There is no reliable one-size-fits-all price for owning a used sports car. The real cost depends on the exact car, its condition and resale value, your location and driving, insurance, financing, taxes, and the repairs and maintenance it needs. Build an estimate for a specific car and ownership period—not from a new-car average.
What “cost to own” includes
A monthly loan payment is only one part of the budget. AAA groups vehicle ownership costs into six categories: depreciation, financing interest, fuel, insurance, government fees and taxes, and maintenance. Its maintenance category includes routine work, unexpected repairs, and tires.
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For a used sports car, the amounts in those categories depend on the individual vehicle as much as the broad label “sports car.” A car’s purchase price does not tell you what it will be worth when you sell it, what an insurer will charge for your driver profile, or whether it needs tires or repairs. A useful estimate therefore starts with a particular year, make, model, trim, condition, and location.
| Cost category | What to estimate | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Depreciation | Purchase price minus expected resale value at the end of your planned ownership period | The value lost while you own the car is a cost even if you pay cash and have no loan payment. |
| Financing | Interest and any other borrowing costs over the loan period | The payment includes principal as well as interest; principal repayment is not the same thing as the car’s operating cost. |
| Fuel | Annual miles, expected real-world fuel economy, and local fuel price | Fuel cost changes with how far and how you drive, as well as the car’s actual consumption and the fuel it requires. |
| Insurance | A quote for the exact vehicle and the intended driver, address, and coverage | A generic average cannot establish the price for your circumstances. |
| Fees and taxes | Applicable local purchase, license, registration, and other government charges | These vary by location and transaction; do not assume a national figure applies to your bill. |
| Maintenance and repairs | Scheduled service, tires and wear items, likely repairs, and a repair reserve | Age, condition, service history, and model-specific requirements can change what you spend substantially. |
Why a new-car average is the wrong answer
AAA estimates that the average annual cost to own and operate a new vehicle in its 2026 study is $12,863. That figure is context, not an estimate for a used sports car: the study concerns new vehicles and uses a five-year, 75,000-mile basis. AAA also says its 2026 methodology changed, so its 2026 total is not directly comparable with its 2025 result.
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AAA’s 2025 study provides a category breakdown for new vehicles over five years and 75,000 miles: $4,334 a year for depreciation, $1,131 a year for financing, 13 cents per mile for fuel, $1,694 a year for insurance, $813 a year for license, registration, and taxes, and 11.04 cents per mile for maintenance, repairs, and tires. Those are historical new-vehicle study averages, not sports-car rates or forecasts for a used vehicle. Use them only to understand the types of costs a total-cost estimate may include.
Neither figure answers what a particular used car will cost you. AAA describes its calculator results as generalized estimates and notes that actual costs vary. Your car’s condition, location, annual mileage, insurance profile, and time of resale all need to enter the calculation.
Build an estimate for the exact car
Decide on the vehicle and your intended ownership period before assigning a total. For two or more candidates, keep the driver, location, annual mileage, coverage assumptions, and ownership term consistent. Otherwise, apparent differences may come from the assumptions rather than the cars.
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1. Set the ownership period and mileage
Write down how long you expect to keep the car and how many miles you expect to drive each year. Multiply annual mileage by the number of years to get estimated miles during ownership. These assumptions affect fuel, maintenance, resale value, and how much use the car will have accumulated when you sell it.
2. Estimate value lost
Estimate what you will pay, then research or otherwise establish a reasonable resale value for the same car at the end of your planned holding period. Subtract that resale estimate from the purchase price:
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Estimated depreciation cost = purchase price − expected resale value
This is an estimate, not a guaranteed sale price. Condition, mileage, market conditions, and the timing of your sale can change the result. If resale value is uncertain, calculate more than one plausible case rather than treating a single optimistic figure as certain.
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If you borrow, estimate the interest you will pay during the period you own the car. Keep that separate from depreciation: depreciation is the value the car loses, while interest is the cost of borrowing. A loan payment is useful for cash-flow planning, but it is not by itself the total cost of ownership.
4. Calculate fuel from your driving
Use the car’s expected real-world fuel economy rather than assuming the same consumption for every vehicle or driving pattern. A simple annual estimate is:
Annual fuel cost = annual miles ÷ expected miles per gallon × local price per gallon
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For another unit system, use matching units throughout. If the car calls for a particular fuel grade, use that grade’s local price in the calculation. Multiply the annual result by the number of years you plan to own the car, adjusting if your mileage or fuel-price assumptions change.
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Request a quote for the exact car, using the driver and address relevant to the purchase and the coverage you intend to carry. Compare candidates using the same coverage assumptions. A general insurance average cannot substitute for a quote tied to the vehicle and driver.
6. Check local taxes and fees
Find the costs that apply where you will buy, register, and operate the vehicle. Include applicable taxes, title or registration charges, and recurring government fees in the period when they are due. Separate one-time transaction charges from recurring charges so you do not accidentally multiply a one-time fee across every year.
