AAA: Cost of Annual Vehicle Ownership Rises to More than $9,000

It’s going to cost more for those looking to buy a new car this year. Finance costs on new car purchases have jumped 24% in 2019, according to new AAA research, pushing the average annual cost of vehicle ownership to $9,282, or $773.50 a month. That’s the highest cost associated with new vehicle ownership since AAA began tracking expenses in 1950 and a reminder that the true costs of owning a vehicle extend far beyond maintenance and fuel.

“Finance costs accounted for more than 40% of the total increase in average vehicle ownership costs,” said John Nielsen, AAA’s managing director for Automotive Engineering & Repair. “AAA found finance charges rose more sharply in the last 12 months than any major expense associated with owning a vehicle.”

The spike in finance charges – which rose from $744 to $920, a nearly $200 increase -- was fueled by rising federal interest rates and higher vehicle prices. It comes as 72-month car loans have become increasingly common – meaning car buyers are paying more, and longer, for vehicles that lose value the moment they’re sold. Long-term loans offer lower monthly car payments, but they ultimately cost the consumer more. AAA found that, on average, every 12 months added to the life of a loan adds nearly $1,000 in total finance charges.

“Smaller monthly payments may be tempting to potential buyers, but they can add big costs in the long run,” Nielsen said.

“On a brighter note, the AAA Your Driving Costs study found that electric vehicles had the lowest maintenance and repair costs – 6.6 cents per mile – while medium-sized SUVs had the highest at 9.6 cents per mile,” said Megan McKernan, manager of the Automobile Club of Southern California’s Automotive Research Center (ARC).

(Hawaii is second in the nation, behind California, in the number of electric vehicles registered in the state per thousand people, according to Hawaii Energy Facts & Figures, 2019.  More than 9,000 EVs are operating in Hawaii and the state is proactively encouraging and working to expand the numbers.)

AAA reviews nine categories of vehicles – consisting of 45 models – to determine the average annual operating and ownership costs of each. AAA focuses on top-selling, mid-priced models and compares them across six expense categories: fuel prices; maintenance/repair/tire costs; insurance rates; license/registration/taxes; depreciation; and finance charges. Annual average costs increased in each category.

Of all costs, depreciation, a measure of how quickly a car loses value, remains the single biggest cost of ownership, accounting for more than a third (36%) of the average annual cost. It slowed a bit this year, with vehicles included in the study losing an average of $3,334 a year, up $45 – or 1.4% – from last year. In 2018, depreciation rose by $117, or 3.7%. In two vehicle classes this year – small and medium sedans – depreciation costs declined.

Other key findings of this year’s Your Driving Costs include:

The AAA study gives the public a window into the true costs of owning and operating a vehicle by quantifying expenses that owners may overlook. Additional information and details can be found at AAA.com/YourDrivingCosts.

After purchasing a home, buying a vehicle is probably a consumer’s second biggest expense. Research is key, as is acting carefully and methodically. AAA.com/autobuying is a comprehensive resource that can help make the process more manageable. Here are some tips to keep in mind:

• Know what you can afford to spend before going to the dealership. Determine your budget and stick to it.
• Minimize total finance costs by getting the shortest loan term you can afford.
• Seasonally, the best times to buy tend to be the last two weeks of December – when dealers are trying to hit year-end goals – and, to a lesser extent, between July and October. That’s when dealers are trying to clear lots to make way for the next year’s models.
• Another favorable time to buy is the end of the month because sales managers like to build campaigns around monthly quotas. Shop toward the end of the month and you’ll find a dealer may offer additional price concessions.
• Consider a late-model, gently used vehicle. New cars lose around 20% of their value the moment they leave the lot, so you can save big if you look for a car that’s a year or two old. Your insurance costs could be less, too.
• If you belong to AAA or a similar organization, you may qualify for dealer discounts. Dealer networks sometimes agree to limit profits when selling to club members, though the deals will be limited to certain makes and models.

Methodology

AAA’s Your Driving Costs study employs a proprietary AAA methodology to analyze the costs of owning and operating a new vehicle in the United States. The methodology incorporates standardized criteria to estimate the costs of using a new vehicle for personal transportation over five years and 75,000 miles of ownership. Your Driving Costs is designed to help consumers make informed vehicle purchase decisions and budget for annual automotive expenses.