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Car shoppers often focus on the sticker price and monthly payment, but those are only the start of the costs they face.
Drivers in the U.S. spend an average of $5,851 annually on car ownership, according to new research from Insurify, an insurance comparison site. The biggest piece of that amount — $2,237 — is the average annual cost of full-coverage auto insurance. Gasoline accounts for another $2,126, and maintenance or repairs account for the remaining $1,488. The analysis is based on Insurify’s insurance-quote data, along with AAA estimates for gas and maintenance costs.
The yearly outlay is on top of monthly auto loan payments, which averaged $765 in the second quarter for new cars, according to credit reporting company Experian. For used cars, the average payment was $542.
The average amount paid for a new car in July was $49,855, according to Kelley Blue Book, an auto pricing and research company. For a used car, the average list price that month was $27,028, according to Cox Automotive, a market research firm.
Those prices are about 34% and 29% higher, respectively, than in July 2019. Overall inflation since July 2019 is about 30%.
Auto insurance is up 50% since 2019
However, the cost of insuring a car jumped by about 50% since July 2019, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics through July. Much of that increase occurred post-pandemic, with insurance jumping by more than 40% from mid-2022 to mid-2024, according to the BLS data. Julia Taliesin, economic analyst at Insurify, said premiums were pushed up partly by inflation-driven increases in vehicle repair costs.
Advanced technology in autos also factors into the insurance-cost equation, Taliesin said.
“Newer vehicles have more sophisticated electronics and systems, making them more expensive to repair than simpler vehicles from years past,” Taliesin said. “Higher repair costs mean more expensive insurance claims, which insurers factor into their rates.”
Higher repair costs mean more expensive insurance claims, which insurers factor into their rates.
Julia Taliesin
Economic analyst at Insurify
For car buyers, it’s worth being aware of how much insurance will cost for the vehicle you want to take home before signing on the dotted line.
“You should never purchase a vehicle, new or used … without first knowing what the insurance is going to be,” said Karl Brauer, executive analyst for iSeeCars, a used-car research site.
Rates can vary widely not only by the specifics of the car but also by where you live and your driving record, experts say. In some states, insurers may be permitted to factor your so-called credit-based insurance score — which insurers say measures whether someone is likely to file a claim — into their pricing. The lower the insured person’s score, the higher the premiums they might be charged.
Gas is 55% higher than six years ago
Gas prices have also jumped, which contributes to a higher cost of car ownership.
As of Friday, the average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline was $4.29, according to AAA. While that’s down from the 2026 high of $4.56 in May and far below the $5.01 hit in mid-2022, prices are 56% higher than in July 2019, when the per-gallon price was about $2.75, according to GasBuddy, a fuel-price tracking app and website.
The cost of crude oil — the main input for gasoline and generally the largest component of the retail price — has been climbing in recent weeks amid heightened concern that the Iran War will be prolonged and further reduce the ability of oil tankers in the Middle East to reach global markets.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate oil futures — a benchmark for U.S. oil prices — climbed above $102 a barrel last week before easing to about $99 on Friday, while futures for international benchmark Brent crude were trading around $104 a barrel. Before the war started, on Feb. 28, those prices were $67 and $72, respectively.
As of Friday, the price of diesel is $6.05 per gallon, according to AAA — a record high.
Maintenance and repair costs vary
Maintenance and repair costs can differ depending on the age and model of the car.
AAA estimated in 2025 that those expenses are equivalent to 11.04 cents per mile for a new vehicle. For a car driven 15,000 miles yearly, that would mean $1,656 per year.
That’s about 23.5% higher than in 2019, when AAA’s per-mile estimate was 8.94 cents, which would have translated to $1,341 for a car driven 15,000 miles per year.
Of course, older cars are more likely to need repairs, which is something used-car buyers should keep in mind, experts say.
