# Cars are a luxury item (and you might be in a bubble) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 13, 2026, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-are-a-luxury-item-and-you-might-be-in-a-bubble/1033041 "2026-09-13T17:55:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2026, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-are-a-luxury-item-and-you-might-be-in-a-bubble/1033041/101 "2026-09-18T22:21:22Z")
Another issue; many mass transit systems are hub and spoke; designed to bring people from suburbs to the central city. Certainly that is how the NYC commuter lines are designed. It works less well for someone who needs to get from one suburb to another. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2026, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-are-a-luxury-item-and-you-might-be-in-a-bubble/1033041/102 "2026-09-18T22:21:25Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > The **average age** of new cars (passenger cars + light trucks) in the US is almost **13 years old** I don’t follow. Shouldn’t the average age of new cars be 0 years old, what with them being new and all? ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2026, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-are-a-luxury-item-and-you-might-be-in-a-bubble/1033041/103 "2026-09-18T22:36:29Z")
They may be - I just wouldn’t know. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2026, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-are-a-luxury-item-and-you-might-be-in-a-bubble/1033041/104 "2026-09-18T22:47:25Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > I don’t follow. Shouldn’t the average age of new cars be 0 years old, what with them being new and all? I think the idea was “the average age of cars/trucks which were **purchased new** by their current owner…” ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2026, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-are-a-luxury-item-and-you-might-be-in-a-bubble/1033041/105 "2026-09-18T22:53:26Z")
Here is a [webpage](https://www.bts.gov/content/average-age-automobiles-and-trucks-operation-united-states) from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics showing the average age of automobiles and trucks in operation in the United States over time. In 2025, this was 12.8 years up from 8.9 years in 2000. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2026, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-are-a-luxury-item-and-you-might-be-in-a-bubble/1033041/106 "2026-09-18T22:53:34Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > many mass transit systems are hub and spoke Hence my references to transferring: Almost every transit trip in my metro area is go downtown, then back out again to one’s destination (or, ride out to the transit hub at the end of the line and switch to a suburban line). > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > he average age of automobiles and trucks in operation in the United States over time. In 2025, this was 12.8 years up from 8.9 years in 2000. Though at least part of this is improved longevity of modern automobiles. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2026, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-are-a-luxury-item-and-you-might-be-in-a-bubble/1033041/107 "2026-09-19T00:41:28Z")
Let’s talk about my healthy 40-year old daughter. She works at a major medical center 8.5 miles from her home. It’s a 15-minute drive. There is NO bus service to the medical center. She could ride share, but after several well-publicized incidents involving single women, she refuses ro use a ride-share service. That leaves taxis, which will run \>$25 (plus tip, plus the current fuel surchharge) per trip. And out here in the suburbs, there are no cab stands, so she would have to reserve a cab for each trip. > [@Kimstu](#): > > If somebody is really too frail and/or incapacitated by age even to be able to walk down the street to a bus stop and board and ride the bus, then they’re highly likely to be incapable of driving a car safely, as well. Arthritis has gotten to both me and my wife, so walking is difficult, but both of us are capable of driving a car to the grocery store or doctor. But that “down the street” bus stop is a half-mile away. My wife can’t handle that distance. The bus service out here runs once every 45 minutes (we’re lucky - it was once an hour for awhile.) A bus trip to the nearest supermarket takes about 10 minutes, and leaves roughly 30 minutes to shop before the next bus coming back. Not to mention the issue of hauling groceries a half-mile from the bus stop back to our house. As for going to the doctor, our primary care doctor works in a large medical building located on the outer road of a major highway. A convenient 10-minute drive for us, but no bus route goes there. Even if it did, that particular stretch of road has no sidewalks. There is a paratransit service my wife could probably qualiffy for to get to to the doctor, but pickup and delivery times will vary by whether there are other passengers using the service, and they only promise a 30-minute window for pickup and drop off. That’s the state of public transit here in our metropolitan area of 2.5 million people. The buses are few and far between and don’t always go where you want to go, paratransit - when you can get it - is an adventure in scheduling, unaccompanied women don’t trust rideshares and a 15-minute cab ride for a health care worker can cost more than an hour’s pay. A car may be a money sink, but it is a necessity. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2026, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-are-a-luxury-item-and-you-might-be-in-a-bubble/1033041/108 "2026-09-19T03:11:44Z")
