Average Age Of Cars On US Roads Keeps Rising To Record Levels
https://www.motor1.com/news/667459/average-age-cars-us-2023/
2023 was the sixth consecutive year of increase in the average vehicle age of the US fleet.
DB2
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The average age of our 2 car fleet is 16. No plans to buy or sell anytime soon. Annual cost for transportation has been around $4000-5000 lately.
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My daughter used a mapping app while traveling in a foreign city. She popped in one ear bud and as she walked it told her the directions. Nice.
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I tried using a Garmin device while in a big city in Europe, maybe Paris or London, it took forever to sync to satellites was useless, really, so we reverted to maps, learned to carry a compass, too… Not like today’s GPS/Waze, Apple Maps, Google Maps… Venice was tough, even with paper maps, caused a ;to of angst trundling luggage from train station to the hotel, they eventually sent some one to find, guide us, that first day, once we figured out how to use a pay phone! Adventure!
Here’s a table showing all of the vehicles that I’ve owned and bought new, following “my own math" and regimen, operating and maintaining these vehicles for the long term, I.e., religiously changing the engine oil - the vehicle’s life blood - and filters on a timely basis, getting regular tuneups, checking all fluid levels, balancing and rotating tires and so on.
| Bought | Years Owned | Miles Driven | Transmission | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CURRENT VEHICLES OWNED | ||||
| 2010 Toyota Camry LE 4-cylinder | NEW | 15 yr. | 70,000 | Automatic/front-wheel drive |
| 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo V-8 | NEW | 28 yr. | 187,000 | Automatic/rear-wheel drive |
| 1982 Mercedes Benz 300 Turbo Diesel 5-cylinder | NEW | 40 yr. | 400,000 | Automatic/rear-wheel drive |
| PAST VEHICLES OWNED | ||||
| 1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo V-8 | NEW | 2 yr. (a) | 150,000 est. | Automatic/ 4-wheel drive |
| 1987 Toyota Cressida inline 6-cylinder | NEW | 10 yr. | 150,000 est. | Automatic/rear-wheel drive |
| 1977 BMW 320i 2-door 4-cylinder | NEW | 10 yr. | 150,000 est. | Manual/rear-wheel drive |
| 1968 Volvo 122S 2-door coupe 4-cylinder | NEW | 10 yr. | 150,000 est. | Manual/rear-wheel drive |
| Note: | ||||
| (a) Jeep stolen at the San Diego Zoo parking lot; had a LoJack but never found |
The table also shows my long-time bias/preference for rear-wheel drive vehicles, i.e., all except for the 1994 4-wheel drive Jeep and the 2010 front-wheel drive Toyota Camry.
We bought the new 2010 Toyota Camry LE 4-door sedan with the new 2.5-liter, 4-cylinder base engine and the new 6-speed automatic transmission at a very attractive low price, using the Costco Auto Buying Program and taking advantage of the CARS Program (Federal “Cash for Clunker” program) that gave us a $3,500 credit for my daughter’s qualifying used car. My wife was the buyer and my daughter the co-buyer. Thereafter, my daughter drove the Jeep until I bought her a new 2016 Mazda 3i 5-door Sport sedan as a gift for earning her BS Nursing degree and passing the NCLEX.
Although I am in good health, I recognize that my driving days are dwindling and for now plan to keep the Toyota as my last car and am considering selling the Mercedes and donating the Jeep that would eliminate costs for maintenance and auto insurance. I get notes left under the MBZ windshield wiper to call a number if I’m interested in selling the car. My MBZ has its original 5-cylinder turbo diesel engine and its original transmission both operating very well. I get 25-29 miles per gallon of diesel fuel. I’ve never experienced algae growth in the fuel tank. Another consideration is that in California the availability of type 2 diesel fuel has been shrinking. Union 76 now offers only 95% bio-diesel and Berri Brothers only 30% biodiesel, both of which are not recommended by Mercedes-Benz and my MBZ repair shop for my diesel vehicle. I buy my diesel #2 fuel from Chevron stations, currently selling for $5.35 per gallon.
https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=EMD_EPD2D_PTE_SCA_DPG&f=W
My Jeep’s original V-8 5.2 liter engine and original automatic transmission are both operating well, but gets only 15 miles per gallon.
Although my Mercedes has been hands down the best operating, most reliable vehicle, my most favorite vehicle is the 1968 Volvo 122s coupe with the popular British racing green exterior color. After the car warranty expired, I did my own oil and filter changes and tune-ups using a Chilton’s Repair and Tune-Up Guide manual. I had an auto repair shop change the brakes and tune and balance the Weber twin/dual SU carburetors. My vehicle had a Volvo B18B engine described as follows at the Hemmings.com website:
Volvo owes at least part of its legendary reputation for durability to the B18 engine, the inline-four that proved itself capable of rolling up interstellar mileages at a time when getting 100,000 miles out of an engine was unheard of. Introduced to power the company’s new P-1800 coupe, the B18 was eventually offered in the 122S and PV-544, as well. Road & Track called the engine “the most understressed unit we have seen in many years,” presciently adding, "Certainly, the engine will take a lot more than is being asked of it at present.”
