying coverage.