Yeah, unquestionably public transit can be a great boon to the elderly, but it has to be **decent** public transit. And it has to be combined with other aspects of municipal design for mobility, like, you know, sidewalks. (Side note: I, an unaccompanied woman, use Lyft rideshare all the time and have never had a problem, but I would never argue with anybody who feels the rideshare options in her own area are untrustworthy. Also, using rideshare constantly for daily commutes can get unaffordable very fast, besides not doing as much to combat the general wastefulness of solo car trips.) ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2026, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-are-a-luxury-item-and-you-might-be-in-a-bubble/1033041/109 "2026-09-19T03:19:17Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I thought most paratransit services were door to door Yes, here in the Twin Cites (Minneapolis/St. Paul) we have Metro Mobility (I punningly call them “Metro No-Ability” 😋) Now that I’m officially a ~~senile~~ senior citizen I should look up if I qualify. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2026, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-are-a-luxury-item-and-you-might-be-in-a-bubble/1033041/110 "2026-09-19T04:10:51Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > A bus trip to the nearest supermarket takes about 10 minutes, and leaves roughly 30 minutes to shop before the next bus coming back. In a metropolitan area of 2.5 million there is no need to go to the supermarket at all–there are several grocery delivery services. There are continually more options: I was just reading a couple days ago: > **[DoorDash and Uber Eats to offer delivery from US Costco stores](https://abcnews.com/Lifestyle/wireStory/doordash-uber-eats-offer-delivery-us-costco-stores-136520515)** > > Costco said Thursday it’s partnering with DoorDash to offer delivery from its U.S. warehouse stores ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2026, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-are-a-luxury-item-and-you-might-be-in-a-bubble/1033041/111 "2026-09-19T11:25:19Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Europe has reduced the arms race to larger cars not only by taxing gasoline at a higher level, but also by having more restrictive licensing for larger cars One of my long-held opinions is that traffic fines should be scaled with the weight of your vehicle. Some nominal weight value should be agreed upon, say 2000 lbs., and traffic fines based on that. If the fine for some speeding offense is set at $500.00, then the driver of the 8000 lb. pickup will pay $2000.00. A motorcyclist whose machine is only 500 lbs. would owe $125.00. The numbers above are just examples, chosen for easy math. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2026, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-are-a-luxury-item-and-you-might-be-in-a-bubble/1033041/112 "2026-09-19T11:45:13Z")
Farts, should have been “cars on the road” not new cars. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2026, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-are-a-luxury-item-and-you-might-be-in-a-bubble/1033041/113 "2026-09-19T12:11:59Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Yeah, unquestionably public transit can be a great boon to the elderly, but it has to be **decent** public transit. And it has to be combined with other aspects of municipal design for mobility, like, you know, sidewalks. > > (Side note: I, an unaccompanied woman, use Lyft rideshare all the time and have never had a problem, but I would never argue with anybody who feels the rideshare options in her own area are untrustworthy. Also, using rideshare constantly for daily commutes can get unaffordable very fast, besides not doing as much to combat the general wastefulness of solo car trips.) Yes, the only place I’ve lived with really decent public transit was NYC, which does have high population density. It’s not “hub and spoke”, there are several parallel lines that run ~NS, and buses fill in for EW and shorter NS trips. Because there are a ton of people using transit, you never wait more than a few minutes to catch either a bus or a train. And, of course, plenty of sidewalks. It does mean that the elderly remain mobile longer than in the burbs. Both because you don’t need the acute seeing/hearing/reflexes to safely drive a car and also because the total resident gets more exercise, and stays physically mobile longer. I have an excellent sense of smell for a human, and had a superb sense of smell when i was pregnant. I could walk into a subway