Why The American Car Fleet Is Getting So Old

Shocker, when new car prices are no longer in the price range of the average American people stop buying them 😱

only in America would having a reliable vehicle that serves for a long time be considered a bad thing.

Back in 2006, I had a car that had a 8 year old car with 100K miles on it and needed a new transmission. I had it repaired. At that time it was $2000 and the repairman was surprised I went thru with the rebuild. He said I should just get a new car, I told him this was paid off and one shot at $2000 is a lot cheaper than a down-payment and 3 years of payments on a new car. I finally did get rid of the car in 2016, after 18 years. Kudos to the mechanic, that transmission never failed after that rebuild. I'd say best 2 grand I spent.

They glazed over how important it is that vehicles today (and even past the late 90's) are built with far better reliability than they used to be. I know they said it is not uncommon to hit 160k-200k. but i dont think they gave the build quality any credit for this. If cars arent breaking, of course people will stretch them further.

As long as a vehicle is serving you reliably, safely and comfortably, WHY go into debt over a new one???

The reason why a lot of people are not buying cars is because going to the car dealer is one of the worst things the average person has to deal with in their life.

My 1978 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am has 348k+ miles on the original engine. The rest of the car has been restored except for the engine. My Firebird currently holds the record as the highest mileage Pontiac Firebird Trans Am with numbers matching, and quite possibly the highest mileage non-restored Pontiac 400 engine (13 million cars were sold with this engine), which was last documented at the 27th Annual Trans Am Nationals back in 2012. My father won an award for this weird record, and the placard hasn't left the car in over 10 years. For those wondering, we've documented every single maintenance record and the binder is about 6 inches thick, it includes every single receipt, invoice, and so on.

Another reason why I want to delay any need to purchase a new vehicle for as long as possible - just not wanting to deal with dealership BS. I hate car dealerships and their shady sales people so much, just about every person I know who's bought a new car recently has been screwed over with some BS hidden fees or unnecessary insurance/warranty.

The liberation of driving your car without another payment is very alluring. As much as I want to upgrade to a more comfortable, modern car with automatic cruise control, it's still not as comfortable as not having a monthly payment again.

Stuffing cars with the latest technology is a big part of the problem. I don't want to pay an extra $3k for a GPS navigation system that costs the car manufacturer $50, and will fail after 5 years.

I bought my first new car in 2018 with negative equity. Kind of a bad situation. During the car shortage I turned it in to a dealer who paid off what I owed. I was free and clear, so I bought a house and a 2005 Cadillac with 40,000 documented miles for 8,000.00. Couldn’t be happier.

Another thing about getting cars to last is to take care of little problems before they become big ones. I briefly had a 92 Camry which I got when it was 20 years old. My son totaled it when I'd only had it for two weeks. 😞 I'd probably still be driving it today. A young coworker who was carless was given a 92 Camry with less than 100k on it. It has died the death of a thousand cuts. She "couldn't afford" to get the small problems taken car of. So now she's put herself $25,000 in debt with a five not on a "new used car" and is complaining about her car payments. An investment of just a few grand in her Camry would have had it up to snuff.

The simple answer is that new cars are way over priced. Most cars have doubled or tripled in price in the last 10 years. Our wages haven't increased enough to keep up with inflation.

God the media is so unbelievably out of touch with the working class and their troubles.

My 98' corolla is still kicking. love that car. Take care of her oil changes and tire, she'll never let you down... Unlike my previous car, a Pontiac van. Expensive to fix that carp and it still left me on the side of the road twice.

When I was a kid in the 90s my parents would get a “new” vehicle every 5-7 years. After about 2008, however, they were only able to afford used cars. I have only purchased used cars because I have never been able to afford a new car…unless I were to sacrifice rent, utilities, or food. 😄 I bought a 2017 Accord last year when it was years old, because a) I was reluctant to spend more $ on a newer Accord, and b) until Honda makes a more aesthetically attractive Accord, I think I’ll stick with the better looking option. 😂

You gotta love how out of touch high level managers are with reality. People cant afford new cars that cost 40k, it really is that simple.

I'm just about halfway through this video, and they have yet to talk about stagnant wages and rising costs of literally everything.

2008 Volvo V50 2.0D It amazes me how often people tell me my car looks really nice, thinkin it's a recent Volvo. But it's already a 15 years old car ! I'm glad we make long lasting cars, this is the true way to follow for the eco-transition !

I own a 97 ford ranger it has 294k miles and still runing strong 💪