Car Maintenance Cost Calculator

How it works

This calculator budgets maintenance and repair spending per mile, the way AAA reports it. Multiplying a cents-per-mile rate by the miles you drive in a year gives a yearly budget; dividing by 12 gives a monthly amount to set aside.

The default rate is the weighted average maintenance cost in AAA's Your Driving Costs 2026 study: 11.73¢ a mile for the top-selling 2026 models AAA selected. AAA's category averages range from 11.10¢ (small sedan) to 12.16¢ (medium SUV). These are new-vehicle figures, so the page offers a multiplier: 1 keeps the rate as entered, and any other figure scales it. The multiplier has no published default; it is a figure you choose.

If you have records, the logged mode gives your own rate instead: what you spent on maintenance, repairs and tires over a period divided by the miles driven in that period. That rate is then applied to your yearly mileage.

Formula

rate mode:   cost per mile (¢) = rate (¢/mi) × age multiplier
logged mode: cost per mile (¢) = logged spending ($) × 100 ÷ logged miles
budget per year ($) = cost per mile (¢) × miles per year ÷ 100
per month = budget per year ÷ 12;  per 1,000 miles = cost per mile (¢) × 10

Example

At AAA's 2026 average of 11.73¢ a mile and a multiplier of 1, driving 15,000 miles a year gives a maintenance budget of 15,000 × $0.1173 = $1,759.50 a year, or $146.63 a month ($117.30 per 1,000 miles). With a multiplier of 1.5 the same mileage gives 17.595¢ a mile and $2,639.25 a year.

From records: $2,400 spent over 20,000 miles is 12¢ a mile, which is $1,800 a year at 15,000 miles.

Assumptions and limitations

• AAA's figures are averages for five top-selling 2026 models in each category, as published in Your Driving Costs 2026; they are not a quote for any vehicle. Your vehicle's costs depend on its make, age, condition, how and where it is driven, and who services it.
• The age multiplier is a figure you choose, not a published factor. The default of 1 applies the rate as entered.
• All costs are treated as proportional to miles. Time-based items (a battery, wiper blades, an inspection fee) and one-off major repairs do not follow mileage exactly, so a year's actual spending can be well above or below the budget.
• Fuel, insurance, depreciation, registration and financing are not included; see the total cost of ownership calculator for those.
• This is an estimate for budgeting, not advice. The vehicle manufacturer's maintenance schedule in the owner's manual governs what service the vehicle needs and when.

Frequently asked questions