Figure 4-7 Average Total Cost of Owning and Operating an Automobile: 1990–2014
NOTES: U.S. average total costs include fixed ownership costs (insurance, license, registration, taxes, depreciation, and finance charges) plus variable operating costs (fuel, maintenance, and tires). All figures reflect the average cost of operating a vehicle 15,000 miles per year in stop and go conditions. Inflation-adjustments are based on CPI for all urban consumers (CPI-U), U.S. city average, (1982-84=100) annual average index for private transportation.
SOURCES: Costs—American Automobile Association, Your Driving Costs, available at www.aaapublicaffairs.com as of February 2016 and Bureau of Transportation Statistics, National Transportation Statistics, table 3-17, available at www.bts.gov as of April 2015.
Inflation adjustments—U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI-U, available at http://www.bls.gov/cpi/ as of February 2016.