Posted on 01/17/2012 1:39:47 PM PST by Responsibility2nd
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The average vehicle on America's roads is almost 11 years old, according to the auto market analysts at Polk.
The 10.8-year average is the highest figure recorded since Polk began tracking vehicle age in 1995. Back then, the average was just 8.4 years.
Vehicle age has increased rapidly over the last five years as new vehicle sales have slowed. Polk's analysis is based on vehicle registration data.
Older cars represent an opportunity for some businesses.
"Dealer service departments and independent repair facilities, as well as aftermarket parts suppliers, will see increased business opportunity with customers in need of vehicle service," said Mark Seng, global aftermarket practice leader at Polk.
With vehicles getting older, fewer cars are covered under their original factory warranty, said Seng. That presents a challenge for auto dealers to bring those customers back into the dealership service department.
The number of cars under warranty is now the lowest it's been in the last 12 to 15 years, he said, and drivers whose cars aren't under warranty tend not to go to the dealer.
(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...
FUUAW!!
Still driving my ‘99 Toyota Corolla. Cannot afford a newer car but don’t need one. It starts every time and haven’t had any problems whatsoever with it. Toyotas rock.
Also an opportunity for those that have gone virtual Galt to provide themselves tax free "income" performing the labor of maintainence and repairs.
My most recent "brace" of vehicles is at 7 yr and putting along.
My car is a 14 year old Dodge Durango. Our pickup Truck is a 1995 Dodge ram 2500 (Cummons Turbo Diesel engine). 6 months ago we replaced hubby’s 11 year old Subaru outback, but only because our insurance company declared it a total loss after a bear mauled it. We got a 2010 Jeep Liberty. Love it, and will probably keep it as long as we’ve kept the others.
I have a American made clunker. She’s 11 years old and still kicking butt.
The author’s gross ignorance is on display. The old cars are far from being clunkers.
Our 1998 civic will be painted next week but mechanically it is in excellent shape and everything works. It has been scrupulously maintained.
My Infiniti is 14 years old, and only has 85K miles. The dealership says it will last 20 years easily.
Used car prices have skyrocketed.
We’re turning into Cuba.
The average age of my cars is 38.3 years old.
1957 Bel Air, 1967 Camaro, 1997 Plymouth Voyager
The two older cars are easier and cheaper to maintain and I can readily get parts. I eat it on gas mileage, but I’m working on that. My calculations are that I break even given the lower maintenance expense and no payments.
The 1957 Bel Air is an absolute tank. They REALLY don’t make them like that anymore. If I need to fix something, I just get a sledge hammer and my $100 Harbor Freight welder and voila!
Thanks to Hussein, no one has any jobs to pay for a new car; and who can afford the $5 a gallon gas to run a car anyway? BTW, I would walk before I bought a Government Motors piece of junk.
From my own personal and professional experience (I work in automobile remarketing), I’m willing to bet these older cars are in fact non-union Japanese manufactored vehicles.
GM, Ford and Chrysler vehicles just don’t even measure up to the “imports”.
I still have a few vehicles from 3 or four generations ago (1990, 1982).
(My kid maybe has a "non-firearm" that is ~120 yr old and worked the last time I saw it.)
I do not own any car/truck with less than 100,000 miles on it.
The Corolla is well over 200,000.
“Clunker”???
What the heck is a “clunker”??? If any of them were poorly functioning, I would replace them.
Americans clinging to their clunkers.. That would be me! :)
My 99 Honda is still going - lost a cylinder but got a junk yard engine off a ‘02($600) and @$400 more -good to go
Thank goodness Honda’s weren’t in the ‘cash for clunkers’ or I’d be junking that car - no parts/more expensive parts.
We have old GM products: a ‘96 and a 98. No reason to replace them. They have not been pampered. They look a bit down on their luck. But they run and seldom require maintenance.
I think, though, that people are not hopeful. It takes optimism and prosperity for people to get enthused about taking on a new car. Who wants to do that if they don’t know whether they will have a job or not?
Where are you paying $5/gallon for gasoline?
My very first car in high school was a Chevy Cavalier. The roof dripped during heavy rain and driver door had a bump that at high speeds on the highway I always felt would just shake off. But on dates, the back seats were it’s greatest assets...
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