Bruce Nunnally Posted January 14, 2009 Report Share Posted January 14, 2009 [wall street journal] The average trade-in age for cars has crept upward to 6.2 years in October, up from 5.8 years in October 2007, according to auto industry researcher J.D. Power & Associates. Keeping a car longer usually works for owners because cars last longer and are more reliable than ever. Bruce 2023 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing Follow me on: Twitter Instagram Youtube Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cadillac Jim Posted January 14, 2009 Report Share Posted January 14, 2009 In 1962 I saw a flier that Ford had sent a friend that had a 1960 Falcon. It analyzed cost of ownership of a car as a function of how long you kept the car after buying it new. It dropped quite a bit to the two-to-four-year point, held steady to about four years, then declined slowly thereafter. At 12 years, the cost of ownership was about 10% of the two-year-trade cost, and it started increasing slowly at that point. Pickup trucks (real ones, not the daily driver commuter trucks that sell so well) and other work vehicles tend to stay on the road for over 10 years because real business decisions are made in disposition of these vehicles. Individuals are another matter; I once saw someone persuaded to trade in a car because the battery was dead and batteries are expensive; I found out when they caught me changing the battery in my motorcycle and they were perplexed, and asked "Isn't the battery just like in a car?" I replied "Yes" without elaboration or inquiry out of politeness. A couple of weeks ago I put the 4th battery in my Cadillac, which is now 12 years old; yes, I bought it new. Also, I have found that a lot of people are afraid to own a car that is out-of-warranty, don't know where to take it for service other than the dealer, and think that if it needs an engine or transmission it is junk. And, if there has been an accident that deployed the air bags or required wheel alignment, they think it is junk. My plans are to keep it another three or four years and to decide what to do then. I would like something more modern, like a CTS with direct injection V6, particularly a two-door. But, we'll see what the world looks like in 2013 or so. -- Click Here for CaddyInfo page on "How To" Read Your OBD Codes-- Click Here for my personal page to download my OBD code list as an Excel file, plus other Cadillac data -- See my CaddyInfo car blogs: 2011 CTS-V, 1997 ETC Yes, I was Jims_97_ETC before I changed cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAUL T Posted January 15, 2009 Report Share Posted January 15, 2009 But, we'll see what the world looks like in 2013 or so. According to the history channel the world is going to end in December 2012, so you better start looking now!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarrenJ Posted January 16, 2009 Report Share Posted January 16, 2009 But, we'll see what the world looks like in 2013 or so. According to the history channel the world is going to end in December 2012, so you better start looking now!! OMG! You used up all my emoticons. 8=) There is no means of avoiding the final collapse of a boom brought about by credit expansion. The alternative is only whether the crisis should come sooner as the result of a voluntary abandonment of further credit expansion, or later as a final and total catastrophe of the currency system involved. - Ludwig von Mises Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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