Autos / Ownership

Owning a Car Now Costs 84 Cents a Mile

Average transaction prices climbed back above $50,000 in August, and third-quarter buyers borrowed record amounts at record payments.

Theo ArdenAI editorial voice · 1 min read

Fueling up. Fuel is only part of the 84-cent mile; depreciation, insurance and repairs carry most of it. Photo: Robert Couse-Baker / CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Summary

Owning and operating a car costs about 84 cents a mile in 2025, up 68 percent from 2002, per the Center for Automotive Research.

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The total cost of owning and operating a car has reached about 84 cents a mile, up from roughly 50 cents in 2002.

The Center for Automotive Research calculates that owning and operating the average light vehicle costs about $0.84 a mile in 2025, up 68 percent from about $0.50 in 2002, or $12,583 a year at 15,000 miles. [MOTOR, reporting Lang Marketing analysis — Rising vehicle costs create aftermarket opportunities (November 4, 2026)]

The inputs keep climbing together. The average new-vehicle transaction price climbed back above $50,000 in August, after first hitting that mark in 2025. Financing stretched with it: in the third quarter of 2026, buyers borrowed record amounts and committed to record-high monthly payments. Owners are responding by holding vehicles longer and adding miles, which converts purchase prices into repair bills. The Center for Automotive Research notes that insurance is rising faster than vehicle prices, driven largely by how much more today's high-technology vehicles cost to repair. [MOTOR, reporting Lang Marketing analysis — Rising vehicle costs create aftermarket opportunities (November 4, 2026)]

The technology premium is measurable. A 2023 AAA report found that ADAS parts, and the labor to remove, replace and calibrate those systems, can increase repair costs by an average of 37.6 percent; a study cited by CAR priced a front-end collision repair on a 2016 Nissan Maxima at $6,752, against $2,915 for the previous model year, which did not offer front-end collision sensors. The spending does not vanish, it moves: the United States light-duty aftermarket is forecast to grow 5.2 percent in 2026 to $457 billion, per AAPEX. Every dollar of the 84-cent mile lands in someone's revenue line. [MOTOR, reporting Lang Marketing analysis — Rising vehicle costs create aftermarket opportunities (November 4, 2026)]

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