Gridlock Guy: Georgians pay most in U.S. to drive
Have you ever thought about how much it costs to drive your car every year? Have you given any thought to he amount of money you spend on gas, the amount of money you pay in insurance, the amount you spend on maintenance and repairs? If you are like me, you probably haven’t sat down and crunched the numbers. I did this weekend after reading the results of a BankRate.com study that broke down the cost of car ownership per year, state by state.
If you haven’t seen the results, the news wasn’t good for Georgia drivers. According to the study, the cost of car ownership in Georgia is the highest in the United States. On average, Georgia drivers spend $4,233 annually to drive their cars.
The amount was determined using four separate categories: repairs, taxes and fees, gasoline and insurance costs. According to BankRate.com the average Georgian spends $385 a year on repairs, $1,952 on taxes and fees. $1,129 on gasoline and $767 on insurance. The study did not factor in the depretiation of a car’s value, as they estimated that it didn’t differ that much from state to state.
My first reaction to the numbers was what exactly are taxes and fees and why are we paying almost $2,000 a year for them in Georgia? Ad valorem? Gas taxes? HOT Express Lane fees? That number didn’t make sense to me. I reached out to the people that conducted the study for BankRate.com. When I hear back from them, I’ll let you know exactly what taxes and fees they counted.
By comparison, Oregon has the lowest costs for car ownership. According to the study, car owners only paid $157 annually in taxes is fees. That’s a difference of $1,795 per year between drivers in Georgia and drivers in Oregon.
When it comes to gasoline costs, Georgians paid the ninth most in the country at $1,129 a year. Drivers in Wyoming paid the most ($1,643) while drivers in New York paid the least ($743), which seemed odd to me since New York typically has some of the highest prices of gasoline in the country.
Georgians ranked in the middle of the pack when it came to annual insurance costs at $767. Folks in New Jersey averaged the highest insurance rate ($1,119) while drivers in North Dakota paid the least insuring their cars, only $517 a year.
Aside from that, I sat down and did my own math on what I spend per year on my car. Since I drive an older vehicle (1998 Jeep Cherokee) I usually pay far more than $385 a year on repairs. Probably closer to $600 for me. I estimate that I fill up on gas every two weeks for about $50 a pop. So my annual gas cost is about $1,300 a year. Slightly higher than the average Georgian according to the study, which doesn’t make much sense to me since I only have a five mile commute to work each way. I pay $633 a year for insurance which is less than the state average. Considering the age of my vehicle, that seems about right.
Do the math yourself and see where you fit in the spectrum.
