The Average Cost of Owning a New Car for a Year Is More Than $20K in All 50 States
We’ve already reported this year that 82% of Americans can’t afford a new car. Now, here’s more data to explain why. A survey was released this month that has us cringing over the cost of owning a new car in the U.S. these days. A personal finance site analyzed the typical automotive expenses for each state. To add more burn, those state totals were each added to the cost of financing a new car. The results are quite sickening, really.
GOBankingRates just released its car ownership cost survey. They landed on annual new car note expenses by devising a mock loan based on a variety of factors. It estimated a $48,427 sticker price with a 20% down payment of $9,649. It used an average credit score of 716 with an interest rate of 6.88%. Finally, a mock loan length of 60 months was tallied. As such, the car loan payment would equal $762 per month or $9,144 per year.
The survey added the $9,649 downpayment to the $9,144 in loan payments. Then, it added average ownership costs, including car sales tax, average annual car insurance premiums, average annual fuel expenses, and average car maintenance and repair costs for each of the 50 states.
The cost of owning a new car for a year crossed $23K in all 50 states
Altogether, the cost of new car ownership for one year was more than $23,000 everywhere in the U.S., with some states topping $28,000.
Above all, the five most expensive states in the survey were California, Nevada, Florida, Illinois, and Washington state.
Magazine advertisement from 1996 – Nearly 30 years ago
byu/NickyPappagiorgio inDamnthatsinteresting
As an illustration of the rising cost of owning a new car, today on Reddit, a magazine ad from 1996 surfaced. It guessed the prices of typical American expenditures 30 years into the future. The copy reads, “They say in thirty years, a burger and fries could cost $16, a vacation $12,500, and a basic car $65,000.” In 2024, the ad isn’t far off!
