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>People used to buy a car for life. When? The 1940s? We know this isn't true, based on the existence of older cars, today. I'd put money on a barebones car

>People used to buy a car for life. When? The 1940s? We know this isn't true, based on the existence of older cars, today. I'd put money on a barebones car of today outlasting nearly anything of the past.

adrian_b 2y ago
My father has used a car bought in 1973 for about 35 years, most of which it has been used daily for going to his office, while in vacations it has also been used on many mountain roads of very bad quality. When he has stopped using the car, that has been more because the driver was worn off, not the car. Obviously, during all those years the car has been repaired many times, but in almost all cases by himself and only a few times at a car workshop. Similar lifetimes have been typical for many other things bought during the seventies, like washing machines, TV sets and other such household appliances. The products designed for short lifetimes have become widespread mostly after 1990 and especially after 2000.
- technothrasher 2y ago
  I can't speak for Germany, but in the US the average age of personal vehicles has been consistently increasing from 5.6 years in 1977 to 12.6 years in 2024. (Data from Summary of Travel Trends: 1995 Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey, and 2024 IHS Markit Co., Average Age of Light Cars and Trucks in U.S)
- vanviegen 2y ago
  If over the course of a hundred years, you gradually replace all of the wood that makes up a ship at least once, is it still the same ship? That was easier to do with 70s cars than with modern cars of course. I agree that consumer products in most categories have become throwaway crap in recent decades. But quite a few cars, at least in my experience, are still built to last.
taneq 2y ago
Agreed. When I was a kid (80s/90s), a 15-year-old car was barely worth keeping running and a 20-year-old car was a rusted-out piece of junk. Today a 15-year-old car can be quite nice and there are plenty of unremarkable 20-year-old cars still getting around just fine.
- johnisgood 2y ago
  Could it be because "modern cars" are worse in some ways?

adrian_b 2y ago

My father has used a car bought in 1973 for about 35 years, most of which it has been used daily for going to his office, while in vacations it has also been used on many mountain roads of very bad quality. When he has stopped using the car, that has been more because the driver was worn off, not the car. Obviously, during all those years the car has been repaired many times, but in almost all cases by himself and only a few times at a car workshop. Similar lifetimes have been typical for many other things bought during the seventies, like washing machines, TV sets and other such household appliances. The products designed for short lifetimes have become widespread mostly after 1990 and especially after 2000.

technothrasher 2y ago
I can't speak for Germany, but in the US the average age of personal vehicles has been consistently increasing from 5.6 years in 1977 to 12.6 years in 2024. (Data from Summary of Travel Trends: 1995 Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey, and 2024 IHS Markit Co., Average Age of Light Cars and Trucks in U.S)
vanviegen 2y ago
If over the course of a hundred years, you gradually replace all of the wood that makes up a ship at least once, is it still the same ship? That was easier to do with 70s cars than with modern cars of course. I agree that consumer products in most categories have become throwaway crap in recent decades. But quite a few cars, at least in my experience, are still built to last.

taneq 2y ago

Agreed. When I was a kid (80s/90s), a 15-year-old car was barely worth keeping running and a 20-year-old car was a rusted-out piece of junk. Today a 15-year-old car can be quite nice and there are plenty of unremarkable 20-year-old cars still getting around just fine.

johnisgood 2y ago
Could it be because "modern cars" are worse in some ways?