AAA: The average cost of your car per year: $9100
 

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...costs/2070397/


The average owner of a sedan has to shell out nearly $10,000 a year to own and operate that car, according to auto club AAA.

A new AAA reports shows, on average, the cost of driving 15,000 miles a year rose 1.17 cents to 60.8 cents per mile, or $9,122 per year. Overall, that's a roughly 2% increase on the cost of operating a car last year.

Auto club AAA studies five cost categories – maintenance, fuel, tires, insurance and depreciation – for its annual "Your Driving Costs" study.

The biggest percentage increase this year was in maintenance costs, which grew by 11.26% to 4.97 cents per mile, on average, for sedan owners. Average costs in all categories are lower for smaller vehicles and higher for bigger ones.

The maintenance cost estimates are based on the cost to maintain a vehicle and perform needed repairs for five years and 75,000 miles, including labor expenses, replacement part prices and the purchase of an extended warranty.

"As a vehicle gets older you tend to encounter more significant repair costs," says Michael Calkins, AAA's manager of technical services.

Since last year's study, there were substantial increases in labor and parts costs for some models, and a significant rise in the price of extended warranties. "People are keeping cars longer," Calkins says. "Extended warranties are seeing a bit of an increase in claims. That's where the costs have gone up."

The second biggest increase: Insurance costs, which rose 2.76%, or $28, to an annual average of $1,029. AAA's insurance cost estimates are based on a low-risk driver with a clean driving record.

Fuel costs rose 1.93% to 14.45 cents per mile for the average sedan owner. The actual average cost of regular gas went up 3.84% to $3.49 per gallon; but several of the vehicles in the AAA study had small improvements in fuel efficiency, which partially offset the fuel cost increase.

Depreciation costs, which had dropped in last year's study, ticked upward slightly, by .78% to $3,571 a year. That might be because, as new vehicle sales recover, more used cars are available, which has softened the resale value of clean older models, Calkins says.

"The length of time people keep cars has been going up for the past several years, since the real estate crash," he says. "The average age of the vehicle on the road now is 11.1 years. It's not just for financial reasons that people are keeping cars long. The quality of the cars is also improving."

Tire costs did not change from last year, remaining at about one cent per mile, on average, for sedan owners.

AAA has published "Your Driving Costs" since 1950. That year, gas cost 27 cents a gallon, and it cost about 9 cents a mile to drive 10,000 miles a year


AAA report:


http://newsroom.aaa.com/wp-content/u...gCosts2013.pdf

And that's why I don't buy new cars. It's like lighting your money on fire.

wut?

yeah; i bought my Rabbit 2 years old with 41k miles basically mint; for $10k.
love the car.

Seriously. How much does a car's value depreciate the second you drive it off the lot? I'm sure the warranties would give me some nice peace of mind though.

I bought my current car new, JUST because I wanted to at least go through the process of buying a new car and losing a bunch of money on depreciation once in my life. Every car I get from now on will probably be a couple years used.

I think between 20-30%?

might be off though. it's significant I know that.

That's pretty incredible. I'll likely never buy a completely brand new car for that reason. Unless I was planning on riding it until the wheels fell off...

I think the best way to go is let someone else eat that and pick it up at a cheaper price 2 or 3 years down the line.

Happiness is a new car smell /Don Draper

that's what I did with mine. I think my Rabbit new was like $18k or there abouts. maybe around $20k.

got it for 10k 3 years later

That's why you buy a car a year or two old.

The wife's Camry was 5 yrs old when we bought it for $10k. It listed at $25k new. No way in hell was it $15,000 better when it was brand new.

I've never bought new. Years back when I was considering a brand new vehicle, a buddy bought a brand new ford escort. It was nice , for a while, then began to have frequent mechanical problems. i bought a beater toyota corolla for $600.00 and it outlasted the escort by two years with no real problems. Not a slap against U.S. autos, I drive a Ford Windstar now. But I decided brand new was not worth it.

Let's see here, 4 years ago we bought that Camry for $10,200.

In that time we've paid $2880 for insurance, roughly $3500 for fuel, $600 in repairs, and around $1200 in licensing/taxes for a total of $18,380, which averages out to $4595/yr so far.

