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 | 6.1% | 2.7% |
Annual change compares each year's average index level to the year before, using the same months in both years (BLS did not publish October 2025). Years with fewer than 11 published months are left out.
Month by month: the last 24 months
Change from the same month a year earlier. This is the figure BLS headlines each month.
| Month | Repair and maintenance | Parts and equipment | Insurance | Overall inflation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2026 | 5.2% | 0.9% | -5.1% | 3.4% |
| July 2026 | 6.6% | 1.5% | -4.5% | 3.4% |
| June 2026 | 7.0% | 1.7% | -4.1% | 3.5% |
| May 2026 | 6.1% | 2.1% | -2.0% | 4.2% |
| April 2026 | 5.1% | 3.8% | 0.2% | 3.8% |
| March 2026 | 6.1% | 3.9% | 0.8% | 3.3% |
| February 2026 | 5.6% | 3.1% | 0.2% | 2.4% |
| January 2026 | 4.9% | 2.2% | 0.5% | 2.4% |
| December 2025 | 5.4% | 3.5% | 2.8% | 2.7% |
| November 2025 | 6.9% | 2.6% | — | 2.7% |
| September 2025 | 7.7% | 3.1% | 3.1% | 3.0% |
| August 2025 | 8.5% | 3.4% | 4.7% | 2.9% |
| July 2025 | 6.5% | 2.9% | 5.3% | 2.7% |
| June 2025 | 5.2% | 2.3% | 6.1% | 2.7% |
| May 2025 | 5.1% | 1.7% | 7.0% | 2.4% |
| April 2025 | 5.6% | 1.2% | 6.4% | 2.3% |
| March 2025 | 4.8% | 1.2% | 7.5% | 2.4% |
| February 2025 | 5.8% | 1.2% | 11.1% | 2.8% |
| January 2025 | 5.9% | 1.4% | 11.8% | 3.0% |
| December 2024 | 6.2% | 1.3% | 11.3% | 2.9% |
| November 2024 | 5.7% | 1.5% | 12.7% | 2.7% |
| October 2024 | 5.8% | 2.3% | 14.0% | 2.6% |
| September 2024 | 4.9% | 1.9% | 16.3% | 2.4% |
| August 2024 | 4.1% | -0.5% | 16.5% | 2.5% |
Where the increase shows up
- Shop costs, not parts. What you pay a shop (labor plus installed parts) is up 70% since 2016, while parts bought on their own are up only 30%. The gap points to labor and shop overhead rather than parts prices. See mechanic pay by city.
- Insurance rose even faster. Motor vehicle insurance is up 78% since 2016, the fastest-rising line after gasoline.
How to read the index
The Consumer Price Index tracks the price of the same basket of services over time. "Motor vehicle maintenance and repair" covers what you pay a shop: labor plus the parts they install. "Parts and equipment" is parts bought on their own, like tires and batteries. Index values are relative to 1982–84 = 100, so the level matters less than the percent change. The figures are for the U.S. city average and aren't seasonally adjusted.
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.