The cost of car ownership barely begins with the purchase cost and the monthly payments. Add to that fuel, registration, insurance and maintenance costs and the total cost of car ownership increases quickly. The most expensive state in which to own a car is Wyoming, where the five-year cost of ownership is $31,587. The least expensive state is Hawaii, where five-year costs total $17,289.
Other states in the top five most expensive for car ownership were Georgia ($28,698), Oklahoma ($28,655), Michigan ($28,236) and Montana ($27,454). Following Hawaii as the least expensive are Ohio ($17,640), New York ($17,697), New Hampshire ($17,988) and Vermont ($18,463).
The data were compiled and reported this week by Insurance.com using 2015 data compiled from various sources. Used car purchases accounted for 69% of sales at an average cost of $18,800. New cars accounted for 31% of purchases at an average cost of $33,500. The weighted average purchase price was $23,407.
The researchers calculated the annual cost of gasoline based on the average mileage of the state’s fleet of cars, the average number of miles driven and the average price for a gallon of gas. Wyoming, Georgia and Oklahoma again finished 1-2-3 with average annual fuel costs of $3,608, $3,032 and $2,738, respectively. New York, Rhode Island and Hawaii posted the lowest average fuel costs, respectively, of $1,264, $1,317, and $1,339. Insurance.com noted that the difference between the most and least expensive annual gas costs is about $2,343.
The average sales tax paid in the 50 states and the District of Columbia came to $1,499 for an average-priced vehicle. The state with highest sales tax is Tennessee at 9.45% or $2,212 based on the average price of $23,407. Arkansas (9.26%, $2,167), Alabama and Louisiana (8.91%, $2,086) and Washington (8.89%, $2,081) round out the top five. Four states — Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon — charge no sales tax.
The highest average annual auto insurance rates on an average-priced car are charged in Michigan ($2,738), Montana ($2,297), New Jersey ($1,905), Louisiana ($1,842) and Oklahoma ($1,778). Annual insurance costs are lowest in Maine ($808), Ohio ($900), Wisconsin ($912), Idaho ($935) and New Hampshire ($941).
Based on five-year costs, the annual cost to own a car in Wyoming is $6,317.40, of which $3,608 (about 57%) goes for fuel. In Georgia gasoline costs represent about 53% of the annual ownership costs, and in Oklahoma fuel costs amount to about 48% of annual costs. In Hawaii, where costs are lowest overall and third-lowest for fuel, gasoline costs represent about nearly 39% of total costs.
Want to save money? Buy a fuel-efficient vehicle because that’s where the impact is biggest. Figuring out a way to drive less may be even better. The annual average miles driven in Wyoming is nearly 22,000, almost double the 11,000 annual miles driven in Hawaii.
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