And that is going to go down every additional year we have the car. If we keep it another 4 years with no major repair costs we're looking at $3320/yr.




Even better was my Caravan I just retired. I paid $2000 for it, drove it nearly four years, probably spent around $5,000 in gas over that time, around $3000 for licensing/insurance and $400 in repairs. Total operating costs=$2600/yr.

Just curious - what goes down every year? The tax? Fuel and insurance aren't likely to change (hard to tell with fuel prices) and the chances of repair go up with age.

Bull Shit

My taxes and insurance creep down every year since the car decreases in value.

Fuel is the long term unknown.

Bull. You aren't spending only $150/year for all your repairs & maintenance. That's impossibly low. You spend that alone going to Jiffy Lube 4-6x per year, unless you don't change your oil. Tires cannot go more than 50K miles and be all that effective, so that's $600 right there every 3-4 years. You never repair a headlight, change air filters, get a new timing belt, or any other work on the car?


I've had Hondas and Acuras so I know foreign rice burners are good cars, but they aren't maintenance free. Not by a mile.

I've never had my insurance change due to the age of the car (which I think is bullshit). We don't have the property tax on cars here (yet) so I was wondering if that was what he meant.

The inital cost of the car(10.2k) is included in that total. The longer he drives it, that cost is divided by more years , making it smaller.

I missed that he added that in.

We'd be spreading the cost of the car over more years. Taxes go down a bit every year as well.

Drives me nuts that whenever we are in the market all the 2 year old cars have friggin 50k miles on them. always makes me consider just buyinng brand new so I can put my own miles on it and not be in a massive hole with somebody elses mileage. n We always drive our cars until they drop anyway.

If you have full coverage, your comprehensive and collision should be impacted by the increasing age of the car, unless its really old in which case you shouldn't have those coverages anyway.

Its possible that other things are happening in your particular situation which counters the impact of your car's age.

Ok, I forgot oil changes twice a year and air filter once a year. That's another $60/year on both vehicles. And yes, a light bulb here or there, but those are negligible in cost.

So far on the Camry we had the timing belt replaced ($300) and tires replaced (another $300), and that's it. She only puts 6-7,000 miles on it a year.

As far as the Caravan, I replaced the fuel pump ($200), water pump ($50?), and put in a used starter that was $30. There's been spark plugs and some other little bullshit here and there along the way as well, and I drove the shit out of the thing.

I also have a 99 Dakota that I've had for 4 years, so far on it it's been battery ($60), 2 tires ($300), fan clutch (???), water pump ($60?) a couple sensors that were maybe $30 each. I'm not remembering the exact prices but it's still in that same $150/yr range. I've averaged about 5,000/yr on that one so it should be low.

So no bullshit.

That's the way I go. Buy a new car about every 10-12 years.

Just curious, at what point would you drop those coverages? Would you carry them on a car worth $5000? $3000?

Yeah I don't think those cars are worth it either. All the new is used up, and they still command a high price. 5-10 years old is where the most value is IMO.

There are some advantages to buying new. You can get the exact car you want with the options you want instead of just settling for what you can find, you get a full warranty, you can drive it a long time before needing repairs or risking breakdowns, and you get the piece of mind that your car hasn't been thoroughly abused or neglected before you got it. If you keep it for a long time, the extra cost isn't prohibitive.

I really lucked out with my current car, though. It was two years old with only 14,500 miles. The main thing I was looking for was that it had a manual and this one did (very rare). It was $16K (down from the new price of $23K). If I had picked up a new one, I would have chosen a different color and probably the next trim level up but I am pretty happy with what I got.

I think the incremental yearly rate increases negated any drop in rates from age.

How Jewish are they? Fiddler on the roof. Cast or audience? -Roger Sterling

I will probably look at buying new for my next car, simply because so many of the used cars in the 2-3 year old range have 40-50k on them already. Not to mention how ****ing piss poor most people treat/take care of their cars. My current car is 12 years old and running fine, so I am years away. But I don't plan on buying new cars every few years like so many. If I buy new, I will drive it for years and years.

I don't care I still love my Lexus.

