Owning a New Car Costs $11,577 a Year

Statistics Updated August 24, 2026 Austin Mobile Mechanic · Austin, TX

The Number

AAA has published Your Driving Costs since 1950. The methodology holds the vehicle for five years and 75,000 miles, which is why the annual figure is more stable than a single year of receipts would be.

The 2025 total came in $719 lower than 2024, which is unusual. Ownership costs had been climbing for several years.

Where the Money Actually Goes

• Depreciation: $4,334 per year, down from $4,680.
• Insurance: $1,694 per year on a full coverage policy.
• Fuel: 13.00 cents per mile, down 12.8 percent, at an average of $3.15 per gallon for regular.
• Maintenance, repair and tires: 11.04 cents per mile.
• License, registration and taxes: $813 per year.

Depreciation is the largest single line and the one drivers never write a check for, which is why it gets ignored. Fuel is the line drivers watch obsessively. Maintenance sits in between: predictable in aggregate, unpredictable in timing.

The Maintenance Line Deserves a Closer Look

At 11.04 cents per mile, maintenance, repair and tires come to roughly $1,656 a year at 15,000 miles. AAA’s figure covers manufacturer-specified routine maintenance, a comprehensive extended warranty, wear-item repairs across five years of operation, and one set of replacement tires.

Two things follow from that. First, the number assumes maintenance is actually performed on schedule. A vehicle that skips service does not save that money; it defers it, usually at a premium. Second, the number is for a new vehicle in its first five years. It is not a guide to what a twelve-year-old car costs, and the U.S. average vehicle age is now 12.8 years.

Why This Matters for Older Vehicles

The gap between AAA’s new-car maintenance figure and the real cost of running an aging vehicle is where most household budgeting goes wrong. On an older car, depreciation collapses toward zero while maintenance and repair rise. The total can still be far below a new car payment, but the cost arrives in lumps instead of a smooth monthly line.

That lumpiness is the entire argument for keeping a small reserve, and it connects directly to the finding that about one in three drivers cannot absorb an unexpected repair without debt.

The Time Cost Nobody Lines Up

AAA’s calculation covers money, not hours. Two trips to a shop, a ride each way, and a day without the vehicle do not appear anywhere in the $11,577. For anyone who bills their time or cannot easily be without a car, that omission is significant.

If you would rather the repair came to the car, call (505) 510-1409 and we will come to your home, workplace or roadside anywhere in the Austin metro.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

1. AAA, Your Driving Costs 2025 (September 2025).
2. AAA, Driving Cost Analysis Shows $719 Decline in Annual Ownership Expenses (September 16, 2025).