Lendle

The cost of owning and operating a motor vehicle is ofmajor significance, as Americans experience increasing demandson their incomes. It costs about $14,000 to purchase a 1991intermediate-sized model year car. If it is driven 128,500miles by one owner over a period of 12 years, the total cost tothe owner will be about $42,700. During that time it will costabout $16,300 for depreciation and finance charges, $9,050 toinsure the vehicle, $7,800 (including taxes) for some 6,500gallons of gasoline, $200 for oil, $5,350 for maintenance andrepair work, $1,250 for fires, $1,650 for parking and tolls,and, for Maryland drivers, $1,100 for license, registration,and vehicle excise tax. The pie chart below illustrates abreakdown of total costs over twelve years for the 1991intermediate-sized model year car. Tax revenues for gasolineand oil are used primarily for improvements to roads on whichthe vehicle is driven and account for less than five percent ofthe total costs. The average annual cost of $3,560 representsabout 12.3 percent of a household's 1991 disposable income. This report updates The Cost of Owning and OperatingAutomobiles and Vans -- 1984. It traces selected vehicles inpersonal use and their costs through a 12-year lifetime of128,500 miles using 1991 data. The user is cautioned againstmaking direct comparisons between the costs reported in thisand previous issues. The study methodology has been modified(details below). As with earlier reports, costs are based onoperation to typical vehicles in the Baltimore, Maryland,suburbs. A worksheet for developing costs for the first year ofa vehicle's life in other localities is provided at the back ofthis report. Although a vehicle will usually pass through threeor more owners during its life, the cost resulting fromtransfer of ownership are not included in this report. The average annual cost of $3,560 represent about 12.3 percentof a household's 1991 disposable income. Methodology For the Study: The basic methodology for thisstudy was modified somewhat from the used in the 1984 study.For the 1991 study, vehicle lifetime mileage was increased from120,000 to 128,500. The five vehicle classes used for the 1984study have been retained, and three additional classes havebeen added: compact pickup trucks, full-sized pickup trucks,and minivans. The average age of an automobile (7.8 years) ishigher now than it has been at any time in the post-World WarII period. The average annual mileage per vehicle isapproximately 10,700, with travel decreasing as the age of thevehicle increases. As in the 1984 study, the cost of the homegarage or a parking facility was omitted. In a suburbansetting, parking facilities range from curb parking to paveddrive ways to carports to fully-enclosed garages, with anequally wide range in costs. In suburban areas, garage costsare not usually a factor in automobile purchase or usedecisions. Only costs to the vehicle owner are addressed. Thecosts of vehicle emissions and other external costs of vehicleuse are not considered.