car and tell you which seats had been slept on by homeless people. I rarely ran into fellow travelers who were actively smelly, though. In about a decade of regular transit use there i saw: - A nasty fight between two passengers, bad enough that the driver didn’t start the train, but left it on the platform (where the two men eventually took the fight. We still didn’t move, perhaps because the driver didn’t want either man to be thrown on the third rail.) - A drunk who got angry and smashed his bottle and waved the remainder around. (I got off at the next stop and moved to a different car) - A guy who appeared to have TB, and was hacking up his lungs into a seat (i got off at the next stop and moved to a different car) - A guy who hovered over me asking for money in a generally threatening way (another passenger, a big Black guy, got up and told him to move on, and he did.) - A guy who fondled my leg (i moved to the other end of the same crowded car.) That’s pretty much it for negative incidents, in 10 years of regular use, for commuting, etc. Now i mostly drive, and while i don’t have that kind of close interaction with unpleasant others, i see dangerous behaviors that could hurt me at least as often. The guy i dropped behind because he wasn’t sticking to his lane, who eventually _did_ sideswipe the person who had passed my slow car, the guy who cut off the car right in front on me, which braked suddenly and and i could see the driver cursing, the guy weaving through traffic, not leaving enough room for anything unexpected on the part of any other driver, the large object (a kid’s playhouse, i think) that feel off a truck in front of me, blocking the lane suddenly any unexpectedly… I’m sure y’all have seen those things, too. I, also, use Lyft on my own regularly. It’s a lot cheaper to take a bus to the airport and then a cab or rideshare home than to park there for trips of more than two days. We had only one car for a while and took Lyft when we both were going someplace. I take the commuter train downtown, and sometimes get a ride from my husband one way and take Lyft back. I calculated that it would be cheaper to keep using Lyft than to get a second car. But we’re rich, and decided to enjoy the luxury of having a car always available for each of us. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2026, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-are-a-luxury-item-and-you-might-be-in-a-bubble/1033041/114 "2026-09-19T15:43:13Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > @bump, for example, seems to set the bar for _“not impoverished”_ at the level of _“can easily afford to spend an extra five-plus thousand dollars per year over an entire adult lifetime”_. I never said that. And “five plus thousand dollars a year” seems a bit extreme. I’m not seeing where you get that from- assuming your car is paid off, and you don’t have any major maintenance to do, you’re probably looking at roughly half that, the vast majority of which is gasoline. Here’s the thing though, if public transit was a more attractive option to most people than driving cars, it would be more popular. It’s not some shadowy cabal preventing people from riding it, it’s some combination of inconvenience (scheduling, routes, unreliability, etc…), not liking the people you ride with, and the perceived social status of riding it. What proportions those take in each person’s individual equation is totally dependent on them. Nonetheless, it works out for most people that it’s not a preferred option. Around here (Dallas), we have what’s likely the most developed public transit infrastructure in Texas, and _it still sucks_ for most purposes. There are huge swathes of the metro area that I can’t get to in any sort of timely fashion (not enough cross-town routes), and on top of that, they usually require a multi-block walk in weather that’s only really pleasant for about 4 months of the year. So most people drive, unless they’re so poor they can’t avoid it. Unless they happen to work and live along the rail lines, in which case they become a viable option to get to/from work for many. I’ve done it a couple of times- the unreliability and inconvenient scheduling is what made me stop; I got tired of missing my kids’ school functions because I couldn’t rely on the train to be on time enough or empty enough to get me there appropriately. My current job is near the rail, more or less. About a half-mile or so. I live about a mile or so from the station. It was still inconvenient time-wise, and unreliable. My old job had a bus stop in front of the building, and one at the end of my street. But for whatever inscrutable reason, that 8.8 mile bus route took about an hour. It was 30 minutes to drive, and I wasn’t on someone else’s schedule. I could go eat lunch, do errands, etc.. at lunch, and I didn’t have to do it on foot. If your area is one where public transit is well developed, it’s great. I’ve ridden it in many cities, and places like NYC, Paris, and London are fantastic. But other places like Dallas are not so great unless you’re commuting, and even then, it’s centered around the suburbs-to-downtown Dallas axis, with little options to go elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2026, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-are-a-luxury-item-and-you-might-be-in-a-bubble/1033041/115 "2026-09-19T15:49:32Z")
