How Much Does It Cost You to Drive?

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Friday, April 08, 2011

GoLocalProv Business Team

Do you know how much it costs you to drive your car each year? Probably more than you thought.

The Automobile Association of America has come up with a figure: $8,588.

Excluding loan payments - no small consideration - that is how much you can anticipate spending to drive a medium sedan 15,000 miles a year.

In coming up with that figure, and those listed below, AAA figured in fuel; maintenance; tires; insurance; license and registration; loan finance charges; and depreciation costs. Fuel prices are based on late 2010 national averages, so even that $8,568 ticket may have gone up by now.

AAA has been conducting this annual analysis since 1950. Way back then, driving a car 10,000 miles annually cost nine cents a mile, and gasoline was 27 cents a gallon. The composite cost per mile for 2010: 58.5 cents.

See the chart below for how your car sizes up, with a brief key as to which are the comparable models.

How Much Does It Cost to Drive?
2010 Vehicle	10,000 Miles/Year	15,000 Miles/Year	20,000 Miles/Year
Small Sedan	58.6 cents	45.1 cents	38.1 cents
Med. Sedan	73.9 cents	57.3 cents	48.6 cents
Large Sedan	96.4 cents	73.2 cents	61.2 cents
4WD Sport Utility Vehicle	98.2 cents	75.9 cents	63.0 cents
Minivan	82.0 cents	63.3 cents	53.6 cents
Fuel costs based on the late-2010 average price of $2.880 per gallon *Small Sedan* - Chevrolet Cobalt, Ford Focus, Honda Civic, Nissan Sentra and Toyota Corolla. Medium Sedan - Chevrolet Impala, Ford Fusion, Honda Accord, Nissan Altima and Toyota Camry. Large Sedan - Buick Lucerne, Chrylser 300, Ford Taurus, Nissan Maxima and Toyota Avalon. 4WD Sport Utility Vehicle - Chevrolet TrailBlazer, Ford Explorer, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Nissan Pathfinder and Toyota 4Runner. Minivans - Nissan Quest, Dodge Grand Caravan, Kia Sedona, Honda Odyssey and Toyota Sienna.