Average vehicle age

[Jeep_Rat]

The average age of vehicles on U.S. roads has been rising for decades as cars grow ever more durable and expensive.

 

The average age of a car on U.S. roads rose to 12.1 years in 2021. The average age had been 11.9 years in 2020. In 2002, the average age was 9.6 years.

 

There was a time when drivers didn’t expect to get more than 100,000 miles out of their cars at the most. These days, however, it is not unheard of for cars to last 200,000 or more.

16% of the Toyota Land Cruisers on the road have at least 200,000 miles on them.

 

[JustEmptyEveryPocket]

Your post just made me do some math. My oldest daily driver vehicle is 1985. The newest vehicle I own (my wife drives it since its the nicest) is a 2005. On average my vehicles are OVER 25 years old.

 

I can't stand all the electric BS on new cars, not to mention sightlines are terrible (sunken cockpit anyone?) and the price makes it almost impossible to buy outright. Shrug, I'll keep my beaters going as long as I can. Then I'll buy more old, rusty, broken beaters and keep driving them. I wonder how long I can keep that cycle going? 

[75sv1]

Kind of fitting on a Jeep board. I see a fair number of XJs on the road. Look at other makes. I use to see some MB W123's around. Now mine gets a few looks. My oldest is a 75. Newest a 2015 Volt. I will agree with the cost of new vehicles. 

[Pete M]

tallying up all the "running" rigs at our house they average out at 20 years old.  but the average age of the daily drivers is 12 yrs (with 2 at 100k and 1 at 200k).  guess we're average then.  

 

the million mile mopar warranty really helps out with the piece of mind on the youngest ('16 durango).    I can't imagine owning a new-ish thing without it. 

[scguy]

I'm at 19.5 model years old average and ~260k mile average. 

 

89 Comanche - 218k miles

04 Sierra 1500 - 285k miles

06 Pilot - 326k miles

11 Odyssey - 211k miles (just picked up Saturday)

 

 

[Jeep_Rat]

[mjeff87]

Excluding my wife's ride (she always has a new car, but.....she pays for it, not me), I DD a 2001 Focus and/or a 2002 KJ.  I'd jump in either one right now and drive either to Florida and back if I had to.  

[olddude]

Oldest is my MJ 32, newest 2015. Average 19.5. But that really doesn't tell the story does it. At age 79 I probably want be buying another new car. I'll just drive them intil the wheels fall off. 

[PCO6]

This is a good year.   Together my 4 Jeeps turn 100.   

[oldmanche]

So just my wife and I have four ranging from 1988 to 2003 - average is 26 yrs.  Add in others I own but kids drive - 8 total and includes the a 2011 Outback and we average 23 yrs old.

[Minuit]

29 year average for me. 27.5 for the ones I would have absolutely no qualms driving cross-country tomorrow if I had to. Newest vehicle in the family is a 2008.

[FrankTheDog]

Average age of our fleet is 13.75, 

Average mileage is 151,250

2018 Accent stick 85k

2006 WK auto 207k

2005 Mazda 6 wagon stick 153k

1998 XJ auto 160k

 

The mazda 6 was my daily driver until a week ago but it has a skip of some sort and a code about an air intake leak or some such. So now the WK is my daily. I just did a bunch of maintenance work on it though so it should be sound.

[tugboat95]

I used to trade cars regularly at 100k. They were worn out. My daily driver is a 2012 Ram with 102k miles on it. I have no intention of getting rid of it. I'm beating around in my son's old 02 Honda with 168k miles on it. He is now driving my wife's old Impala a 2013 with 98k miles on it. We gave it to him as a graduation present after college. My wife however is the lucky one. She has a brand new Honda Pilot with less than 5k miles on it. Her last three cars were whatever we could afford that met The need to tow a handicap trailer with a motorized wheelchair and her mother could get in and out of. Never what she wanted. After 3 cars and 15 years of that, it's no longer a requirement and I told her to go pick one out, whatever she wanted. The Pilot surprised me, I was thinking Tahoe. The Comanche has 113k miles on it.
I can work on the Comanche and I've had to. The 02 Honda has had numerous repairs that make it a new car and other than the tranny, I've done them. I've never touched a bolt on the Ram or the Impala other than normal maintenance. About 2010 or so, they started making good cars again. And I ain't about to touch anything on my wife's pilot. Too many electronic computer gizmos on it.

89 Comanche
Eliminator
2wd
4.0L
5 speed PukeGoat
Factory Original

[Maveric]

My newest car is a 1995 f250... Then it goes down to my 93 f250 service truck, 1988 jeep comanche pioneer, 1988 mercury colony park wagon, 1973 mercury colony park wagon, 1973 ford galaxie 500 ex cop car, and 1966 mercury monterey breezeway.

Seems like my cars are just getting older, the 66 Mercury is the latest car in the bunch...

 

[derf]

The average age of my vehicles (not counting the parts truck) is 20 years.  But that's skewed by the fact that I have a 2021 Wrangler.  The newest one after that is a 1997.  It has 300K miles on it and is in the process of getting a rebuilt drivetrain since the existing one is shot.

[FrankTheDog]

6 hours ago, Maveric said:

My newest car is a 1995 f250... Then it goes down to my 93 f250 service truck, 1988 jeep comanche pioneer, 1988 mercury colony park wagon, 1973 mercury colony park wagon, 1973 ford galaxie 500 ex cop car, and 1966 mercury monterey breezeway.

Seems like my cars are just getting older, the 66 Mercury is the latest car in the bunch...

 

We had a 65 Breezeway, most people wouldn’t have a clue what that is.

[Maveric]

Drove it from washington state back to Texas, went down highway 89 then route 66, etc... Nice trip through a lot of very scenic road and national parks.

Got a ton of complements and comments, most people think it's a Chrysler, some thought I was very foolish or brave to make that huge of a trip in a car that old.

Other than it leaking oil like the Exxon-Valdez and going through 20 or 30 quarts of oil... Ran beautifully for sitting up for years (yes I had newer tires put on and I checked it out mechanically before hand)

[FrankTheDog]

36 minutes ago, Maveric said:

Drove it from washington state back to Texas, went down highway 89 then route 66, etc... Nice trip through a lot of very scenic road and national parks.

Got a ton of complements and comments, most people think it's a Chrysler, some thought I was very foolish or brave to make that huge of a trip in a car that old.

Other than it leaking oil like the Exxon-Valdez and going through 20 or 30 quarts of oil... Ran beautifully for sitting up for years (yes I had newer tires put on and I checked it out mechanically before hand)

Sounds just like ours before we parked it in 1974. It was plum wore out. It was rusty, leaky and the transmission was slipping and it was leaving a blue cloud behind it. It had 120k on it.

[Maveric]

Ours just needed new gaskets... Took the engine out and resealed it, no leaks now. Only thing that will get upgraded later is the 4 wheel drum brakes with no booster.... And a single pot MC.

 

Going to get front disc with booster off another fomoco full size sedan up to 72.

[buxmj]

We do things a little different but has worked for us. We buy new but keep them until the wheels fall off. My mj I bought new in 89 and it hasn't been a DD for a while but has 268k on it. We also have an '04 Ford Escape we bought new that we gave to our HS daughter a year ago. We called it her car ever since she was born in '04 and now it is hers, broke it in with 244k. My wife has a '15 Nissan Rogue with 82k, most in the first few years, currently she is working from home that car is going to last a long time. A year ago we bought a Hyundai Elantra GT and that is what I drive. I realized that is the first new car I have driven since the mj was new, I usually got the hand me down from my wife but didn't need to upgrade her DD since she doesn't drive that much.