Has anyone ever seen any statistics on how long, on average, a new car is retained by the buyer? For example, I buy a new car about every 8 or 9 years. Has anyone ever seen an estimates for average retention time? This would have to exclude fleet sales to be meaningful.
What I'm really interested in is how the average retention time for individual new car buyers has changed over the past 30 or 40 years.
According to industry statistics, the average NEW vehicle buyer in the US replaces that new vehicle with another new vehicle in three to four years with 45,000 to 60,000 miles on the odometer.
Those that keep their NEW vehicle longer, replace it in seven years with an average of 120,000 to 150,000 miles on the odometer. Only a very small percentage of new vehicle buyers keep their new vehicle longer than ten years.
Over the past en years an average of 15,000,000 million new vehicles have been sold. Highest number in any one year was around 17,000,000
Interestingly the average USED car buyer replace their used car even more often. Only two to three years.
Some replace them every 8 months or so to bring down the average from guys like me who keep their used cars 8 years. And that's after buying them from the guys at the LONG end of the new car owners at about 6.
What's your source for these "industry" statistics?
jeff
If one buys a car that is six or eight years old, they are buying trouble.
Perhaps but the average mileage on a six year old vehicle is around 90,000 miles. On one eight years old it is around 135,000 miles. At what point do you believe one will run into the most repair costs, under 100,000 or over 100,000? In any event, the point of my response was to a question about NEW cars, not used ;)
DUH, the US auto industry LOL
What's your source for these "industry" statistics?
jeff
The most trouble, and the most expensive in dollars per mile of all the cars I have ever owned was the only brand new car I ever bought in
1976.Now I buy them gently used at 6 years of age with 100,000km or less on them for no more than $6000 Canadian and drive them for 8 - 12 years. Except for the one GM vehicle I bought (for a LOT less, with a few more KMs on it, that I only owned for 5 or 6 years,) I have never had $10,000 invested by the time I got rid of them at 200,000+ km.
A few HOURS invested, perhaps - but definitely low cost per mile (when I stll get $1500 to $2000 for them when I get rid of them0
What works well for me is buying lease returns...
Let's remember that I don't pile on a lot of miles...
In 03, I bought my 02 SuperCrew. Hell of a deal - 30,000 kms. Today, the truck has about 80,000 on it. I replaced the battery once, the DPFE under the warranty extension and relined the rear brakes because they were "getting there" and I had the wheels off for a tire rotate...
I bought an old Hertz rent-a-Mustang convertible for my loving bride in
2007. This 2005 car had 13,000 kms on it and I picked it up for a song.One might consider that a one year old car can be spendy - but not as spendy as eating that first years depreciation... I didn't have to live through many brand new car transactions to see that it was far better to let someone else have the new car smell...
Previously, I had purchased a few other lease returns... let's make sure we know that these are company expected lease returns and not motivated delinquent payment leasae returns... and have never been disappointed.
MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.