And why does Dallas, home of oil money, invest more in roads and parking structures than in public transit? I live in the burbs, and when i worked downtown i drove to the nearby train station and took the train the rest of the way. Mostly, because parking downtown cost significantly more than parking at the commuter lot plus the train fare. But also, i liked being able to read on the train, and not have to pay attention to the sluggish traffic. It’s mostly about cost, i think. When cities invest in space to park cars, people will drive. When they invest in trains, people will take trains. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2026, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-are-a-luxury-item-and-you-might-be-in-a-bubble/1033041/116 "2026-09-19T15:59:12Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I never said that. And “five plus thousand dollars a year” seems a bit extreme. I’m not seeing where you get that from- assuming your car is paid off, and you don’t have any major maintenance to do, you’re probably looking at roughly half that, the vast majority of which is gasoline. For what it’s worth, [AAA estimates](https://www.aaa.com/autorepair/articles/breaking-down-the-cost-of-car-ownership) the _total_ cost of car ownership at about a thousand dollars per month. And for those who live in urban areas and have to pay for parking, the cost can be considerably higher. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2026, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-are-a-luxury-item-and-you-might-be-in-a-bubble/1033041/117 "2026-09-19T16:02:08Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > It’s mostly about cost, i think. When cities invest in space to park cars, people will drive. When they invest in trains, people will take trains. No it’s not: it’s primarily about urban form: when people like to live in low density single family housing and the places people want to travel to are scattered all over the car is the only viable transportation method. But if people live in medium to high density places and jobs are concentrated in a limited number of areas (the central business district, etc) then mass transit works. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2026, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-are-a-luxury-item-and-you-might-be-in-a-bubble/1033041/118 "2026-09-19T16:10:35Z")
> [@bump](#): > > It’s not some shadowy cabal preventing people from riding it Well, one never knows: > **[General Motors streetcar conspiracy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_streetcar_conspiracy)** > > General Motors (GM) and related companies were convicted of monopolizing the sale of buses and supplies to National City Lines (NCL) and subsidiaries, and are alleged to have conspired to own or control transit systems, in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act. This suit created lingering suspicions that the defendants had in fact plotted to dismantle streetcar systems in many cities in the United States as an attempt to monopolize surface transportation. Between 1938 and 1950, Na... ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2026, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-are-a-luxury-item-and-you-might-be-in-a-bubble/1033041/119 "2026-09-19T16:14:05Z")
> [@bump](#): > > And “five plus thousand dollars a year” seems a bit extreme. It isn’t extreme at all. I pay $4,200 just for insurance and I’m a low mileage mature driver with a sedate $6,000 Subaru. $200 a year to the state for taxes and registration, $300 for two oil changes. That’s $4,700 annually without a drop of gas or a lease or car loan payment, to say nothing of the inevitable repairs or tire replacement, etc. Two tanks of gas a month used to be $125, getting us up to $6,260 annual expense _before_ amortizing in purchase price or those inevitable without much warning repairs. Average used car payments this year are $542 monthly, average leases are $617. Adding a loan payment in brings us to $12, 764 a year without repairs beyond oil changes. _$12,764 Annually._ ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2026, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-are-a-luxury-item-and-you-might-be-in-a-bubble/1033041/120 "2026-09-19T16:34:59Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > Arthritis has gotten to both me and my wife, so walking is difficult, but both of us are capable of driving a car to the grocery store or doctor. I have arthritis in my knees, and that is why I walk a lot. Can’t run because that would damage the joints, but walking strengthens the ligaments and muscles that support the joints. If there’s some reason where I can’t walk for a couple of days I _really_ notice the deterioration. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-are-a-luxury-item-and-you-might-be-in-a-bubble/1033041.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cars-are-a-luxury-item-and-you-might-be-in-a-bubble/1033041.md?page=7)