3 ms·

Do people really keep their vehicles for decades?

toast0 6y ago
It doesn't really matter if people keep their vehicle for decades, because people usually sell their old vehicles for use by others when they get a new (to them) vehicle. What you want to know is the average life of a vehicle (or average age of the fleet), not the average period of ownership. I'm sure that varies by country; IIRC Germany has punative taxes on registering old cars, so their average age should be a lot less than in the US where registration tax usually is based on value, so goes down as the vehicle ages. I seem to recall average fleet age of about 20 years in the US.
- alaxsxaq 6y ago
  The average age of operating automobiles in use within the US is closer to 12 years. The registration fee (annual renewal, not initial registration) in the US is based on vehicle value in 8 states by my count. On a personal note, me and most of the people I know think more in terms of miles than years. I figure every car I buy is good for 200,000 miles and most of the brands I favor have another 100,000 miles of life beyond that before repairs exceed some loosely calculated rate of return.
  - kgermino 6y ago
    > On a personal note, me and most of the people I know think more in terms of miles than years. I think that partly depends on how you drive and where you live. I'm in a snowy climate: my engine might have no problem going 250,000 miles, but there's virtually no chance the body is drivable after 30-40 years of rust. With that, I tend to buy a car in years, for example: "I'm hoping to have this for the next 6 years".
pmlnr 6y ago
Yes. I have a 2004 Toyota Avensis. I fully own it; no loans, no leasing.
- yostrovs 6y ago
  You haven't used it for decades yet. Decades start at 20 years. They just start there. If people used their cars for 40 years, then it would apply more honestly.
yread 6y ago
Average age of a car in the Netherlands is 14 years. So, yes
- yostrovs 6y ago
  Is 14 years considered decades now?

It doesn't really matter if people keep their vehicle for decades, because people usually sell their old vehicles for use by others when they get a new (to them) vehicle. What you want to know is the average life of a vehicle (or average age of the fleet), not the average period of ownership. I'm sure that varies by country; IIRC Germany has punative taxes on registering old cars, so their average age should be a lot less than in the US where registration tax usually is based on value, so goes down as the vehicle ages. I seem to recall average fleet age of about 20 years in the US.

alaxsxaq 6y ago
The average age of operating automobiles in use within the US is closer to 12 years. The registration fee (annual renewal, not initial registration) in the US is based on vehicle value in 8 states by my count. On a personal note, me and most of the people I know think more in terms of miles than years. I figure every car I buy is good for 200,000 miles and most of the brands I favor have another 100,000 miles of life beyond that before repairs exceed some loosely calculated rate of return.
- kgermino 6y ago
  > On a personal note, me and most of the people I know think more in terms of miles than years. I think that partly depends on how you drive and where you live. I'm in a snowy climate: my engine might have no problem going 250,000 miles, but there's virtually no chance the body is drivable after 30-40 years of rust. With that, I tend to buy a car in years, for example: "I'm hoping to have this for the next 6 years".

pmlnr 6y ago

Yes. I have a 2004 Toyota Avensis. I fully own it; no loans, no leasing.

yostrovs 6y ago
You haven't used it for decades yet. Decades start at 20 years. They just start there. If people used their cars for 40 years, then it would apply more honestly.

yread 6y ago

Average age of a car in the Netherlands is 14 years. So, yes

yostrovs 6y ago
Is 14 years considered decades now?