Average age of American cars hits 11 years old
#1
Moderator
Thread Starter
Average age of American cars hits 11 years old
Per the Detroit Free Press:
http://www.freep.com/article/2013080...verag-age-polk
The average age of cars is hitting 11 years despite growing new car sales. Thoughts?
Personally, I'm driving a nine-year old car now because nothing new is worth trading up for, but the S is pretty special.
http://www.freep.com/article/2013080...verag-age-polk
Spoiler
Personally, I'm driving a nine-year old car now because nothing new is worth trading up for, but the S is pretty special.
#2
Cars in the last decade are certainly better than previous generations so if you are tight on funds you keep driving it. Expanding sales are coming after low penetration since 2009 and an expanding population of drivers.
I had my last two family cars each last over ten years before reliability concerns pushed me into a new car. My S2000 is almost 14 years old and will continue as my car.
Just the marketplace realities if this period.
I had my last two family cars each last over ten years before reliability concerns pushed me into a new car. My S2000 is almost 14 years old and will continue as my car.
Just the marketplace realities if this period.
#3
Autoblog had a poll for that article, and over 50% of the readers that replied said their cars were either: 0-3 years old or 4-6 years old, haha.
#4
Site Moderator
My S is 8 years old, my other cars seem to get swapped out almost yearly.
8 years for the S is the longest I've owned any car, doesn't mean it's the best car I've owned or most reliable but I like keeping it around.
8 years for the S is the longest I've owned any car, doesn't mean it's the best car I've owned or most reliable but I like keeping it around.
#5
Stagnant wages + inflation mean people will drive their cars longer. The price of used cars is at the point that I'm surprised so many people buy used vs. new. Perhaps it's due to them being unable to get financing? A 5 yr old honda civic that sold for ~$17k OTD new is selling for ~$12k+ these days. Why anyone would buy a used one over a new one makes little sense to me. Buying a cheap/decent beater car can't really be found easily for a few thousand bucks like years ago.
I agree many 90's yr model cars were very well built (especially hondas), but the new vs. used argument strongly favors new IMO (not considering luxury cars).
I agree many 90's yr model cars were very well built (especially hondas), but the new vs. used argument strongly favors new IMO (not considering luxury cars).
#6
Community Organizer
No surprise.
The wealthy is 2% of all people - so that leaves 98% as the rest - that is a LARGE percentage of people, with a ton of them not able to keep up with inflation and rising costs of new cars over the years.
The wealthy is 2% of all people - so that leaves 98% as the rest - that is a LARGE percentage of people, with a ton of them not able to keep up with inflation and rising costs of new cars over the years.
#7
I usually prefer buying nicely cared for used cars, though I wouldn't hesitate to buy a new BRZ if the engine was more robust and if Subaru honored their warranty commitments. I've thought about selling my M3 at times, but it's hard to justify doing so when I think of what I could buy new for what it's worth. It's super reliable and trouble free, so none of the BMW stereotypes have applied so far.
Trending Topics
#8
Stagnant wages + inflation mean people will drive their cars longer. The price of used cars is at the point that I'm surprised so many people buy used vs. new. Perhaps it's due to them being unable to get financing? A 5 yr old honda civic that sold for ~$17k OTD new is selling for ~$12k+ these days. Why anyone would buy a used one over a new one makes little sense to me. Buying a cheap/decent beater car can't really be found easily for a few thousand bucks like years ago.
I agree many 90's yr model cars were very well built (especially hondas), but the new vs. used argument strongly favors new IMO (not considering luxury cars).
I agree many 90's yr model cars were very well built (especially hondas), but the new vs. used argument strongly favors new IMO (not considering luxury cars).
In any rate, just shows that people are pinching where they can, hey if they can save a few grand and toyotas run FOREVER right? 100K, save a few grand, deal! I remember looking for my gf's tC the second time around, if we didnt find the exact one for that price that day, we would've bought new.
#9
I'm not helping anytime soon. One of my cars, the R500 I specifically went looking for when Mercedes took the R-Class out of production. I wanted a loaded V8 example which meant 06/07 since the V8 was discontinued after that. I found a loaded 07 with very low mileage as a Mercedes CPO car. Bought it. Planning on keeping it for 10 years. It suits our needs perfectly. Much better than a truckish SUV. It only sees maybe 6,000 miles per year.
The SLK55 is another example of going for a certain model year. I wanted the McClaren pointy nose of the R171 generation. And I wanted the monster brake package with 6 piston fixed calipers up front and 4 piston fixed calipers in the rear with slotted, drilled, and ventilated rotors on all corners. That was only offered in 05/06. Hence I picked up a loaded 06 with 29,000 miles and love it. The folding hardtop and manumatic fit my needs perfectly once again. The car only sees about 8,000 miles per year. It's another 10 year car for me.
My wife's Infiniti G35x is an 08 that we bought new. It once again suits my wife really well and sees maybe 8,000 miles per year. We'll probably keep that for the long term as well.
For me, cars have become so good in terms of performance, reliability, and durability that new models don't really offer a lot of real world value. There's just not that much to entice me to buy a new car. It would likely be something subjective rather than any real qualitative difference that would get me to jump. And the latest generation of touch controls and voice command systems will not be that thing.
The SLK55 is another example of going for a certain model year. I wanted the McClaren pointy nose of the R171 generation. And I wanted the monster brake package with 6 piston fixed calipers up front and 4 piston fixed calipers in the rear with slotted, drilled, and ventilated rotors on all corners. That was only offered in 05/06. Hence I picked up a loaded 06 with 29,000 miles and love it. The folding hardtop and manumatic fit my needs perfectly once again. The car only sees about 8,000 miles per year. It's another 10 year car for me.
My wife's Infiniti G35x is an 08 that we bought new. It once again suits my wife really well and sees maybe 8,000 miles per year. We'll probably keep that for the long term as well.
For me, cars have become so good in terms of performance, reliability, and durability that new models don't really offer a lot of real world value. There's just not that much to entice me to buy a new car. It would likely be something subjective rather than any real qualitative difference that would get me to jump. And the latest generation of touch controls and voice command systems will not be that thing.
#10
Per the Detroit Free Press:
http://www.freep.com/article/2013080...verag-age-polk
The average age of cars is hitting 11 years despite growing new car sales. Thoughts?
Personally, I'm driving a nine-year old car now because nothing new is worth trading up for, but the S is pretty special.
http://www.freep.com/article/2013080...verag-age-polk
Spoiler
Personally, I'm driving a nine-year old car now because nothing new is worth trading up for, but the S is pretty special.
I'm happy.