The average cost to operate a vehicle in the United States is now $8,946 annually, according to the 2012 edition of AAA’s Your Driving Costs study.
That’s an increase of 1.9 percent over 2011 and encompasses the full cost of ownership, including fuel, maintenance and tire wear among other factors.
Increases were seen almost across the board with fuel prices experiencing the biggest single jump at 14.8 percent. But that figure was calculated using a fourth quarter 2011 average price of 3.36 cents per gallon, which has risen dramatically this year.
Overall, a typical driver can expect to spend 59.6 cents per mile this year. That compares to just 9 cents per mile when the study was first conducted in 1950, when the average price of a new car was about $1,500.
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