Prices are on the rise for everything from meat to limes, from rent to Netflix. But one of life’s commonplace expenses is surprisingly on the decline.
According to AAA, the average cost of owning and operating a sedan in the U.S. is now $8,876 per year, which is lower than it was in 2013 ($9,122) and 2012 ($8,946). The figures are all based on an owner driving 15,000 miles per year in an average sedan. Naturally, annual costs are much higher if you’re the owner of an SUV (average of $11,039 this year, versus $11,599 a year ago) or a minivan ($9,753 vs. $9,795).
Costs aren’t coming down because of decreases in purchase prices. The average price of a new car last summer hit a record high of $31,252, a figure that’s been topped lately with average prices over $32,000 in recent months.
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Even so, the overall cost of ownership is down, and the largest factor bringing on the decrease is the fall in the price of fueling one’s vehicle. AAA estimates that the average price of regular gasoline is down nearly 6% this year compared to 2013. (In past years, it’s been fairly standard for gas prices to shift in only one direction: up.) Combine that with the fact that the average fuel economy for vehicles has been climbing (over 25 mpg lately), and the costs of gassing up one’s car are down over 10% this year. (In a somewhat ironic twist, the widespread improvement in fuel economy in today’s traditional internal combustion-run cars is one reason that consumers aren’t turning to even more efficient (but expensive) electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids in larger numbers.)
Costs related to tires, insurance, and depreciation are all also down slightly this year, though in most cases the effect on one’s overall costs is marginal: The average insurance premium, for instance, fell from $1,029 last year to $1,023 now. So a savings of a whopping $6.