What Your Car Actually Costs Per Mile, and Why Driving Less Does Not Lower It
5 min read · Last updated July 28, 2026
By the YourAutoOptions Editorial Team. Reviewed by Steven Sun.
- AAA puts a new car at $11,577 a year, or 77.18 cents per mile at 15,000 miles.
- Fuel is 13.00 cents of that, maintenance, repair and tires 11.04. The other 53 cents is fixed.
- Cost per mile climbs to $1.00 at 10,000 miles a year and falls to 66 cents at 20,000.
- A paid off 2017 Camry at 11,000 miles a year runs 45 cents a mile, or $416 a month.
In this article
- Where the 77 cents actually goes
- Why driving less raises your cost per mile
- Running the number on the car you own
- The three lines you can actually move
- Frequently asked questions
Marcus filled up his 2017 Camry on a Tuesday morning, watched the pump stop at $52.80, and decided to start combining errands. Six months later his fuel spending was down about $40 a month. His actual cost of owning that Camry had barely moved.
Where the 77 cents actually goes
AAA has published its Your Driving Costs study since 1950. The 2025 edition puts the average new car at $11,577 a year, which AAA reports as $964.78 a month, over five years and 75,000 miles. At 15,000 miles a year that is 77.18 cents a mile. The split, from the study’s fact sheet:
| Cost line | AAA 2025 figure | Changes if you drive less? |
|---|---|---|
| Depreciation | $4,334 per year | Barely |
| Insurance | $1,694 per year | No |
| Finance charge | $1,131 per year | No |
| License, registration, taxes | $813 per year | No |
| Fuel | 13.00 cents per mile | Yes |
| Maintenance, repair, tires | 11.04 cents per mile | Yes |
AAA puts those two variable lines together at 24.03 cents a mile. That is the only part of the bill that responds to how much you drive. The rest, which AAA totals at $7,973 a year, lands on you for owning the car at all. The spread by type is wide: 55.87 cents a mile for a small sedan against 98.54 for a half ton crew cab pickup.
Why driving less raises your cost per mile
AAA publishes the same vehicles at three mileage bands, and the cost per mile moves the wrong way.
| Miles driven per year | Cost per mile | Cost per year |
|---|---|---|
| 10,000 | $1.00 | $9,995 |
| 15,000 | 77 cents | $11,577 |
| 20,000 | 66 cents | $13,220 |
Total spending falls when you drive less, but fixed costs spread across fewer miles, so each mile costs more. Marcus saved real money on gas. He did not make the car cheaper to own. The marginal mile on a car you already own and insure costs about 24 cents, not 77.
Running the number on the car you own
AAA’s study covers new cars. Your paid off ten year old sedan is different: depreciation is smaller, the finance line is gone, repairs are heavier. Four inputs get you your own number. Take Marcus and his 2017 Camry, paid off, 11,000 miles a year, 31 miles per gallon.
- Depreciation. Look the car up on Kelley Blue Book, then look up the identical car one model year older. Say that gap is $1,300.
- Insurance and registration. Real figures off your declarations page and renewal notice: $1,180 and $180.
- Maintenance, repair and tires. AAA’s 11.04 cents a mile until you have your own receipts. 11,000 times 11.04 cents is $1,214.
- Fuel. 11,000 divided by 31 mpg is 355 gallons. At the $3.151 a gallon AAA used, $1,118.
Total: $1,300 plus $1,180 plus $180 plus $1,214 plus $1,118 equals $4,992 a year. Divide by 11,000 miles and Marcus is at 45.4 cents a mile, or about $416 a month.
Now test his errand plan. His fixed costs are $2,660 and his variable rate is 21.20 cents a mile. Drop to 8,000 miles and he spends $4,356, saving $636 a year. His cost per mile rises to 54.5 cents.
The three lines you can actually move
Fixed costs are set the day you buy. On a car you already own, three levers stay live.
Maintenance timing. Deferring service does not save money, it moves it. The Bureau of Labor Statistics motor vehicle maintenance and repair index, series CUUR0000SETD, is up 54.7 percent since June 2019. Consumer prices overall rose 30.4 percent over the same stretch. Repair work is inflating at about twice the rate of everything else, so a job you postpone into a large one costs more every year you wait. Follow your owner’s manual, not the shop’s schedule, and read our oil change interval guide first.
Where the work gets done. The same job at an independent shop routinely lands below dealer pricing. Our dealer versus independent shop breakdown walks the math.
Fuel per mile, not miles driven. The Department of Energy’s driving habits page covers what registers: steady speeds, less idling, correct tire pressure, less weight in the trunk. Its fuel savings tools compare your real world mileage against the rating.
One line to leave alone. An extended warranty is not a maintenance discount, so run our break even guide before anyone sells you one.
Frequently asked questions
Is 77 cents a mile what my car costs?
Probably not. That is AAA’s average for a new vehicle carrying a loan. A paid off car with no finance charge and slower depreciation usually lands between 40 and 60 cents a mile.
Should I stop driving my car to save money?
Not for cost reasons alone. You save only the variable rate, around 24 cents a mile, and keep paying insurance, registration and depreciation regardless.
Why is maintenance listed per mile instead of per year?
Because most of it is triggered by mileage. AAA’s 11.04 cents covers manufacturer specified service, wear item repairs, and one set of tires over five years.
That AAA figure treats tires as one flat number, but the actual cost per mile varies by tire depending on its treadwear warranty rating, sometimes by 80 percent even at the identical purchase price. None of that math survives a misaligned wheel, since an unchecked alignment after a new set of tires can cut real tread life well below what the treadwear number promised.
Does a hybrid or electric vehicle actually cost less to run?
On the variable lines, yes. AAA has hybrid maintenance at 9.75 cents a mile and electric vehicles (EVs) at 10.07, both under the 11.04 cent average, and EV charging at 5.07 cents against 13.00 for gasoline. EVs give it back in depreciation.
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