My Volvo was fun to drive, a 4 banger with a manual transmission with about a 2-foot long gear shift extending from the interior floor. When I bought this car, I was an Ensign officer (O-1) in the U.S. Navy, making only a couple hundred bucks a month and with no credit history. Fortunately, a senior Navy officer directed me to the Navy Federal Credit Union that provided me an auto loan at a very low interest rate and to the United Services Automobile Association (USAA) that back in 1968 offered only auto insurance to a membership of only U.S. military officers. Since then, I continue to be a member of both NFCU and USAA - 54 years.
For those interested, here’s a video of a refurbished 1968 122s coupe that looks exactly like my Volvo except its a rare automatic:
BTW, I bought and picked up my new 1977 BMW 320i 2-door sedan with manual transmission at the BMW Munich, Germany factory for a month-long motoring tour of Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, France, Belgium and The Netherlands, where I dropped the car off at the Rotterdam port for shipment to Los Angeles with new BMWs.
Regards,
Ray
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That Volvo was a terrific car, and yours was simply gorgeous.
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(who had a friend in college with an ugly beat up slate gray version of same and who let me borrow it if i helped him do maintenance…)
Well done ! I’m pretty impressed with 400,000 miles on a vehicle !
2000 VW Jetta currently on offer in metro Detroit. Listed at 392,196 miles. The irony is this generation was not known as being particularly reliable or durable. There are several Mk 5 Jettas: 2008-2010, with over 200k miles on offer.
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Remember “The Saint” TV series (1962-1969) starring Roger Moore as Simon “The Saint” Templar, a wealthy adventurer and 20th-century Robin Hood who travels the world in his white Volvo P1800S, solving unsolvable problems and righting wrongs?
Here’s a 2/06/2024 TOPSPEED article: The Highest-Mileage Car In The World In 2024: .
SUMMARY
• Irv Gordon’s Volvo P1800S [my note: 1966 with a Volvo B18 engine] has covered an incredible 3,250,257 miles in 52 years, making it the highest mileage car in the world.
• The Volvo’s durability and longevity were largely attributed to its original transmission, which survived the entire distance without breaking down.
• Irv’s meticulous maintenance and careful driving played a crucial role in achieving such a high mileage, with the car requiring minimal repairs during the first 500,000 miles of ownership.
———————————
For the next five decades, Irv drove as much as possible, covering the equivalent of 120 laps of the planet or seven round trips to the moon in his little Volvo, breaking and re-breaking his record three times to stand out as the all-time highest mileage car in the world.
(Snip)
While the engine had a rebuild at 675,000 miles and again just shy of three million miles, the engine block itself was still original which gives credit to the team behind the engineering at Volvo. With zero at-fault accidents during its lifespan and only regular maintenance work keeping it running for so long, it begs the question; was it the car or was it the meticulous care of the driver, Irv?
For those interested read on at the website.
After Irv Gordon passed away, Volvo now owns the car and still drives it rather that putting on display in some museum.
——————————————
BTW, my brother-in-law owns a 1968 Volvo P1800S and was working on it today when I took these photos.
His other two cars are long-term keepers:
• 198(?) BMW 635 CSi (E24) 2-door coupe
• VW Van shown in the above photo next to the Volvo (don’t know the year or model)
Regards,
Ray
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I’ve never hit the 400K mark, but have run a few miles on PUs, buy near 100K, give up around 200K, as far as cars, a '70 Ford Maverick, bought new, held on for a bit over 300K, 3 speed stick, 300" inline 6 cylinder, just right, tires went bad from age, not wear… Current '06 F150 I bought at 60K, now has about 180K on it, but a lot less driving… Our Civic may have 120K, gifting it to a grandson, replaced with a Toyota RAV4 Hybrid, no worries as far as range, will outlast us both… Super upgrade in technology, safety, got lucky to fine loaded Limited, still have to look stuff up… But it’s getting the bulk of our driving now… Still need that F150 just brought home a load of rock n dirt… Each rock bag is 75#… Whew…
And after hauling them into they yard, beginnings of what we intend…
look at all of that room in the engine compartment !
That is an amazing story about the 3 million mile Volvo !
There is a new law coming to the UK and Europe generally that forces manufacturers to install speed inhibitors
From July 6, every new car and van sold in the EU must be fitted with an automatic speed limiter in a bid to tackle speeding.
Dangerous IMHO. My Q5 has about 10,000 miles on it and is for keeps
A thing rolling toward us in the US is a system to detect impaired/sleepy drivers. iirc, it becomes mandatory somewhere around 26.
My car already has that feature!
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