The price of car maintenance and repair is up 5.2% over the past 12 months and 70% since January 2016, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index. Over the same stretch, prices overall rose 41%. Latest data: August 2026.
What's gotten more expensive to own a car
| Cost | Past 12 months | Past 5 years | Since 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (all types) | 27.4% | 30% | 110% |
| Motor vehicle insurance | -5.1% | 50% | 78% |
| Motor vehicle maintenance and repair | 5.2% | 45% | 70% |
| All items (overall inflation) | 3.4% | 22% | 41% |
| Motor vehicle parts and equipment | 0.9% | 20% | 30% |
| Used cars and trucks | -2.3% | -7% | 29% |
| New vehicles | 0.6% | 13% | 22% |
Repair inflation year by year
| Year | Car repair prices | Overall inflation |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 2.0% | 2.1% |
| 2018 | 2.0% | 2.4% |
| 2019 | 3.4% | 1.8% |
| 2020 | 3.4% | 1.2% |
| 2021 | 3.9% | 4.7% |
| 2022 | 8.2% | 8.0% |
| 2023 | 11.5% | 4.1% |
| 2024 | 6.1% | 2.9% |
| 2025 | -2.9% | -5.9% |
Annual change compares each calendar year's average index level to the year before. Only complete years are shown.
What this means for your repair bill
A repair that cost $1,000 in August 2021 would cost about $1,451 today at the average rate. Labor drives most of that: see what mechanics earn in your city. To estimate a specific job, try the automotive repair calculators.
Source: BLS Consumer Price Index, U.S. city average, not seasonally adjusted (series CUUR0000SA0, CUUR0000SETD, CUUR0000SETC, CUUR0000SETE, CUUR0000SETA01, CUUR0000SETA02, CUUR0000SETB01). Retrieved 2026-09-23. Free to cite with a link.