Auto Insurance Claims: Costs of driving, Vehicle Depreciation

Question
Would an insurance expert know all the stats on repair costs for vehicles and how frequently they are done when there has been no accidents? I am trying to calculate by miles how expensive it is to run my car for work related travel. I suspect I am not coming close to breaking even. Some Forbes article claimed around 75 cents a mile but I don't know how they calculated that other than maybe average miles, cost of insurance, depreciation, and all costs one would pay whether or not their travel was work related or not. I can't find an expert on this subject. Not sure even mechanics keep generalized stats on repairs and maintenance they do. Any direction would be helpful.

Answer
This is done by calculating depreciation using a known method.  Many states have in their tax code a method defined that shows how to calculate depreciation on an asset like a vehicle.  You would have to assume an "average" amount of miles per year (12000 or so), and then all the other costs are incorporated into the ownership.  

Generally you would use a "take price" (what it could sell for right now), then you would estimate the value of the vehicle at the end of it's useful life (has increased to 8 - 10 years on a used vehicle).  The value at the end of the useful life is normally called a "salvage value", and it hovers between 20 and 35 percent of the take price depending on make and model.

So, a 10000 vehicle might be worth 3000 at the end of 8 years use and that would show a yearly depreciation of $875.00, make sense?  This is the only way I know of to estimate the cost of owning a vehicle.  Many manufacturers will estimate this type of cost in their sales brochures (like Honda claiming very low maintenance cost and such).