7. Price scheduled service, tires, and repairs
Use the maintenance schedule for the exact make and model in its owner’s manual. AAA notes that schedules differ by make and model. Build in the services that fall within your planned ownership period, along with tires and other wear items relevant to the car’s condition and use.
Review service records and have the vehicle’s condition assessed before purchase. Use what you learn to estimate likely work and set aside a repair reserve. A reserve is a budgeting buffer, not a claim that a specific repair will occur or a published sports-car repair average. If a shop recommends maintenance not listed on the schedule, AAA advises asking for professional diagnosis to support the recommendation.
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Use AAA’s calculator as an input, not a promise
AAA’s cost calculator can help organize an estimate around a real vehicle. It asks for the state, annual mileage, year, make, model, and trim, and lets users adjust driving mix and fuel price. Its standard estimate assumes five years of ownership and trade-in at the end of that period; it can also calculate selected used vehicles at least five years back from the current model year.
Enter information that matches your actual plan, then check what the result covers and compare it with your own vehicle-specific information. Its generalized estimate does not replace an insurer’s quote, the car’s owner’s manual, local fee information, or a condition assessment. Its standard five-year trade-in assumption may also differ from your plans to keep the car longer, sell it privately, or sell it sooner.
Compare candidates with the same assumptions
A fair comparison does not ask which car has the lowest sticker price alone. Put each candidate through the same ownership period and annual mileage, then compare the following inputs. Use a separate scenario if a candidate’s condition or resale value is unusually uncertain.
- Purchase and resale: expected purchase price and resale value at the same point in time.
- Insurance: quotes for the same driver, location, and coverage.
- Fuel: annual miles, expected fuel economy, and local price for the required grade.
- Service and condition: model-specific scheduled work, tires and wear items, service history, and condition-related repairs.
- Financing and fees: comparable borrowing assumptions and the taxes and government charges that apply locally.
This is a way to apply the ownership-cost categories consistently, not a published ranking of sports cars. If you do not yet have the exact vehicle or enough information to estimate one of these items, mark the estimate as uncertain rather than filling the gap with a broad average.
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Resale value and repairs are often difficult to forecast precisely for an individual used car. Instead of hiding that uncertainty inside one total, build low, expected, and high cases after you have identified the car, location, mileage, condition, and ownership term. The cases should reflect different assumptions for resale and repair needs, not invented market-wide percentages.
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- Low-cost case: use a favorable but plausible resale estimate and limited repair needs supported by the car’s condition and records.
- Expected case: use your best-supported resale estimate and the scheduled work and repair reserve appropriate to the inspection and service history.
- High-cost case: test a less favorable resale outcome and more repair spending than in the expected case, based on the uncertainties you have identified.
Keep the underlying assumptions visible. If the high-cost case would make the car unaffordable, the estimate has exposed a decision risk even if the expected case appears manageable. You can then reconsider the particular example, the length of ownership, the financing, or how much money to keep available for maintenance and repairs.
Turn the estimate into an annual and monthly budget
Add the estimated costs over the planned ownership period, taking care not to count the same item twice. For costs stated annually, multiply by the years you expect to own the car. For per-mile costs, multiply by total planned miles. Add one-time costs once, and use the total interest cost—not the full loan principal—as the financing expense in a cost-of-ownership total. Separately track the monthly loan payment and other cash outflows to make sure they fit your actual budget.
Then divide the total estimated ownership cost by the number of years for an annual planning figure, or by the number of months for a monthly planning figure. These are averages for budgeting, not necessarily bills that arrive evenly: registration, insurance, service, and repairs may be due at different times. Keep a separate cash-flow plan for when those payments are likely to occur.
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What to verify before committing
- The estimate uses the exact year, make, model, trim, and condition of the car—not a generic sports-car label.
- Your holding period and yearly mileage reflect how you will actually use it.
- The resale estimate matches that time horizon and is presented as uncertain where appropriate.
- Insurance is quoted for your driver profile, address, vehicle, and planned coverage.
- Fuel assumptions reflect expected use and local prices for the required grade.
- Service costs follow the vehicle’s owner’s manual, with tires, wear items, and a condition-based repair reserve included.
- Local taxes and fees are included in the years or transaction when they are due.
- Loan cash flow and ownership cost are kept distinct so the payment does not conceal interest, depreciation, or operating expenses.
AAA’s director of automotive research, Greg Brannon, said in a 2024 AAA release: “But consumers should fully understand all the costs of owning and operating a new vehicle from purchase to resale.” The statement is about new vehicles, but the purchase-to-resale perspective is also useful when structuring a used-car budget. The figure that matters for a used sports car still has to come from its own price, condition, costs, and the owner’s circumstances.
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