1. Pick your vehicle type and enter its current age and your annual mileage. 2. Adjust the projection period to see how far ahead you want to plan. 3. Read the year-by-year reserve below — it rises as the car crosses common wear thresholds.
This is a rough statistical estimate, not a prediction for your specific car. A well-maintained vehicle can beat these numbers significantly; a neglected one can blow past them. Reliability varies a lot by make/model — use this as a baseline to budget against, not a forecast of what will actually break.
Maintenance & Repair Reserve Estimator
Predict what you should be setting aside for repairs as your car ages — costs rise well before anything breaks, based on AAA's Your Driving Costs data (~9.6-10 cents/mile average) and industry age-multiplier patterns.
Recommended monthly reserve, averaged over the projection$0
Year
Age
Est. mileage
Age multiplier
Est. annual cost
Relative
Formula: annual cost = annual miles × base rate/mile × age multiplier. Age multipliers (industry-referenced): 1.0× for 0-3 years, 1.5× for 4-7 years, 2.2× for 8-11 years, 2.8× for 12+ years — reflecting how wear-and-tear repairs (suspension, cooling system, transmission) become more common as components age, separate from mileage alone. Set aside the monthly amount in a dedicated fund rather than assuming it'll come out of regular budget when something breaks.
Opens your browser's print dialog — choose "Save as PDF" as the destination.