What Is Car Wear and Tear?

Typically, describing wear and tear on a vehicle begins with a discussion of the magnitude of any imperfections a vehicle sustains. In other words, wear and tear describes the normal damage cars receive as you use them, from scuffs and scrapes to minor dents and dings. You can also think of wear and tear as the signs of aging all vehicles show. If a car exhibits damage to the point where it would affect its value, that goes beyond what wear and tear includes. 

Wear and tear go hand-in-hand with car ownership, but with FINN, most car-related ownership costs are covered in a single monthly payment. Your subscription fee includes flexible terms and conditions, insurance, registration, depreciation, and maintenance. FINN also delivers straight to your door. 

What is wear and tear?

Wear and tear illustrates the damage sustained during normal use of a vehicle. Many consider indications of wear and tear to be a form of depreciation that often correlates with mileage. However, higher-mileage vehicles can show signs of less wear and tear than newer vehicles, depending on how they were maintained. 

You can also think of wear and tear as related to the cost of owning a vehicle or standard operating costs. The impact of wear and tear on your car depends on your driving habits, location and weather patterns, miles driven, and what kind of use your vehicle sees. For instance, minivans typically experience more wear and tear than your average limousine or luxury vehicle. 

It’s important to note that wear and tear doesn’t include costs of ownership related to insurance, registration, taxes, or maintenance. These associated costs exist outside the vehicle’s aesthetic condition, where wear and tear are most apparent. In comparing two cars with the same insurance rates, registration fees, taxes, and maintenance intervals, one typically has more wear and tear than the other based on its use. 

Interior 

Wear and tear on the inside of your vehicle can take various forms. Here are a few examples of what normal wear and tear looks like: 

• Upholstery: Cloth or leather, your car’s seats take the brunt of interior wear and tear. The driver’s seat is often the most fatigued due to repeatedly getting in and out of the car. 
• Carpeting: Normal signs of wear on carpeting include discolorations and inclusions. Extended use can result in stains and things like gum, paint, or sticky foods becoming part of your car’s carpeting. 
• Electronics: The electrical components you interact with in your car’s cabin can also experience wear and tear. A speaker may not produce sound as it once did from the factory, or a reading may not display accurately under normal wear and tear. 
• Surfaces: Depending on your car’s interior materials, various surfaces (plastic, leather, composite, etc.) can experience wear and tear via scratches, scrapes, holes, or cracks. The leather on your steering wheel can peel, or the coating around climate control knobs may fade with repeated use.

Abnormal or excessive wear and tear can include seat rips, a drooping headliner, broken plastic or rubber components, or other damage. Shattered visor mirrors, missing climate control buttons or knobs, and cracked seatbelt housings can also indicate the car in question has had a hard life.

Exterior

Arguably, wear and tear is easier to spot on a car's outside than on the inside. Below are a few examples of normal exterior wear and tear: 

• Paint: Normal wear and tear on car paint includes scratches, dings, and small dents. 
• Wheels: If your car’s wheels have met a curb or two and come away with scuffs and scrapes, that’s everyday wear and tear. 
• Tires: Even wear on your car’s tire tread represents typical wear and tear. 
• Windows: Your car’s windows can develop scratches and small divots over time. Cracked windshields are a sign of normal wear and tear but should be replaced for safety reasons. 
• Trim: Plastic and rubber trim pieces can wear from exposure to the sun and weather elements. These trim pieces can also sustain scuffs and scratches. 
• Headlights: As your car’s headlights age, they can become yellow and hazy under normal wear and tear conditions. 
• Body panels: Most of the car’s body panels should be intact, meaning they maintain the shape they were pressed into from the factory. While hail damage can signify normal wear and tear in certain parts of the country, there’s a vast difference between a few dents and warped body panels.

Older cars tend to have more extensive or noticeable exterior wear and tear. Missing body panels, large dents, or deep scratches can be expected if the vehicle exceeds 100,000 miles or more. However, newer cars with normal wear and tear shouldn’t show signs of rust, collision damage, or a compromised structure. 

Mechanical

Ultimately, your car is a mechanical object with various complex systems, many of which can also degrade under normal wear and tear. For example, your suspension and brake pads can wear out over time, requiring replacement. Advanced safety systems may require attention if the sensors fail. Your car’s emissions and fuel systems also show typical signs of wear and tear when they require servicing. 