Yep. Three cars in the household now, each 10-13 years old. Drive 'em till the wheels fall off, with our own mileage...147K/126K/98 K.

Haven't had a car payment for over six years. :)

My car has 183,000 miles. $20 a month for insurance and only commute 3 miles to work. Plus I don't care if someone door dings it

Yup, been there done that..lesson learned.

Come on now, somebody needs to be taking a bath on new cars so us cheapskates can have a good supply of good used vehicles to choose from.

Timing belt replaced for $300? That seems impossible.

Why do people think I'm lying about this stuff? It's not like I'm talking about my penis size or 40 time or how far I can throw a football.

But you got me, it may have been $317.83 or even $322.47 or something like that. I don't remember the exact amount and I didn't think it was important enough to dig up the receipt so I rounded it off.

Yeah, but then you are looking at 80-100k miles on the car.

Shit, I have had two timing belt changes in my lifetime on two different cars and they both exceeded $500.

Saying No To New Cars
Got a million bucks? If not, don’t buy a new car!
http://www.daveramsey.com/article/sa...ey_automobiles

Thinking about buying a new car?

Try this instead: Take your current car out for a drive, open the window, and repeatedly throw $100 bills out the window. Now that sounds dumb, doesn’t it? But when you buy a new car, you’re doing the same thing the moment you take it off the lot.

If you’re a millionaire, then feel free to go nuts and buy yourself a shiny, new car. But 98% of Americans simply can’t afford it. You’ll save a ton of money and heartache if you will just buy used!

So why are we making such a big deal about new cars? One word: depreciation. New cars lose 70% of their value in the first four years. When you buy used, the original owner has already eaten the cost of depreciation. You, on the other hand, get a great four-year-old car for a great deal—one well below the expensive wholesale prices of new cars.

Let’s dig just a little deeper. Say that you are thinking about financing a new car with payments of $400 a month, just a little below the average car payment. Your current car is worth around $1,500. If you take that $400 and pay yourself, instead of the dealer, you’ll have a $4,000 paid-for-with-cash car in just 10 short months.

Sell your old car and you’ll have $1,500 to bank as you continue saving $400 a month. Ten months later, you have $5,500 for a used car. Repeat this process again, and you’ll have a $10,000 car just 30 months after you started saving. How much more sense does that make than buying a new car and watching its value drop like a rock?

Used car lots are overflowing. Millions of cars come from expired leases. For-sale-by-owner magazines are easy to find. Usually, the best deals come from individuals who are eager to get rid of their cars. They have one car to sell, not hundreds of cars like a dealer, so they will be more desperate to get the car out of their yard. Also, call some of the banks in your area and ask them how they dispose of their repossessions. Repo auctions are a great way to find good deals.

Before you buy a used car, make sure you come prepared. Know the value of the car you are considering. Visit websites like KBB, Edmunds and Carmax and do your research, especially if you are working with a dealer.

Remember, unless you’re a millionaire, you can’t afford a new car because you can’t take the hit in depreciation! The new car smell just isn’t worth it.

So? The Camry had 82k on it when we bought it, the truck 107k and my van 158k, and they have all proved to be good values.

Yeah I was a bit surprised that was all it cost, and that was even at a dealership. One reason they cost so much is they often replace the water pump while they're in there as well, but the dealer said that wasn't necessary until the 2nd timing belt change.

Thats too much for me to settle for. When I buy I want to see no more than 30k on the damn thing.

And you'll pay for that. Mileage just doesn't mean all that much to me, I'm far more interested in how well the vehicle was cared for.

still a hell of a lot cheaper than a new car price. I can live with that.

Yep, someone else is still taking that initial hit of depreciation. What bothers me about cars that are only a couple years old is it makes me wonder about why is was only kept by the original owner for such a short time. If it's someone who buys a new one every couple years, and they know they won't have it a long time, where's the incentive to take care of it? Or is a repo or a rental or a fleet vehicle? None of those are appealing to me either.

my jeep was 18 months old and had 63K on it when we bought it.

traveling salesman owned it

Bought my new car 14 months ago. Insurance costs from year 1 to year 2 dropped $300.

I bought new because I wanted to and I can afford it. Got my car for invoice price. Last car I had for 14 years and I only put about 10k/yr on them.

