AURORA, Ill. -

The cost to drive a sedan each year is more than 3 percent higher than it was a year ago, according to AAA, which said that depreciation expenses, in particular, have jumped almost 5 percent year-over-year and remain the heftiest expense for drivers.

Specifically, AAA’s “Your Driving Costs” study — which was released Tuesday — indicated that it costs $8,776 per year to drive a sedan, up 3.4 percent from a year ago.

The annual expense translates to a per-mile cost of 58.5 cents, up 1.9 cents from the prior year.

The average expense assumes 15,000 miles of driving each year and considers the following measures: ownership costs (the cost of insurance, license and registration fees, taxes, depreciation and finance charges) as well as operational costs (fuel, maintenance and tires).

“There is an overall increase in the costs to own and operate a vehicle in the U.S. this year,” shard Brad Roeber, regional president for AAA Chicago.

“The 2011 rise in costs is due to relatively large increases in fuel, tire and depreciation costs as well as more moderate increases in other areas,” Roeber added.

Detailing depreciation costs in more detail, AAA noted that they spiked 4.9 percent from a year ago as these expenses averaged $3,728 on a yearly basis (with 15,000 miles driven annually). Officials said this cost is the “most overlooked” by consumers.

Meanwhile, fuel expenses jumped 8.6 percent as they came in at 12.34 cents per mile.

AAA explained that even though some sedans in the study had greater fuel economies, these gains could not overtake the gas-price spike.

Officials noted that at the study’s kickoff (December 2010), the national average fuel cost was $2.88 per gallon, the figure upon which fuel costs were based.

“The study is meant to provide an overview of the yearly costs involved in owning and operating a vehicle,” Roeber noted. “Some of those costs can fluctuate greatly at different points during the year, such as what we have experienced since the middle of February with the price of fuel, however these figures can still be used to compare categories of vehicles.”

Roeber added: "AAA understands that higher fuel prices have many concerned, and consumers in the market for a new vehicle may want to be cautious and determine its operational costs based on higher fuel costs. To assist them, AAA provides a worksheet in the ‘Your Driving Costs’ brochure that can be filled out to determine their personal costs for a specific vehicle.”

Looking at some of the other elements, AAA shared that the cost of tires came in at 0.96 cents per mile, which is up 15.7 percent year-over-year.

“The rise in costs of raw materials, energy and transportation has led to notable tire price increases in recent years, and 2011 is no exception. Also contributing to higher average tire costs is a trend by automakers to equip their sedans with premium grade tires as original equipment,” AAA explained.

Continuing along, the study found that some expenses did decrease. Maintenance costs averaged 4.44 cents per mile (down 2.2 percent). This decrease corresponded with automakers’ tendency to put some of the scheduled maintenance in the purchase price and lengthening the intervals for recommended maintenance.

Meanwhile, sedan insurance costs were at $968 per year, a decline of 6.1 percent.

“AAA insurance cost estimates are based on a low-risk driver with excellent records, and for 2011, this group was rewarded with premium decreases that offset increases that took place in 2010,” officials stated.

Explaining the study in more detail, AAA noted that the sedan average includes data on costs for small sedan, medium sedans and large sedans. While not included in the composite average, AAA also offered some data for SUVs and minivans.

According to AAA, the average cost-per-mile to drive an SUV 4WD was at 74.9 cents with an average annual cost of $11,239. Minivans were at 63.3 cents per mile and $9,489 per year.

AAA further noted that the costs for sedans are calculated by considering data on the top-five best-selling units in each class, as follows:

—Small Sedan: Chevrolet Cobalt, Ford Focus, Honda Civic, Nissan Sentra and Toyota Corolla.
—Medium Sedan: Chevrolet Impala, Ford Fusion, Honda Accord, Nissan Altima and Toyota Camry.
—Large Sedan: Buick Lucerne, Chrysler 300, Ford Taurus, Nissan Maxima and Toyota Avalon.

To determine the SUV and minivan data, AAA considered the following models:

—SUVs: Chevrolet Traverse, Ford Explorer, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Nissan Pathfinder and Toyota 4Runner.
—Minivans: Dodge Grand Caravan, Kia Sedona, Honda Odyssey and Toyota Sienna.