How to calculate wear and tear

Calculating wear and tear on your car isn’t as simple as determining car depreciation or figuring out the residual value on a car lease. However, the following steps can help you approximate the cost of wear and tear on your car. 

1. Depreciation 

Calculating depreciation on your car helps get the most significant number out of the way first. Consider how much your car is worth at its current mileage if you traded it in for another vehicle. You can use various resources to determine the trade-in value based on your car’s condition. Plug your numbers into the following formula: 

(Vehicle purchase price - Trade-in value) / Current mileage = Average cost of depreciation per mile 

Keep your final total depreciation cost per mile handy for the last step. 

2. Tires

If you purchased tires since you bought your car, calculate the average tire cost per mile with the formula below: 

Tire cost / Miles traveled since installation = Average cost of tires per mile 

Write this total down next to your calculations for depreciation. 

3. Oil Changes

Do you see a pattern emerging? Continue with the cost of changing your car’s oil: 

Cost of an oil change / Miles traveled per oil change = Average cost of oil changes per mile

You can use the oil change interval for the “Miles traveled per oil change” figure in the formula above if it helps round out your calculations. 

4. Fuel

Calculating your fuel wear and tear costs may require an additional step, depending on how you want to quantify your car’s miles-per-gallon (MPG) rating. You can use a real-world reading by dividing the miles you traveled on a single gas tank by the number of gallons your tank is rated for or by using the EPA-estimated fuel-efficiency ratings. Regardless of which you choose, plug that figure into this formula: 

Fuel price / MPG rating = Average cost of fuel per mile

You can use your area's current average gas price if you don’t remember how much you paid per gallon.

5. Additional repairs

If you performed additional repairs on your vehicle, add them together to find the average cost per mile spent on maintenance and repairs with the following formula: 

Cost of maintenance and repairs / Number of miles driven per year = Average cost of maintenance and repairs per mile 

This calculation represents the final piece of the puzzle in determining the cost of wear and tear on your vehicle. Now, it’s time to put it all together.

6. Determine the average cost per mile 

Since each of these calculations you’ve done resulted in a “cost per mile” total, you can add them all together to find the average cost of wear and tear per mile for your vehicle:

Depreciation + Tires + Oil changes + Fuel + Additional repairs = Average cost of wear and tear per mile 

Calculating the cost of wear and tear can undoubtedly put a new spin on jumping into your car for a cruise down the pavement. How much do you spend on your car’s wear and tear for every mile you drive? 

Average cost per mile to drive

If those calculations felt like a lot, here’s an example to help you determine how much wear and tear on your vehicle costs you per mile. The following calculations consider the hypothetical wear and tear costs of owning a Ford Explorer: 

• Depreciation: (Vehicle purchase price - Trade-in value) / Current mileage 

  • ($30,000 purchase price - $15,000 trade-in value) / 20,000 miles = $0.75 per mile

• Tires: Tire cost / Miles traveled since installation 

  • $1,000 tire cost / 20,000 miles = $0.05 per mile

• Oil changes: Cost of an oil change / Miles traveled per oil change 

  • $150 oil change / 5,000 miles = $0.03 per mile

• Fuel: Fuel price / MPG rating 

  • $3.50 per gallon / 20 MPG rating = $0.18 per mile

• Additional repairs: Cost of maintenance and repairs / Number of miles driven per year

  • $700 in maintenance and repairs / 20,000 miles = $0.04 per mile

The total cost (per mile) of wear and tear in owning a Ford Explorer is $1.05, based on the calculations above.

Tips to reduce car wear and tear

Reducing wear and tear on your car requires intentional changes in your approach to driving your vehicle every time you get behind the wheel. Here are a few tips to help you reduce wear and tear on your car: 

• Adjust your daily driving habits to promote less wear and tear
• Abide by the weight limit restrictions for your vehicle
• Avoid driving in inclement weather unless absolutely necessary
• Keep up on routine maintenance 
• Pay attention to and address warning lights when they appear
• Check your tire pressure often 
• Clean your car regularly, inside and out
• Watch what you drive over and avoid debris and potholes if possible
• Keep your gas tank at least halfway full 
• Follow the manufacturer’s recommended maintenance interval schedule 
• Avoid riding the brakes or clutch (if you have a manual transmission)

While planning for many of these strategies can require time and money, it’s often reflected in the resale value of your vehicle. Think of your vehicle as a used car you test-drove on a dealership lot. Given its current condition, would you pay a handsome sum for your car?