At what age do you consider a vehicle to be old?
By firecracker
@sacmom (14192)
United States
August 18, 2015 7:03pm CST
My husband and I have never had a brand new car. We've always gotten them used (aka previously owned).
As it is, my husband bought our current car when it was already 4 years old (the mileage was around 50,000).
Even though that may be old to some, we considered it new to us. lol
5+ years (and almost 100,000 miles) later, people are shocked when they find out how old our car really is! They never seem to believe it. They always think it's a brand new car! lol
What can I say, my husband and I (although more my husband than I) have taken care of it through the years...and it shows. Still, neither of us consider it new anymore. After all, it's over 9 years old! lol
What about you? At what age do you consider a vehicle to be old?
18 people like this
20 responses
@flpoolbum (2978)
• United States
19 Aug 15
A car is to old when the cost of fixing the car is more expensive than you're willing to put into it!
2 people like this
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
22 Aug 15
We're the same as you, we always buy older vehicles. We haven't had anything under 5 years old since my husband leased a truck back when I first started dating him. We won't do anything with monthly payments, so we get whatever we can get for cash, and it's usually a 10 year old vehicle. We've had my van for 2 years now. It's an 01. It was great when I got it, but now it's starting to show it's age and the rust is getting pretty bad. A few months ago hubby bought a 2000 convertible. It's a very nice looking car and runs great.
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (166976)
• Boise, Idaho
19 Aug 15
I would think five or six years would be old. Especially now days with all the technology break throughs and such. My last car was a 1991 Subaru. Ran well until I benched it in 2013. But I did keep up on the maintenance.
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (166976)
• Boise, Idaho
19 Aug 15
@prashu228 No, I said 'a' car would be. Mine did fine.
@prashu228 (37524)
• India
19 Aug 15
@celticeagle Friend , your car is still new , and you are saying it will be old after 5 or 6 . Then my car will be new for life time , don't ask me how .
1 person likes this
@sacmom (14192)
• United States
19 Aug 15
@celticeagle My husband and I know the importance of keeping the maintenance up, so hopefully our car will last as long, if not longer, then your Subaru did. 
@AbbyGreenhill (45494)
• United States
19 Aug 15
We have never kept a vehicle longer than 4 years, and that was just once. We trade them in while they still have a good trade in value.
1 person likes this
@sacmom (14192)
• United States
19 Aug 15
I wish I could do that. Unfortunately, I don't have that kind of money! 
lol
lol@AbbyGreenhill (45494)
• United States
19 Aug 15
@sacmom We can't buy a new car outright, but with a good trade in we can. We worked our way up to doing this.
1 person likes this
@bunnybon7 (50973)
• Holiday, Florida
20 Aug 15
i consider them old when they just quit and can no longer be fixed any more
1 person likes this
@kiran8 (15348)
• Mangalore, India
23 Aug 15
9 years is still young , because my car is 18 years old and in good running condition , although we have a newer car both me and my husband have two old cars which we bought 18 years ago, when they were new! We have emotional attachement to both our cars, same model (Maruti 800) but in different colors , so we use it almost every day for all our requirements.. I feel bad and angry 
when someone calls it an old junk !!!!
when someone calls it an old junk !!!!1 person likes this
@sacmom (14192)
• United States
23 Aug 15
Aw. I have no problems with someone calling my car old. I have more of a problem with people thinking that my current car is new. It always seems to give them the wrong impression and has even caused problems and tension between some of my family members. Needless to say, it's been rather frustrating and stressful because of it.
ETA: As much as I love my current car, sometimes I wish we never got it.
ETA: As much as I love my current car, sometimes I wish we never got it. 1 person likes this
@cupkitties (7421)
• United States
19 Aug 15
If you need a team of horses to pull it, it's probably too old
1 person likes this
@much2say (55607)
• Los Angeles, California
19 Aug 15
Hmm . . . to me it's old when it starts to have too many problems I don't want to deal with! Hey, if a car has been well maintained, then it's perfectly good no matter what the age! I had a 1990 that was about 8 years old when I got it and the previous owner took seriously good car of this car. I wasn't that good about it, but still it lasted me til last year! But we felt it was time to not put any more into it (and I'm not complaining, we never had major problems). It was over 20 years old!!