FWIW, when I had the timing belt on my son's Impreza changed last year, it was only $250. It varies wildly from car to car., it seems.

My Forester ('09 with only 14,500 miles) was a lease return.

That's because it is. Guy's lying about $150/year in repairs & maintenance.

We fix all of our own stuff at our shop. Everything from suspension to motor, transmission, differential etc etc. I did not read the whole thread, but if he is saying he only pays $150 a year for repairs and maintenance, I don't believe that. Unless it's a brand new car and you only have oil changes. I have a 96 Escort, just had to put an alternator, outer tie rods and sway bars on her, and did an oil change and it that cost me about $150. Thats wholesale cost and no labor or tax.

You are dumb as hell. I just got a belt replaced AND water pump for 300.

Not uncommon at all, I have seen some crazy high prices (some imports for instance), and some are very reasonable like the cost you just listed.

I leased my car, which at the time was perfect for me. I have an allotted 15k miles per year, and after three years I have put a total of 16,800 miles on the car.

Since the depreciation is set at the time of the lease, my car will be worth more than the cost to buy it outright from the dealership. It just makes no sense for me not to end up buying out the remainder of the car and then re-selling at a profit.

Ok, I pulled the invoice and I was wrong, it was $366. Is that more believable to you? Or do I need to scan the ****ing thing and post it?

This is as bad as the time I had to post my ****ing car title because R8ers didn't believe we paid cash for it.

Yeah, reading the thread would've helped, then you would know that we only put 5-6,000 miles on two of the vehicles each year. I don't see why it's that hard to believe that I can make it through a year without any repairs when we're not driving the shit out of them.

As far as my van, I guess I was just lucky with it because I never had to take it into a shop for anything, the few problems I had with it I was able to repair myself.

I never said I didn't believe you , I just wanted to see if you would do it ROFL... That was a fun day, I had you pounding on the keyboard with your knuckles :D

Revisionist history. You showed your ass that day.

Yeah, I went with what was listed and just gave my opinion lol. Good deal for you though on the van.

Oh now you were hardly an angel either

Welp, my car that is 12 years old just broke 80k today!

ROFL

I have a 2001 explorer with 41k on it :D

Holy shit, I thought I was good!

Impressive.

I'm seriously thinking of selling the car and getting a scooter and a public transporation yearly pass. The ****ing oil companies can suck my dick and the insurance companies can take the snowball after I'm done.

I lied it has 46k 80k is good too
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/04/21/egybe6yj.jpg

I'm thinking of just leasing for the rest of my life.

If u always like driving new stuff and don't like having to worry about maintenance, not a bad idea I guess.
Posted via Mobile Device

Where can I buy a 4 year old car in good condition for 30% of it's original sticker? Or maybe Dave Ramsey is full of shit.

You probably can, but it would have to be some piece of crap like a Kia that doesn't hold any resale value.

CarMax lists a 2009 Kia Rio with 48K miles for $10,994. I didn't know new Kia Rio's listed at $35K.

****, I wouldn't pay that much for one of those things.

It is definitely the bold part.

Actually new Kia Rios are only like $16.5K sticker with a decent level of options. Cars just don't depreciate that fast anymore.

As I mentioned earlier, we paid $10,200 for a 5 yr old Camry that originally stickered for around $25k. So that's what, around 40%? And it's a Toyota that generally holds better resale value than other cars. While I think 30% for a 4 yr old car is pushing it, it's not that far off. CarMax isn't exactly the best place to go looking for good deals either.

My expenses:

Depreciation: $2000
Insurance: $750
Gas: $1100
Tires and Maintenance: $500

I'm under $4500.

So exactly how are you supposed to calculate depreciation? When I figured up my cost per year I just spread the cost of the vehicle over the time I owned it, but that still doesn't take into account what I'd get for the vehicle when I sold it. But I don't see how you could accurately calculate depreciation without knowing what you'd get for it either.

Depreciation on my last vehicle was around $600 per year. If you buy new and drive it for a long time the depreciation doesn't hurt you that badly.

And if you buy a few years old and drive it for a long time, it hurts you even less badly. The numbers R8ers posted may be whack but the strategy isn't.