A July picture of a car dealership in Chicago, Illinois. | Photo by Scott Olson / Getty Images
Americans are now paying an average of $12,182 to own and operate a brand-new vehicle, or $1,015 per month, according to AAA.
That’s a big jump over 2022, when the average cost of owning a car was $10,728. The increase, AAA says, comes down to higher prices for new cars, increased depreciation after they’re purchased, and falling used car values — as well as the auto industry’s shift toward big, feature-laden vehicles at the expense of more utilitarian cars.
When The Verge’s Thomas Ricker covered a similar AAA report in his First Click newsletter discussing car sharing as an alternative in 2015, Americans spent just $8,698 annually for new cars.
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