The Real Cost Of Owning A New Car

While the idea of buying a new car may sound exciting, it’s important to know that new vehicle is going to cost you a lot more money than just the price on the sticker. 

A new AAA report finds

• The average annual cost of owning a new vehicle is $9,666, which comes out to $805.50 a month.
• The biggest chunk of that money comes from depreciation, a measure of how quickly a car loses value.
• Depreciation accounts for 40% of all ownership expenses.
• Additional costs include:
• Based on data from May 2020 to May 2021, on average fuel costs are about 10.72 cents a mile, but it does depend on the vehicle.
• Fuel costs could be as low as 3.66 cents a mile for electric vehicles, or 15.81 cents for pickup trucks.
• Cost of maintenance, repairs and tires come out to about 9.55 cents per mile, although that too depends on the size of the vehicle.
• That cost goes down to about 7.70 cents a mile for medium sedans, with the most expensive vehicles costing about 10.43 cents a mile.
• And then there are finance charges, although the cost of vehicle loans have gone down.
• The average interest rate for a vehicle loan is about 4.12%, more than a percentage lower than last year.
• Overall, the average price of a new vehicle for 2021 is up over $1,500 from last year, to $32,903.
• Small and medium sedans, medium SUVs and hybrid cars are seeing an increase of $3,064.
• Pickup trucks, which are still the best-selling category of vehicle, saw an increase of $4,684. 

Source:AAA