Cost example updated October 24, 2026
For a typical car driven 12,000 miles a year, routine upkeep, the scheduled work in the table below, runs about $798 a year, or about $66 a month. Once unscheduled repairs and tires are counted the way AAA counts them, the same car runs about $1,404 a year, or about $117 a month. Both numbers are on this page, labeled, because mixing them up is how one article says $800 and the next says $1,400 and both look right.
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Maintenance is not the same as repairs
Two different buckets get added together in almost every published average, and that is where the confusion starts. Maintenance is the scheduled work that keeps a car running: oil changes, tire rotations, filters, fluids, wiper blades, and checkups (a multipoint inspection, a shop going over the car’s main parts and fluids to catch wear early). Repairs are fixes when something breaks or wears out: a dead battery, a failed alternator (the part that charges the battery while you drive), worn brake pads, or a broken part. Maintenance is planned and roughly the same most years. Repairs are lumpy: nothing one year, a big bill the next. A budget needs a line for both, and this page keeps them in separate columns so you can see which number you are looking at.
One more bucket to keep out of this page’s yearly total: the loan payment, insurance, gas, and the value the car loses over time (depreciation, the drop in what the car is worth). Those are real ownership costs, and the calculator adds them up, but they are not maintenance. If a number you see online includes them, it is a whole-ownership number, not a maintenance number.
The yearly budget, line by line
The table below is a planning budget for one typical year: a mainstream gas car, 12,000 miles a year, work done at a shop. Each line shows the published price range from two sources where two exist, and a planning figure, the middle of the range, or the annualized share of a job that does not happen every year. Prices vary by car, shop, and city; these are national planning figures, not quotes.
| Yearly line | How it is figured | Range | Planning figure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oil and filter change | 2 changes a year; $77–$117 (Insurify, 2016 Honda CR-V in Georgia) and $145–$173 (Kelley Blue Book, via Experian) per change | $154–$346 | $250 |
| Tire rotation | 2 rotations a year; $20–$50 (AutoZone, via Experian) and $47–$68 (Insurify) per rotation | $40–$136 | $88 |
| Cabin air filter | 1 change a year; $68–$104 (Insurify) and $85–$114 (RepairPal, via Experian) | $68–$114 | $91 |
| Wiper blades | 1 set a year; $49–$63 (Insurify) and $30–$75 (Experian) per set | $30–$75 | $53 |
| Brake pads, one axle | One axle (one pair of wheels, front or rear) about every 45,000 miles; $150–$300 per axle (Kelley Blue Book), spread over 3.75 years at 12,000 miles a year | $40–$80 | $60 |
| Tires | One set of four about every 50,000 miles; $500–$900 installed (Experian), spread over about 4.17 years at 12,000 miles a year | $120–$216 | $168 |
| Fluid service | One fluid service (coolant, transmission, or brake fluid, the liquids that cool, lubricate, and run the brakes) about every 2 years at about $175; published flush prices run $85–$250 depending on the system | $43–$125 | $88 |
| Routine upkeep, one year | Planning figures add to $798 (fluid service is $87.50 before rounding) | $495–$1,092 | $798 |
That $798 planning figure lands within $6 of AAA’s published routine-maintenance figure of $792 a year, or $66 a month (AAA, via Insurify and Chime). Two independent routes to nearly the same number is a useful cross-check. Over five years, routine upkeep at the planning figure is $798 × 5 = $3,990. A second source, RepairPal, puts average annual maintenance and repair at $652 across all brands, but that is a different meter: it averages shop work across cars of many ages and treats tires largely as a separate purchase, so it is not added to the table above.
Formula
The routine upkeep table is seven planning figures that add to $798 a year: oil and filter change $250, tire rotation $88, cabin air filter $91, wiper blades $53, brake pads for one axle $60, tires $168, and fluid service $88. The planning figures add to $798, and fluid service is $87.50 before rounding. That $798 a year is about $66 a month, and over five years it is $798 times 5, which is $3,990.
The all-in number is AAA 2026 figure of 11.7 cents a mile for maintenance, repairs, and tires. At 12,000 miles a year that is $1,404 a year, or about $117 a month, which is $606 a year above the $798 routine planning figure. That $606 gap is the repair slice, the part of the year upkeep you cannot schedule.
