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Why is that an unreasonable expectation? There are far fewer mechanical parts to fail. Moreover, Elon Musk has announced their batteries can last a million mile

Why is that an unreasonable expectation? There are far fewer mechanical parts to fail. Moreover, Elon Musk has announced their batteries can last a million miles. What's the point of the battery lasting a million miles if the car can't? Sure, I may have to replace the motors but I wouldn't have to expect to do that until at least 250,000 miles and it would be a lot cheaper than buying a whole new car and would be worth it if I knew I could expect to get 250,000 miles out of it. We're flying airplanes that are 30-40 years old. 18 wheel trucks are routinely driven a million miles. I think we need to adjust our expectations that cars need to be replaced every 5-10 years because they're no longer reliable. That's not a wise management of natural resources.

Breza 6y ago
Well said! I tend to drive cars until they stop working. My first car was almost twenty years old and I loved it. Even if I'm not planning to drive a car that long, I still want the option when I buy it and would have a hard time buying something that felt temporary.
chrisseaton 6y ago
> Why is that an unreasonable expectation? Because they clearly don't often last that long in practice. Are you saying you wished they lasted longer? Ok yeah that'd be great... but I mean they don't at the moment you can see that for yourself, so expecting it is an unreasonable expectation. You can expect that cars should last a hundred years if you want... but you're going to be disappointed.
- sundaeofshock 6y ago
  Except they often do last that long. 25% of vehicles on the road are at least 16 years-old [1] and used cars sales far outpace new car sales [2]. Tesla does not need those screens to last 100 years; but it’s not unreasonable to expect at least 15 - 20 years. 1: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/28/25percent-of-cars-in-us-are-at-least-sixteen-years-old----record-high.html https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/28/25percent-of-cars-in-us-are-... 2: https://carsurance.net/blog/cars-sales-statistics/ https://carsurance.net/blog/cars-sales-statistics/
  - o-__-o 6y ago
    A car accident will dramatically shorten the life of a car. Depreciation will determine the average lifespan of most cars. That is approximately 12-16 years
    - curryst 6y ago
      That doesn't impact how long the cards would have lasted. They're basically moot in this dataset because they were eliminated before wear and tear could kill the car.
    - dingaling 6y ago
      > Depreciation will determine the average lifespan of most cars. Depreciation has little relevance to the majority of used-car buyers who need a vehicle, not an investment. They drive it until it can no longer be driven. What is more relevant to the lifespan of a car is durability and availability of parts. For example Honda shared parts between the Civic, CR-V and Integra so they are relatively easy to obtain even going back to late 90s models.
      - Breza 6y ago
        In fact, depreciation is a great thing for used car buyers. It means they pay less to buy a car.
- ProfessorLayton 6y ago
  from 2016, but still relevant: "...about 80 percent of all Toyota vehicles sold over the past 20 years are still on the road today." [1] Used cars are an entry point into an automaker's brand, and they do indeed want their cars to last as long as possible. Furthermore, reliability is a pretty large factor in resale value, and by extension, lease rates. [1] https://pressroom.toyota.com/america-best-selling-car-camry-most-american-made/ https://pressroom.toyota.com/america-best-selling-car-camry-...

Breza 6y ago

Well said! I tend to drive cars until they stop working. My first car was almost twenty years old and I loved it. Even if I'm not planning to drive a car that long, I still want the option when I buy it and would have a hard time buying something that felt temporary.

chrisseaton 6y ago

> Why is that an unreasonable expectation? Because they clearly don't often last that long in practice. Are you saying you wished they lasted longer? Ok yeah that'd be great... but I mean they don't at the moment you can see that for yourself, so expecting it is an unreasonable expectation. You can expect that cars should last a hundred years if you want... but you're going to be disappointed.

sundaeofshock 6y ago
Except they often do last that long. 25% of vehicles on the road are at least 16 years-old [1] and used cars sales far outpace new car sales [2]. Tesla does not need those screens to last 100 years; but it’s not unreasonable to expect at least 15 - 20 years. 1: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/28/25percent-of-cars-in-us-are-at-least-sixteen-years-old----record-high.html https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/28/25percent-of-cars-in-us-are-... 2: https://carsurance.net/blog/cars-sales-statistics/ https://carsurance.net/blog/cars-sales-statistics/
- o-__-o 6y ago
  A car accident will dramatically shorten the life of a car. Depreciation will determine the average lifespan of most cars. That is approximately 12-16 years
  - curryst 6y ago
    That doesn't impact how long the cards would have lasted. They're basically moot in this dataset because they were eliminated before wear and tear could kill the car.
  - dingaling 6y ago
    > Depreciation will determine the average lifespan of most cars. Depreciation has little relevance to the majority of used-car buyers who need a vehicle, not an investment. They drive it until it can no longer be driven. What is more relevant to the lifespan of a car is durability and availability of parts. For example Honda shared parts between the Civic, CR-V and Integra so they are relatively easy to obtain even going back to late 90s models.
    - Breza 6y ago
      In fact, depreciation is a great thing for used car buyers. It means they pay less to buy a car.
ProfessorLayton 6y ago
from 2016, but still relevant: "...about 80 percent of all Toyota vehicles sold over the past 20 years are still on the road today." [1] Used cars are an entry point into an automaker's brand, and they do indeed want their cars to last as long as possible. Furthermore, reliability is a pretty large factor in resale value, and by extension, lease rates. [1] https://pressroom.toyota.com/america-best-selling-car-camry-most-american-made/ https://pressroom.toyota.com/america-best-selling-car-camry-...