Posted on 08/07/2013 3:50:29 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Americans are keeping their cars and trucks longer than ever, and even with new car sales increasing, the average age will continue to rise, an industry research firm says.
The average age of the 247 million cars and trucks on U.S. roads hit a record of 11.4 years in January, the latest figures available from state registration data gathered by the Polk research firm.
That's up from 11.2 years in 2012, and nearly two full years older than in 2007, before the start of the Great Recession, Polk said Tuesday....
(Excerpt) Read more at dailynews.com ...
I’m guessing record income and spending power.
Because they can’t afford the grotesquely overpriced newer models and its just cheaper to have older cars and trucks repaired?
Because the increase in value? /sarc
Because of Marvel Mystery Oil.
DEPRESSION... AND ONE DAY THE TRUTH WILL BE TOLD.
Gee, our old LaSalle ran great
Those were the days.
My 2001 Corolla is a nearly ideal commuter car.
Well, its also that the more late model cars seem to last longer. Back in the eighties, my Chevy Cavalier’s body literally fell apart after 8 years. However, I’m still driving my current car after 10 years with ‘nary a problem. I guess I’m an optimist because I just bought a new set of 70K mile tires for it.
11 years old? Crikey, none of mine are that new.
one is 20, one is 35 and one is 72.
I have a used truck. Great truck, paid $29,000 for it. A new one is $40K.
My wife has an older Buick. No so good. But a new vehicle of that type is $35K.
So we keep driving hoping that they both keep going. Don’t have the money for a new car, and few people do.
MMO rocks. Visit BITOG for threads........
We have 2 vehicles with over 190,000 miles and they run great. Why waste money?
It is just a fact that we get more car per dollar today then we ever did before, even including inflation. New technology built on old technology gives us more efficient engines and systems, including longer lasting systems. Detroit made many cars in the past but also cars that did not last as long. The foreign cars capitalized on the this weakness of market. Otherwise its the Obama depression.
The touch display on a Prius is seven grand from what I heard...
No thanks, I’ll stick with my faster European classics...
Mandated safety equipment is adding thousands to the cost of new cars every year and leading to a nation of people who can’t drive without it.
Mine’s 19! Almost out of it’s teenage years, I can’t wait.
cause MILLIONS of cars were destroyed a couple years ago because of 0bammy that would have been bought as used cars???
We like the one we got,
We've learned there is pleasure in keeping a good thing going
We KNOW the damned thing and can repair it relatively quickly and/or inexpensively
The mileage is acceptable
The ride is relatively comfortable
Less bells and whistles to go wrong.
The insurance is cheaper.
I have a 94 Nissan Sentra that still gets 26 mpg, put new rear struts in it, total cost partwise about 175.
Have an 84 Chev Blazer, pretty much redid the whole front end last spring, new brakes, half axles, ball joints, brake lines, shocks, probably about 2K of work, except I did it myself. Parts cost maybe 550.
If you don’t know anything about cars, trade it in and buy a new one when the “check engine” light comes on.
If you know about them or want to learn, the best deal is to drive that sucker till the wheels fall off!
April 2011 in Havana.
Pretty soon America (outside of Washington DC) will look like Havana. Those inside the Beltway will be driving their Beemers, Lexī, Priī and Mercs for decades more before the exhausted peasants can no longer support them.Two reasons:
1) Most Americans cannot afford a replacement car, and
2) The few that can will not buy a car that can be hacked, remotely controlled (with possible fatal results), and that pinpoints your location at all times to the Federal government.
Lousy trade -in value, cars last longer now, new ones cost too much, they all look alike now.
We used to want a pretty car one that caught the eye.
They all look alike now.
The guy is wrong about people wrenching their own cars. The average driver now is about done after changing the oil. Everything else has to be done by a mechanic with a computer.
Because they don’t have GPS tracking systems in them, like the government has installed in new cars?
It’s just cheaper to keep her.
my 79 chevy pick up runs just fine and with nothing under the hood is easy to fix.
Chrysler stopped making PT Cruisers. Since the PT Cruiser is the most attractive car ever made, I’m holding on to mine for as long as I can.
And no, there is nothing opinionated about the above statement at all.
Because we’re waiting on the new wind-powered models...
You have a 72-year old car?
My car is 16 years old, but it works. Anything I can do to avoid indebting myself with car payments will be done (including living through our 3 week heat wave without AC). I’m in no position to make car payments, and will make do for as long as I can. Most of the infrequent repair bills are still lower than one month’s payment on a new car.
‘99 tahoe - 150k runs like a watch - of course most of the parts are new now.
THEY know where YOU are, whether in a car or not!!!
;-)
Because new cars are ugly and have a high belt-lines and windows like a slit trench?
“Because people avoid new large expenses and new debt for as long as they can when they may be laid off at any time and know they won’t be able to find a new job anytime soon.”
That’s right (and is the same reason why Americans don’t have new children); apparently “cash-for-clunkers” was a complete bust.
When I was young and couldn't afford new vehicles, I bought them new. Now that I'm older and can afford new, I buy used, and keep them as long as I can.
“If you know about them or want to learn, the best deal is to drive that sucker till the wheels fall off!”
I prefer to get rid of mine just BEFORE the wheels come off!(Sarcasm)
Drove my 74 Cordoba till 91 when it had 225K on it and sold it for 20% of what I paid for it.
Bought a T bird, it got wrecked in a storm in 93, replaced it with another which got wrecked in 98 when I bought a Taurus which I gave to my step daughter 3 years ago at 125K because she needed transportation. Have Hyundai now. Take care of maintenance, don’t abuse them, watch out for the other drivers and tornadoes and they ride virtually half a life time. So, why buy a new one every few years unless you are uber rich and like to show off?
Yep, a 1941 Willys MB, it came off the line on
Dec.16.1941.
I can work on it and the 75 chevy truck.
the 91 ford diesel is too modern to work on.
yeah I had to replace a water pump on an old ford festiva. I got it repaired at KMart for 29 bux. That included parts. They must’ve been running a special... that or accidentally charged me for an oil change lol.
That’s cheaper than a repair on my mower for crying out loud. No, I’m not going to get rid of the Festiva. Nor will I get rid of my 99 p/u truck.

$100 in 2004, still running, if uncomfortably.
Nothing compares with the classic, smooth, clean lines of the AMC Pacer.
The old Chev stuff is the best.
New alternator might run ya 50 bux or a bit more.
Couldn’t even touch a new alternator for the foreign crap for less than a buck seventy five... or even worse.
I believe my 2004 Honda Pilot to be one of the bet cars ever built. I will keep it as long as I can
Great visibility! I consider visibility the best safety feature-ever. Looks like nobody in Tokyo,Berlin or Detroit agrees with that anymore.
That was my guess! People are buying new cars, and since they have so much money, they can afford to keep their old cars, too.
I really hate those German cars, they are fun to drive but always in the shop and the parts sent on a slow boat
In high school I worked at a car wash and we nicknamed the really weird cars, that one we called the "moon liner".
Interesting that the prevailing context of the story is that normal is a new car. Just like houses are supposed to be the American Dream.
Perhaps we are finally shaking those Santa Claus-like fantasies, and refusing to give banksters our hard-earned dollars.
Those Festivas look like they’re great on gas.
For some repairs you can find the part yourself, bring it to the mechanic, and simply pay his labor to put it in. That keeps the price down...
‘Its just cheaper to keep her.’
Are we still talking about cars or is it wives?
Bingo.
That's part of the reason, but it doesn't explain the spike in the age of the average car, from 9 years to 11, since 2007, the last year of Bush's term in office.
It's another symptom of the Obamalypse.
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