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Can you guess why Americans keep older cars longer?
The Los Angeles Daily News / The Associated Press ^ | August 6, 2013 | Tom Krisher

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 ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: automakers; automobiles; automotive; autosales; bhoeconomy; economy; recession; trends
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

We have 3 clear title vehicles.
Honda 1300 MC
Kia Rio
Ford Windstar Van
The MC and Kia get great gas mileage and we have the van for long trips or if we need to haul anything.
No vehicle payments is nice.
We just put aside about half of a new car payment each month for inspections and any repairs/ tires/oil changes etc.


81 posted on 08/07/2013 5:06:46 AM PDT by SECURE AMERICA (Where can I go to sign up for the American Revolution 2013 and the Crusades 2013?)
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To: central_va

The total for my daughters is two mommy vans, one Volvo wagon and a VW Passat. They finally grew up and stopped the carnage.


82 posted on 08/07/2013 5:07:08 AM PDT by muir_redwoods (Don't fire until you see the blue of their helmets)
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To: Timber Rattler
Because they can’t afford the grotesquely overpriced newer models and its just cheaper to have older cars and trucks repaired?

Seems insanity to me to spend 40K on a flipping car...

83 posted on 08/07/2013 5:09:01 AM PDT by Caipirabob (Communists... Socialists... Democrats...Traitors... Who can tell the difference?)
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To: muir_redwoods
The total for my daughters is two mommy vans, one Volvo wagon and a VW Passat. They finally grew up and stopped the carnage.

It really is the worst part(scary expensive) of modern parenting, the driving thing. 100 years ago how many teenagers wrecked the family buggy?

84 posted on 08/07/2013 5:09:39 AM PDT by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Due to the vast wealth brought on by 0bamanomics?


85 posted on 08/07/2013 5:12:33 AM PDT by from occupied ga (Your government is your most dangerous enemy)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
I’ve had people wanting to buy it just for the engine

I believe that. In the past six years or so, I've seen quite a number of those old diesel Benzes being trailered on the highway. Most of them looked as though they'd been parked in someone's back yard for over a decade - dirty and mildewed with dry-rotted tires. After laying dormant for so long, all of a sudden those cars became highly sought.

86 posted on 08/07/2013 5:14:48 AM PDT by Charles Martel (Endeavor to persevere...)
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To: glorgau
Since the PT Cruiser is the most attractive car ever made,

Nothing compares with the classic, smooth, clean lines of the AMC Pacer.


or revolutionary good looks of the AMC Gremlin.
87 posted on 08/07/2013 5:17:33 AM PDT by PA Engineer (Liberate America from the Occupation Media.)
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To: central_va

I recommend old volvos for a first car. They’re damn near indestructible and so heavy, the go 0-60 in about four days. Keep the brakes in good shape though.


88 posted on 08/07/2013 5:25:56 AM PDT by muir_redwoods (Don't fire until you see the blue of their helmets)
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To: glorgau

What about the Gremlin?


89 posted on 08/07/2013 5:28:16 AM PDT by vortec94
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To: Lazamataz

Those are my reasons exactly!


90 posted on 08/07/2013 5:28:44 AM PDT by Melian ("Where will wants not, a way opens.")
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

All of the above plus I live in Nebraska where you’re hit with auto taxes every year; is the reason why I still drive my 99 Ford Escort.


91 posted on 08/07/2013 5:33:22 AM PDT by RJS1950 (The democrats are the "enemies foreign and domestic" cited in the federal oath)
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To: tet68

> 11 years old? Crikey, none of mine are that new.
one is 20, one is 35 and one is 72.

no car payments and you can actually work on them yourself if you have to.
That’s the answer to the OP’s question.


92 posted on 08/07/2013 5:34:31 AM PDT by jsanders2001
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To: muir_redwoods

My Buick is running fine at 244,000 after replacing the water pump. Pump was $36. Installation by a mechanic was $200! I discovered my model requires removal of an engine mount and the power steering pump in order to replace the water pump or even the serpentine belt.That was more than I felt comfortable doing.Gas mileage in the mid to high 20s with plenty of steel and an airbag.


93 posted on 08/07/2013 5:38:47 AM PDT by hoosierham (Freedom isn't free)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

My ‘95 Honda Civic is still going strong.


94 posted on 08/07/2013 5:42:50 AM PDT by Constitutionalist Conservative (I'm a constitutionalist, not a libertarian. Huge difference.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
It's clearly because folks are awash with job opportunities,are making fantastic money and see the future as one gentle sunlit upland (I think that's how Churchill once put it).
95 posted on 08/07/2013 5:44:02 AM PDT by Gay State Conservative (If Obama Had A City It Would Look Like Detroit.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

1. It is only good sense to drive a car a number of years after you pay for it, because those are years you are not making payments.
2. The days of ordinary people being affluent enough to have a regular car trade-in are gone.
3. Godawful gas prices mean less driving and less wear and tear on cars, so they last longer.


96 posted on 08/07/2013 5:44:21 AM PDT by GenXteacher (You have chosen dishonor to avoid war; you shall have war also.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

For me, the Pull-A-Part franchise has been a godsend.

All those formerly dealer-only parts can be had in decent condition for pennies on the dollar.

You really need a 10+ year old car to find parts there, but that isn’t a problem for us.

Interestingly, there are plenty of parts for my 02 Chrysler, but in four years, I’ve only seen two trucks in the yard for parts for my 00 Sierra, and both were so abused and rusted that nothing was really usable.

Our 94 Nissan is unfortunately unsaveable regardless of parts availbility. Asian cars from that era don’t survive the salt here like the domestics did. They all rust, but the asian cars seem to rust structurally while the domestics rust cosmetically. There’s only so much you can patch and replace before the whole unitized body shell needs to be scrapped.


97 posted on 08/07/2013 5:44:38 AM PDT by chrisser (Senseless legislation does nothing to solve senseless violence.)
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To: yldstrk

Thanks for the data point. I like the Pilot and have been thinking about getting something bigger to replace my wife’s Altima.


98 posted on 08/07/2013 5:44:59 AM PDT by Lonesome in Massachussets (Doing the same thing and expecting different results is called software engineering.)
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To: SoothingDave

I paid 5k for my last car 7 years ago, a ‘98 Ford Explorer. I never paid any collision or theft insurance since 5k is clearly an acceptable loss . That’s what I’m talking about. It sounds like you had collision and theft on both vehicles.


99 posted on 08/07/2013 5:52:58 AM PDT by zencycler
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

My “Newest” vehicle is 14 years old.


100 posted on 08/07/2013 5:55:07 AM PDT by Crazieman (Are you naive enough to think VOTING will fix this entrenched system?)
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