America Sets a New Record for Old Cars

[ALS]

Experian says more than 52 million cars and trucks in America are 16 years or older.

Phil Lebeau - CNBC - June 27, 2012

Feel like you're driving an old car? You're not alone. In fact, the average age of vehicles in the U.S. has hit a new all-time high. Experian Automotive says the average age of the 245 million vehicles registered in the U.S. in the first quarter of this year was 11 years.

That's an increase of just over 2 months compared the first quarter of last year.

What's behind the increase? Part of it is because the recession and sluggish recovery forced many people to put off buying or trading-in for a new or used car. Another factor is the fact cars and trucks are built to run longer. That quality improvement picked up momentum in the early '90s. Now, many of those cars and trucks are 13 to 22 years old, and yes there are millions of them still on the road.

... [Read More]

[MaxxMPG]

That 13-22 year old span means "built in the '90s". And yes, there are still a bunch of them out there. Those older than 16 years are 1995 and older, meaning no OBD-II and a lot more pollution from these older cars.

The car in the photo brings back memories, as I had a 1995 Pontiac GranDammit sedan for six years. It was typical GM - Dirt cheap to buy, with a steamer-trunk-full-of-incentives at purchase time, the 3.1L V6 and 4T60 powertrain team was indestructible, going over 160k miles with nothing but a new set of plugs, one fluid/filter change for the trans, and routine oil changes. The rest of the car? Funky cloth and hard plastic inside that wore well but looked like it would be more at home on an amusement park ride. And the squeaks from the dash would make you think you had a flock of hummingbirds swirling through the car. But the squeak eliminator - a button on the center dash called VOL - could be turned clockwise and then you couldn't hear the squeaks anymore.

Many of the trades at local dealers are older cars, most of them being on their last legs, so to speak. For now, it appears that the people who trade into something new every few years are the minority in today's market.

[PaleMelanesian]

A car 16 years old? Mine's a 96, so it's the first year of required OBD-II.

At 195,000 miles, it has rattles. A number of moving parts rattle, like the handbrake release button. The non-moving parts are still silent.

AC is broken.
Need new right axle boot - clunk clunk on corners. Summer job.
"squeak eliminator" volume knob is flaky - might go silent or super loud if you dare touch it.
I replaced the cracked catalytic converter, so it IS a clean car.

It fits me like a well-worn glove. I love this car.

[08EscapeHybrid]

The average age of my fleet is much older...

81 Buick - 31 years
86 Chevy - 26 years
98 GMC - 14 years
00 GMC - 12 years
06 Harley - 7 years
08 Ford - 5 years

Average age: 15.8 years.

[Jay]

It's true about newer cars lasting longer. One of the more expensive failures on my '93 Civic was the distributor. My '02 Acura doesn't use a distributor. The CV joint boots were toast on my Civic after 7 years--ten years and counting for my Acura and the boots are OK.

Maintenance intervals, especially valve adjustments and spark plug replacement, are much much longer for my '02 Acura.

[chilimac02]

I'm about on target then - if the average is 11 yrs. It also depends on the vehicle. You are seeing less of the late 90s to 2000 explorers on the road. Its because the suspension, power steering and A/C are all about worn out on those things. That's why I got rid of mine.

My 2001 Accord drives like the day I got it. No complaints, and no real rattles at 160k miles. It smells vaguely of burnt oil, but never leaves any spots and nobody has found the "leak".

[RedylC94]

Originally Posted by Jay

It's true about newer cars lasting longer. ... The CV joint boots were toast on my Civic after 7 years--ten years and counting for my Acura and the boots are OK. ...

On another hand, the original joint boots on my '81 car lasted about 13½ years and 300K miles. I doubt there's been any radical improvement in them in a long time. Their life depends on what they're exposed to and how they're treated, as well as time and distance.

[Chuck]

It's hard to beat the mpg on a 5-speed 2000 Honda Insight, so the plan is to restore it and drive it for more years.

[joesgot4]

i have two 2012 hyundai accents (the black pearl and the grasshopper) and a 1999 ford ranger xlt my ranger has 180;000 miles and runs good,
radio doesnt work anymore but thats it

[bullwinkle428]

Perfect timing for this thread - not 30 minutes ago, I actually saw a CHEVY CHEVETTE pulling out from the side road where my workplace is located! I wanted to pull the guy over and congratulate him on having a Chevette that's still in working order!