AAA: Low gas prices drive down car ownership costs

The cost of owning a car has hit a six-year low, driven by lower gasoline prices, AAA says.

It now costs $8,558 on average to own and operate a vehicle, assuming annual mileage of 15,000, according to AAA. That comes out to about 57 cents a mile, or roughly $713 a month, to cover both fixed and variable car costs.

"Thanks to lower gas prices, American drivers can expect to save hundreds of dollars in fuel costs in 2016," said John Nielsen, AAA's managing director of automotive engineering and repair. "Fortunately, this annual savings more than offsets the moderate increases in maintenance, insurance, finance charges and other costs associated with owning and operating a vehicle."

Broken down by class, small to large sedans' annual costs ranged from $6,579 to $10,492, or 44 cents to 70 cents a mile; four-wheel-drive SUV costs averaged $10,255 a year, or 68 cents a mile; and minivans $9,262, or 62 cents a mile. While a bargain by modern standards, compare those figures to 1950, the first year AAA conducted the study. Back then, car owners' per-mile cost was a paltry 9 cents.

The cost of owning a car, excluding fuel costs, rose by an estimated $276 this year, according to AAA. But those costs were more than offset by a reduction in the cost of fuel, down by $414.

Broken down by category, Your Driving Costs for 2016 are as follows:
Fuel: $1,268 (8.5 cents a mile), down by $414, or 25%, from 2015
Insurance: $1,222, up $107, or 10 percent.
Depreciation: $3,759, up $105, or 3 percent
Maintenance: $792 (5 cents a mile), up $25, or 3%
License/registration/taxes: $687, up $22, or 3%
Finance charges: $683, up $14, or 2%
Tires: $150 (1 cent a mile), up $3, or 2%