California and New Jersey are among the most expensive states for vehicle repairs, while drivers in Vermont and Ohio can expect lower costs to maintain their cars.
What affects the cost of car maintenance in each state?
Why do drivers in some states pay more for maintenance? The availability of services, along with varying labor and parts costs, contribute to the differences in repair costs across the country.
Labor
Labor is one of the biggest factors that influences how much you’ll pay at the shop to get your vehicle serviced. Labor costs vary between different shops, but they’re also determined by market averages across each state and by the labor laws in your area.
According to
U.S. News
, mechanics in the District of Columbia
and California are paid better than in any other state with average annual salaries between $64,000 and $54,000. In Mississippi, on the other hand, ZipRecruiter
estimates that mechanics earn an average hourly wage of just $15.42, working out to an annual salary of just above $32,000. Parts
It’s not just sales tax that influences the average cost of repair parts in different states: it also depends on the most common services in each state. For instance, the average cost to repair an O2 sensor is between $155 and $500, whereas the cost to replace spark plugs rarely goes above $250 and can be as low as $66.
If drivers in Wyoming replace their O2 sensors more than any other part, the cost of parts will outweigh the cost of parts in a state where spark plug replacement is the most common vehicle service.
Availability of services
Pennsylvania has a greater number of auto repair shops than New York—over 300 more! However, New York’s population is bigger than Pennsylvania’s by close to 7 million. Pennsylvania’s number of mechanics per capita makes it easier to get a maintenance appointment in the Keystone State.
Within each state, some cities are better than others when it comes to finding easy service. In Tennessee, for instance, drivers in Knoxville have a better chance of getting a maintenance appointment than their neighbors across the state in Memphis. Population
Competition for mechanics’ services can drive up repair prices, including the cost of labor. The more drivers in your city, the higher your maintenance costs may be.
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Popular makes influence maintenance costs
Your state’s most popular vehicle make is another factor that affects the average cost of maintenance.
On the East and West Coasts, for instance, vehicles from Asian manufacturers are most popular. Drivers in L.A. and Miami opt for the Toyota Corolla and the Honda CR-V over American or European models. Although the maintenance costs for these vehicles tend to be lower than for European makes, they’re a little pricier to maintain than the average American-made vehicle.
In the Midwest and South, on the other hand, American makes are the most popular. From the Silverado to the
F150
, homegrown makes like Chevrolet, Ford, and Dodge outnumber other cars on the vast highways of Middle America. With some of the lowest annual maintenance costs of any cars, these popular brands make car maintenance more affordable, on average, in many Southern and Midwestern states. No matter where you drive, you can find savings on car insurance using the
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Reviewed by Melanie Reiff, Expert Insurance Writer and Editor.
