The real cost of owning a car, by vehicle type

The price is the least of it. What you pay every year in depreciation, insurance, fuel and maintenance decides whether the car suits you.

The average new car in the United States costs $11,577 a year to own and operate: about 77 cents per mile at 15,000 miles (AAA, 2025). And the biggest piece is not gas or the shop: it is depreciation, the money the car loses in value while it sleeps in your driveway. This guide takes that number apart by vehicle type so you can compare it with yours.

What makes up the average ($11,577 / year)

By vehicle type (cents per mile, AAA 2025)

*Simple multiplication of AAA's per-mile figure by 15,000 miles, rounded. AAA calculates on a new car, five years and 75,000 miles, national average. A used car has less depreciation and finance cost, but more maintenance.

What changes in Vermont

• Insurance. Insurance prices in Vermont depend heavily on the car, the driver and the town. Get prices on the VIN before you buy.
• Tax at purchase. 6% Purchase and Use Tax, paid to the DMV when you register or title the car, private sales included (32 V.S.A. § 8903). The DMV computes it on the purchase price or the J.D. Power trade-in value, whichever is greater, minus your trade-in or other allowable credits; by statute the Commissioner may use the J.D. Power value when the car was not bought in Vermont or the reported price does not represent actual value (32 V.S.A. § 8907). Two credits almost nobody claims: a car you sell yourself counts if the sale happens within three months after the taxable purchase, up to its J.D. Power trade-in value; and an insurance payment on your own car within the three months before the purchase can also be deducted (32 V.S.A. § 8902(5)(B)). If the car is worth less than J.D. Power says, hand in a written dealer valuation on the DMV's form VD-012 (Dealer Appraisal Form); sent in after you register, it must reach the DMV within 30 days of the registered date for the difference to come back. If you paid less tax in another state, you pay the difference (§ 8911(9)). A gifted car is exempt only between spouse, mother, father, child, sibling, grandparent or grandchild of the donor, and only if the car was registered or titled in Vermont in the donor's name (§ 8911(8), form VT-014): a gift from a friend or an in-law is taxed. Cars, motorcycles and motor homes have no maximum tax; trucks and off-highway tractors with a curb weight of 10,100 lb or more, and trailers, are capped at $2,486. Registering by mail, include a printed J.D. Power valuation dated within the last seven days.
• Climate. Long, cold winters with salt on the roads: wash the underbody often, check brakes and lines for rust, and use winter tires. Cold kills weak batteries, and in spring muddy dirt roads are hard on suspension and alignment. Budget for inspection too: Vermont inspects every registered vehicle once a year (safety and visual emissions, plus an emissions or OBD check if the car is 16 model years old or less), and a car without a valid Vermont inspection must be inspected within 15 days after registration (23 V.S.A. § 1222). Each designated station sets its own inspection charge, subject to the Commissioner's approval, and must post it beside the station certificate.
• Comprehensive coverage. It is what pays for hail, flood, fire and theft. If the car is worth anything, it is not optional.

How to use this before you buy

1. Take the price you can pay and subtract day-one tax and fees.
2. Find the vehicle type in the table and multiply the cents by your real yearly miles (look at your current car: the odometer doesn't lie).
3. Get an insurance quote on the specific VIN. It is the line that surprises most.
4. If the yearly total is more than you can sustain, step down a segment. A small sedan costs half what a half-ton pickup costs every year, not just on purchase day.