There is no single answer to what the cost of owning a car looks like in upkeep, because the figure moves with the car’s age, its brand and how many miles you drive. What the published numbers do agree on is the shape: cheap while the car is new and under warranty, then steadily more expensive as warranties end and parts wear out.
Short answer: a new car averages about 11 cents a mile for maintenance, repair and tires in AAA’s 2025 study, which is about $1,656 a year at 15,000 miles. Real owners of older cars report less on average in Consumer Reports surveys, around $200 at 5 years and $430 at 10 years, but the sources do not say whether tires are included and an average hides big one-off repairs, so treat them with care.
What AAA counts for a new car
AAA’s Your Driving Costs 2025 study includes a category called maintenance, repair and tires. For the average new vehicle it comes to 11.04 cents per mile. AAA calculates it over five years and 75,000 miles, and includes manufacturer-specified routine maintenance at retail parts and labor prices, an extended warranty, repairs to wear items and one set of replacement tires.
At 15,000 miles a year, 11.04 cents a mile works out to about $1,656 a year. That is our own arithmetic on AAA’s per-mile figure, not a number AAA publishes. Two caveats: it is an average across vehicle types, and it prices a warranty and tires into the figure, so it is not directly comparable with owner-reported repair bills. AAA also ranks vehicle types. Electric vehicles are the cheapest in this category and medium sedans the most expensive.
What owners of older cars report
Consumer Reports asks its members what they spent on maintenance and repairs over the past 12 months. An AP story from 2022 summarized a 2020 survey: about $205 a year for a 5 year old vehicle and about $430 for a 10 year old one. Consumer Reports describes 5 years as the point when most warranties have typically expired, so owners pay for everything, and 10 years as the milestone where costs begin to rise sharply.
| Brand | 5 years old | 10 years old |
|---|---|---|
| Toyota | $183 | $298 |
| Ford | $163 | $344 |
| Honda | $197 | $355 |
| Chevrolet | $152 | $377 |
| Mercedes-Benz | $490 | $817 |
| Audi | $244 | $840 |
| BMW | $201 | $911 |
The table is a selection from a 26 brand list. The source does not state the survey year or the sample size, so read it as a comparison between brands, not as a forecast for your car. The pattern is clear, though. Every brand costs more at 10 years than at 5, and the premium European brands cost two to three times as much as the mainstream ones by year 10.
What the averages leave out
- Tires. AAA includes one set. The owner surveys do not say whether tires are counted, so check the wording before comparing.
- One-off repairs. An average smooths out a year with no repairs and a year with a large one. A single big bill can exceed a normal year’s total.
- Your mileage. All of these figures assume ordinary driving. A high-mileage commute shortens every interval.
- Your location and shop. AAA notes that actual costs vary with driving habits, location and operating conditions.
How to plan your own number
- Add up what you spent on maintenance and repairs in the last 12 months, including tires.
- Divide by the miles you drove to get a cost per mile you can compare with AAA’s 11.04 cents.
- Look ahead: the maintenance schedule for your mileage shows which big services are coming.
- Set aside a monthly amount, for example your yearly figure divided by 12, so a repair does not become an emergency.
If you are weighing whether to keep an aging car, compare your yearly repair total with the other costs in the true cost of owning a car, where depreciation and insurance usually matter more than upkeep.
Tracking it in Badger
Averages only help until you have your own data. Add each service and repair as an expense with its mileage, and Badger shows your spending this year and the monthly average. With Pro it also shows the cost per mile for all time, so you can see whether your car is tracking above or below these figures.
Common questions
How much should I budget for car maintenance per year?
AAA’s average for a new vehicle is about 11 cents per mile for maintenance, repair and tires, roughly $1,656 a year at 15,000 miles. Older cars in Consumer Reports surveys average $200 to $450 a year before tires, and luxury brands cost more.
At what age does maintenance get expensive?
Consumer Reports points to about 5 years, when most warranties have expired, and says costs begin to rise sharply around 10 years.
Which cars are cheapest to maintain?
In the Consumer Reports owner data, Toyota, Ford and Honda are among the lower cost mainstream brands. AAA ranks electric vehicles as the cheapest type for maintenance, repair and tires.
Is it worth fixing an old car?
Compare the repair bill with the car’s value and with what a replacement would cost each month. Your own yearly totals make that comparison much easier.
