Hawaii, California, Alaska, Nevada and West Virginia Are Most Expensive States to Own a Vehicle, According to Edmunds.com's True Cost to Own Study

SANTA MONICA, CA - February 7, 2008: A new study by Edmunds.com shows that owning a vehicle in California or Hawaii costs $10,000 more than it does in New Hampshire over a five-year period.

This study employs data from Edmunds.com’s True Cost to Own^SM tool, which projects model-specific, regional average vehicle ownership costs, consisting of depreciation, financing, taxes, fees, insurance premiums, fuel costs, maintenance and repairs. The tool is available at no charge to Web site visitors, and provides ownership cost information for both new and used vehicles.

“Many consumers neglect to consider ownership costs when deciding which vehicle to buy,” said Philip Reed, Senior Consumer Advice Editor for Edmunds.com. “Every shopper should look beyond transaction price when determining how a vehicle purchase will fit into the household budget, especially since some expenses can differ dramatically for different types of vehicles. For example, luxury cars tend to have much higher maintenance costs, while sports cars often result in high insurance premiums.”

The following states have the lowest average vehicle ownership costs in the country:

States with Lowest Average Five-Year Vehicle Ownership Costs¹
State	Taxes and Fees	Depreciation	Finance & Interest	Insurance	Fuel Costs	Maintenance	Repairs	Total True Cost to Own^SM
New Hampshire	$250	$18,208	$5,213	$6,507	$13,216	$3,276	$829	$47,499
South Dakota	$1,757	$18,305	$5,929	$5,638	$13,308	$3,633	$914	$49,483
South Carolina	$407	$18,037	$5,338	$8,705	$12,719	$3,454	$855	$49,515
Oregon	$159	$18,316	$5,865	$7,885	$13,280	$3,781	$981	$50,268
Wisconsin	$1,994	$18,282	$5,614	$5,956	$13,396	$4,115	$1,061	$50,417

The following the states have the highest average vehicle ownership costs in the country:

States with Highest Average Five-Year Vehicle Ownership Costs¹
State	Taxes and Fees	Depreciation	Finance & Interest	Insurance	Fuel Costs	Maintenance	Repairs	Total True Cost to Own^SM
Hawaii	$1,847	$19,152	$6,237	$12,744	$14,833	$3,705	$939	$59,457
California	$3,282	$18,194	$6,467	$11,670	$14,280	$4,335	$1,120	$59,347
Alaska	$538	$19,143	$5,966	$13,384	$13,846	$4,097	$1,078	$58,052
Nevada	$4,036	$18,326	$6,110	$10,616	$13,406	$4,191	$1,078	$57,763
West Virginia	$2,068	$18,185	$5,627	$13,031	$13,799	$3,849	$973	$57,532

“This study showed that the cost of auto insurance is the biggest differentiator between states,” remarked Michelle Krebs, Editor of Edmunds’ AutoObserver.com. “Despite regional fluctuations in gas prices and the public’s attention to the subject, fuel costs did not play a major role in the results of this study. The average household’s annual gasoline expense is just over $2,500 per car, and even a difference of a quarter per gallon simply does not add up to a tremendous amount of money over the course of a year.”

¹As of January 17, 2008. Updates and 50-state data are available upon request.

The True Cost to Own^SM calculations use the following assumptions:

Ownership expenses are for a five-year time span
Vehicles are driven an average of 15,000 miles per year
Vehicles are financed using traditional financing and not leased
Buyers are paying 10 percent down on the vehicle
Buyers are in the “Gold” credit tier for the purpose of determining the finance rate
The loan term is 60 months
Buyers represent the average demographic for insurance rates