(Photo Provided with Release Courtesy of AAA East Central)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) According to a release from AAA yesterday, this year’s AAA’s Your Driving Costs analysis shows that the total cost of owning and operating a new vehicle is $11,577, or $964.78 per month, a $719 decline from 2024. AAA recommends that buyers should consider the costs of this price decline, which include finance charges that are lower, a shift towards vehicle options that are more affordable, fuel prices that are reduced, and depreciation to choose the best model of vehicle and type of vehicle for their budget. According to that same release from AAA yesterday, here are categories driving the lower costs for 2025 and some car buying advice that AAA recommends:

Categories driving lower costs this year include:

• Finance Charges – Estimated finance costs have decreased to $1,131 in 2025, down 15 percent compared to $1,332 in 2024.
• Fuel Prices – The average fuel cost dropped to 13.00 cents per mile, a 12.8% decrease from last year, while regular grade gasoline for YDC vehicles averaged $3.151 per gallon, down from $3.539. Meanwhile, electricity prices for charging electric vehicles rose slightly to 16.7 cents per kilowatt hour, up from 15.9 cents in 2024.

Car Buying Advice

• Create a monthly or annual budget and factor in ownership and operating costs before making a purchase.
• Keep each transaction and negotiation separate from the other – the cost of the car, the finance rate, and the trade-in value.
• Obtain pre-approval from a financial institution (e.g., Bank, Credit Union, AAA, etc.) before discussing finance rates with the car dealer to ensure the best lending rate is available.
• There are quite a few options (online and in-store) available to consumers when considering where to buy a used vehicle besides a dealership. Visit a AAA branch, which may offer discounts for members.