By age, at 12,000 miles a year: a new car under warranty runs about $798 a year; a 5-year-old car runs about $1,404 a year on AAA all-in figure; a 10-year-old car runs about $1,755 to $2,106 a year, the published 25 to 50 percent older-car buffer applied to $1,404. By miles, on the same 11.7 cents a mile: 8,000 miles is $936 a year, or $78 a month; 12,000 miles is $1,404, or $117 a month; 15,000 miles is $1,755, or $146 a month; 20,000 miles is $2,340, or $195 a month.
Inspections, stated as a gap: a state safety or emissions inspection (a required check that the car is roadworthy and, where required, meets pollution limits) is in the maintenance bucket, but no single national price exists for it. Some states have no inspection at all, and fees differ state by state, so this page does not put a dollar figure on it. Add your state’s fee to your own total.
What the all-in number adds
AAA’s 2026 Your Driving Costs study puts maintenance, repairs, and tires for a new vehicle at 11.7 cents a mile. That figure includes routine work, unscheduled repairs, an extended-warranty assumption, and one set of replacement tires over five years. At 12,000 miles a year that is $1,404 a year, $606 a year above the $798 routine planning figure. That $606 gap is, in plain terms, the repair slice: the part of the year’s upkeep you cannot schedule. Budget the $798 as the steady line, and hold the extra toward $1,404 as the cushion for the years when something breaks.
A correction to our own earlier recon note, stated openly: the recon sweep quoted AAA at 11.04 cents a mile. That was AAA’s 2025 figure. AAA’s 2026 figure is 11.7 cents a mile (11.73 cents before rounding), and every number on this page uses the 2026 figure. At the old 2025 rate, 12,000 miles would have been $1,325, not $1,404.
How the yearly number changes by car age
Age changes the repair slice far more than the routine slice. Oil, rotations, and filters cost roughly the same in year 2 and year 10; what changes is how often something breaks.
| Car age | What changes | Yearly upkeep |
|---|---|---|
| New, under warranty | Routine upkeep only for most years; the warranty (the maker’s promise to cover certain repairs for a set time) covers many repairs, though wear items like tires and brakes are usually excluded | About $798 |
| About 5 years old | Routine upkeep plus the repair slice, at AAA’s all-in 11.7 cents a mile | About $1,404 |
| About 10 years old | Routine upkeep plus a larger repair slice; published guidance adds a 25 to 50 percent buffer for cars past about 8 years or 100,000 miles, applied here to $1,404 | $1,755–$2,106 |
The brand you drive moves the number too, on RepairPal’s separate meter: Honda averages $428 a year and Toyota $441, against $652 across all brands and $968 for BMW. Those RepairPal figures cover maintenance and repair shop work, not the full table above, so compare brands against each other on that meter, do not add them to the $798.
How the yearly number changes by miles driven
Miles drive the all-in number directly, because AAA prices it per mile. Routine work also rises with miles, more miles mean more oil changes and faster tire and brake wear, but the per-mile table below is the cleanest way to scale the total.
| Miles a year | Yearly upkeep | Monthly savings target |
|---|---|---|
| 8,000 | $936 | $78 |
| 12,000 | $1,404 | $117 |
| 15,000 | $1,755 | $146 |
| 20,000 | $2,340 | $195 |
A low-mileage driver still pays the routine line: oil ages with time as well as miles, and tires age even sitting still. The per-mile table scales the repair-and-tire slice; it does not make the steady routine line disappear.
Calculation transparency
Scope. One typical year of upkeep for a mainstream gas car at 12,000 miles a year, work done at a shop, with routine upkeep and the all-in figure kept in separate columns, then scaled by car age and by miles driven.
Rules and time period. Planning figures are the middle of each published range, or the annualized share of a job that does not happen every year. AAA 2026 Your Driving Costs study, maintenance, repairs, and tires at 11.7 cents a mile for a new vehicle. RepairPal brand averages are a separate meter, shop work across cars of many ages, and are not added to the table. Older-car rows apply a published 25 to 50 percent buffer to AAA all-in figure as a scenario, not a measured average.
Scope and limitations. Educational estimate only. Prices vary by car, shop, and city; these are national planning figures, not quotes. The loan payment, insurance, gas, and the value the car loses are not maintenance and are not in the yearly total. A state safety or emissions inspection has no single national price, so no dollar figure is put on it. Insurance quotes, gas prices, and local rates vary by driver and address. Get a real quote for the same car, coverage, and loan before you decide.
Source links checked November 6, 2026. Figures: AAA Your Driving Costs 2026, maintenance, repairs, and tires 11.7 cents a mile, and routine maintenance about $792 a year via Insurify and Chime; AAA 2025 figure of 11.04 cents a mile named only as the corrected earlier figure. The RepairPal brand averages, the Kelley Blue Book and Insurify line prices, the Experian tire figures, and the older-car 25 to 50 percent buffer guidance are named only, not linked.
