Cost Of Driving Going Up
Walnut Creek, CA– New research from AAA finds the cost of owning and operating a vehicle in the U.S is on the rise.
For the second year in a row, higher depreciation rates, along with increasing fuel and tire costs, have pushed the average cost of driving a new car up nearly $300 from a year ago.
The 2011 edition of AAA’s annual “Your Driving Costs” study estimates the overall cost of owning and operating a typical new sedan is 58.5 cents per mile, up 1.9 cents compared to 2010. For a car driven 15,000 miles a year, that amounts to $8,776 annually. That’s $289 more than last year.
AAA estimates driving costs based on an extensive list of factors including gasoline, maintenance, tires, financing, depreciation and insurance.
“Both maintenance and insurance costs are down this year compared to last, but other costs are on the rise,” explained AAA Northern California spokesperson Cynthia Harris. “Tire prices, for example are up 14.8 percent on average. Depreciation costs, which consumers often overlook, have risen by 4.9 percent.”
AAA has been studying the annual cost of driving since 1950. That year, driving a car 10,000 miles per year cost 9 cents per mile, and gas sold for just 27 cents a gallon.
Written by tina.falco@mlode.com
