Yesterday on NPR I heard that the average age of cars on the road in the US is 10 years old. The context was that it was a sign of a poor economy and an indicator of pent-up demand, which is probably true. But I see a serious silver lining in that cloud. It means that the average car lasts well over 10 years, which I see as a really good thing. And think of all the crap that doesn’t need to go into a landfill, thanks to people driving cars well into advanced age!
I usually buy new and drive until the price of repairs exceeds the value of the car, or until repair payments climb up to about half of what payments on a new car would be. As it turns out, with one exception the last straw has always been a failing (but still working) transmission, on a car over 10 years old and with more than 150K miles on it. That’s all American cars (because I’ve always had an opportunity for an A or X or whatever plan American car, and I’ve never had a problem with American cars in general.) I would expect many foreign brands to last longer and have higher resale value.
My current Chrysler Town & Country minivan is 14 years old with 150K miles on it. Fingers crossed, I’m hoping to get another 2 or 3 years on it. I love driving a car that’s been paid off for 9 or 10 years! The best we got in terms of mileage was a Chrysler Sebring convertible with over 190K before my wife traded it in on another one, even though it was running fine.
I gave up working on my own cars back in 1989 when I realized I couldn’t even change the spark plugs in my Ford Aerostar minivan without special tools and a dental mirror (heck, I could hardly even FIND them all!) We take reasonable normal care of our cars, getting regular oil changes and fixing stuff when it seems hinky rather than waiting for dramatic failures. But nothing out of the ordinary. I bet there are folks here with double the mileage!
Cars cost quite a bit more today than they did back in the 70’s, even when compensating for inflation. But I feel we get an awful lot more for the money, in terms of reliability, longevity, efficiency, low emissions, comfort, and safety. At the cost of complexity, though, which is significant.
My worry is the electronics in modern cars. How long will that stuff last?
I had a ten year old car this year but it broke down. It was a Saturn and, after we spend a thousand to get it fix, the mechanic said we were lucky because parts are hard to come by now. He suggested (after I asked him) that I sell it while I can and get a new one.
We got a 2011 Honda. Man, I really liked not having a car payment.
I’m driving a 1996 Ford Contour with about 85K miles on it. I bought it used with about 26K miles. I paid it off in 2001. It still runs great, body’s in good shape. Nearly everything still works. The only things wrong with it are small things. The right side mirror no longer adjusts from inside. The dashboard clock doesn’t light up. The inside trunk release doesn’t work. None of these affect the performance of the car and aren’t worth getting fixed, IMO. I’ve replaced two timing belts, a water pump, and an air conditioning compressor and had the power windows repaired. I replaced the factory installed cassette player with a CD player with an aux jack a few years ago. All it costs me is gas and insurance. I can register it for two years at a time in my state. The most recent registration cost me $35. I’d say since I paid it off, it’s cost me less than $4000 in repairs in 13 years. It’s a good car and I see no need to replace it for the foreseeable future.
Of course, by posting this, I just made sure something will go wrong soon.
I wonder what a plot of average car age vs year looks like.
I also wonder how we could look at age of car and miles driven. I know a few families who have more cars than license drivers due to some old, still registered project cars.
That ten-year figure seemed a bit old to me, so I googled “average car age USA” - and found that the average cr in the USA is actually 11.4 years old as of August 2013. (So boy, was I wrong.)
I also drive an 04 with just under 80,000 miles in it. I’ve had problems in the undercarriage due to shitty northern roads, but otherwise it’s been perfect. I don’t see why I won’t be driving a 20 year old car some day.
We have an '06 Subaru, and a '94 Acura. The Acura runs great, and starts every time. Our payments for the Subaru just ended, so we are really enjoying not having car payments. We divided the repairs we’ve made in the last five years on the Acura, and it came to less than $100/month, and that includes replacing the A/C, which was really expensive, and didn’t technically need to be done. We had a summer with a week of 100’F+ temperatures, though, and decided we needed to do it. It actually helps more in the winter than the summer, with defogging.
One back window won’t roll down, and the tape player in the radio is kaput, but other than that, everything works on it. It has new tires, and got an alignment when it got brakes about 18 months ago, so it handles really well. The pick-up could be better, but I think it just needs new spark plugs. I replaced them myself about 5 years ago, and the pick-up was great. It’s due for new ones, but I never have the time, and I hate paying someone else to do it.
It probably wouldn’t pass emissions tests, if we lived in a state with emissions tests, but we don’t.
I learned to drive a stick on a 1928 Ford Model A. I was 16. It belonged to my best friend, who had restored it with his father over the previous 3 years, but he was only 15, so I got to drive it. That car was a lot easier to fix than the cars of the 70’s, which were a lot easier to fix than today’s. Ah well. That’s progress for you.
One reason I suspect the electronics is because those are the things that seem to break first in old cars, though fortunately most of them aren’t mission critical. I’m not as worried about the engine control systems as all the other stuff. Furthermore the engine control, sensors, and actuators are easily replaced. The dash stuff is a royal pain and expensive.
Meanwhile, every kitchen appliance we bought in 2000 has failed, even though we got what we thought were good brands. The only appliance that still works from our remodel is the 1960’s Jennaire range that we kept. Amana microwave and oven, kaput (the electronics in the oven failed after 8 years and replacement parts couldn’t be found. 10 years on a microwave is OK, I guess.) Refrigerator still keeps things cold (after replacing some parts) but the front panel buttons no longer work to dispense ice and water, and the icemaker doesn’t work. Bosch dishwasher failed after 6 years. Also, the washer/dryer pair we bought then are failing. I attribute this to US customers rating features over reliability. I thought we were buying reputable brands and quality gear. (And hey! You kids! Off my lawn!)
My Toyota Camry is fifteen years old with 214,000 miles on it and it still gets 30mpg. I just fix things when they break, and change the oil every 5000 miles. Some odd things are starting to happen though; the driver side door handle came off in my hand recently.
My E-150 van is a 2000 model. I had to sink a couple thousand into it in 2012. Ball joints, shocks, and tires. Both bumpers had lost their gray paint and it was $600 to repaint and clear coat. Then a coil wire went bad. That was almost three hundred more.