Primary sources: AAA Your Driving Costs 2026; How much do common car repairs cost. How the numbers are calculated is written down on the methodology page, and every source is listed on the sources page.
Definitions
Maintenance. The scheduled work that keeps a car running: oil changes, tire rotations, filters, fluids, wiper blades, and checkups.
Repairs. Fixes when something breaks or wears out: a dead battery, a failed alternator, worn brake pads, or a broken part. Repairs are lumpy: nothing one year, a big bill the next.
Routine upkeep. The scheduled work in the table on this page. On a typical car at 12,000 miles a year, about $798 a year, or about $66 a month.
Planning figure. The middle of the published range, or the annualized share of a job that does not happen every year.
All-in number. AAA 2026 figure of 11.7 cents a mile for maintenance, repairs, and tires together. At 12,000 miles a year that is $1,404 a year, or about $117 a month.
Upkeep. Maintenance and repairs together, the work that keeps a car running and the fixes when something breaks.
Warranty. The maker promise to cover certain repairs for a set time. A new car under warranty often needs only routine upkeep, though wear items like tires and brakes are usually excluded.
Brake pads, one axle. One pair of wheels, front or rear. On this page, brake pads run about every 45,000 miles, $150 to $300 per axle, spread over 3.75 years at 12,000 miles a year, which is $60 a year.
Fluid service. One fluid service, coolant, transmission, or brake fluid, the liquids that cool, lubricate, and run the brakes, about every 2 years at about $175, which is $88 a year.
Questions people actually ask
How much does car maintenance cost per year?
About $800 a year for routine upkeep on a typical car, and about $1,400 a year once repairs and tires are counted at 12,000 miles a year. AAA puts routine maintenance alone at about $792 a year, and its 2026 all-in figure for maintenance, repairs, and tires is 11.7 cents a mile, which is $1,404 at 12,000 miles.
What is the difference between maintenance and repairs?
Maintenance is the scheduled work that keeps a car running: oil changes, tire rotations, filters, fluids, wipers, and inspections. Repairs are fixes when something breaks or wears out: a dead battery, worn brakes, or a failed alternator. The two get mixed in most published averages, which is why one source says about $800 a year and another says about $1,400.
How much does car maintenance cost per month?
About $66 a month for routine upkeep, and about $117 a month once repairs and tires are counted at 12,000 miles a year. That is the yearly figure divided by 12, so it is a savings target, not a bill that arrives every month.
Does car maintenance cost more as a car gets older?
Yes, in general. A new car under warranty often needs only routine upkeep, while a 5-year-old car at 12,000 miles a year runs about $1,404 a year on AAA's all-in figure, and a 10-year-old car can run about $1,755 to $2,106 a year if you apply the published 25 to 50 percent buffer for older cars to that figure. Your car, your miles, and your shop set the real number.
How does the yearly cost change with miles driven?
On AAA's 2026 figure of 11.7 cents a mile for maintenance, repairs, and tires, 8,000 miles a year is $936, 12,000 miles is $1,404, 15,000 miles is $1,755, and 20,000 miles is $2,340. More miles wear out tires, brakes, and fluids faster, so the yearly total rises with the miles.
Related: See how much common car repairs cost, the other half of the upkeep budget.
Related: See how much to save for car repairs each month.
Related: See whether an extended car warranty is worth it instead of paying repairs yourself.
Run your own numbers
Change the miles and the car to match yours, the calculator runs the same five-year math with your inputs, and what it costs per mile to drive breaks the per-mile side down further. Insurance is a separate line with its own swings; see how much car insurance costs. For the value a car loses over time, see why cars lose value, and for keeping an older car going, see keep it 10 years.
Figures: AAA Your Driving Costs 2026 (maintenance, repairs, and tires 11.7 cents a mile; new-vehicle basis, 15,000 miles a year); AAA routine maintenance about $792 a year via Insurify and Chime (about $800 a year); RepairPal brand averages via ConsumerAffairs and Autoblog (all brands $652, Honda $428, Toyota $441, BMW $968); Kelley Blue Book and Insurify line prices via Experian and Insurify; tire life and set price via Experian (50,000 miles, $500–$900 installed); older-car 25 to 50 percent buffer via published 2026 budgeting guidance. All figures are national planning averages, not quotes, your car, your miles, and your shop set the real number.