High Price Of Gas Is Causing The Commute To Be Costly

This is just in...It's costing more and more to drive to work these days...and that means more out of your pocket...

Higher prices for fuel and tires, and a larger drop in the resale value of cars, pushed the average cost of owning a sedan to $8,776 a year, according to AAA of Heathrow, Fla. That's up 3.4 percent from a year ago.

The rise in fuel, tire and depreciation costs more than offset declines in maintenance and insurance costs for the year, AAA said. Based on 15,000 miles a year, AAA said it costs 58.5 cents per mile to operate the average sedan.

AAA published operating cost survey results for several categories:

-- Small sedan: $6,758 per year, 45.1 cents per mile

-- Medium sedan: $8,588 per year, 57.3 cents per mile

-- Large sedan: $10,982 per year, 73.2 cents per mile

-- Minivan: $9,489 per year, 63.3 cents per mile

-- Four-wheel-drive SUV: $11,239 per year, 74.9 cents per mile.

And those costs are growing. AAA conducted its study in December, when unleaded gasoline prices averaged $2.88 a gallon. That average now stands at about $3.69 a gallon, AAA said.

The cost of tires rose 15.7 percent from a year ago, AAA said. That was caused by a combination of higher tire prices and automakers equipping vehicles with more

via Exhaust Notes - A Blog from MSN Autos - MSN Autos.