1 person likes this
@sacmom (14192)
• United States
19 Aug 15
You make an excellent point! My husband and I had an old '91 pickup that we sold when it was 17 years old. Although we only had it for a few years, the original owner made sure to always get it serviced. So, even though it wasn't too pretty by the time we got it, it ran like a champ...until one of the hoses got a pinhole in it. If only we would have known...the head gasket wouldn't have blown! lol
lol
@Bluedoll (16773)
• Canada
19 Aug 15
I've heard people say to me that you are only as old as you feel. In the case of cars it might be it is only as old as long as it runs? What gets me about cars is they cost but if you sell them they don't always sell for as much as you put into them. I guess that is the age things again.
1 person likes this
@prashu228 (37524)
• India
19 Aug 15
@sacmom hi friend , I think around 5 years the vehicle seems to be old , but the fact is the Vehicle become Old after day 2 itself for me . I want to change my car which is with me for over 5 years , trying to save for a new one .
1 person likes this
@sacmom (14192)
• United States
19 Aug 15
You consider a car to be old just after 2 days? You're joking, right? 
Anyway, good luck saving for a new car!
Anyway, good luck saving for a new car! 
@TexanTornado (5573)
• United States
19 Aug 15
I think for me it has more do to with the amount of mileage and condition in which it is in. We usually keep our vehicles for 8-9 years. My hubby's truck is almost 9 years old, but still looks brand new. He wants to trade it in for a new one, mainly cause when it starts with the mishaps, it's harder to get parts and become more expensive.
1 person likes this
@TexanTornado (5573)
• United States
19 Aug 15
@sacmom Yes, like most things after so many years things start to become obsolete. So then they have to special order it, wait for it to come in, etc.
1 person likes this
@Shellyann36 (11384)
• United States
19 Aug 15
My husbands F-100 was made in the 70's. It is almost as old as us. Have no idea how many miles is on the thing since the odometer only goes up to 99999. It runs pretty darn good (knock on wood!) I have a 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee that we bought used. It gets us from point a to point b so I am thankful.
1 person likes this
@allknowing (136446)
• India
19 Aug 15
When you see a newer and better model passing by
1 person likes this
I think they're really old when they use the term vintage, but even when they are vintage they can be in excellent shape. 
oh how I wish I were a mechanic, I'd love to get a vintage pickup. 
@Cristi_Ichim (3743)
• Bucharest, Romania
22 Aug 15
I think that if we paint it and clean it from time to time it will look like new but it won't act like that. I think that a vehicle is old after about 8..9 years of use.
@akdch2 (10)
• Varanasi, India
19 Aug 15
Being an automobile design engineer,I think I can answer your question more technically.first of all the life of any automobile part depend on its life cycle which is related to its endurance limit/fatigue strength calculated by the manufacturer obtained by performing fatigue test on it under ideal conditions.so the life may not be larger than mentioned by manufacturer except cases where automobile is less used or handled extremely well.But in most cases we use it roughly,so it is always less than the calcuted,somewhat three fourth.I can think life of car depend on engine and safety equipments.However proper tests of automobile is the only way to know its life.
@bunnybon7 (50973)
• Holiday, Florida
20 Aug 15
@rosekiss thats all that counts i think. keep it as long as possible these days not much choice less you are rich. lol
1 person likes this
@rosekiss (30414)
• Eugene, Oregon
19 Aug 15
I have a 2004 Pontiac Bonneville. It has always run perfectly, although I have had to have maintenance done on it. Since I live alone, I take it to a professional to have the oil changed and any manintenance it needs. I take it to a car wash to get it washed periodically, which I need to do again, but all in all it runs and gets me where I need to go.
2 people like this
@rosekiss (30414)
• Eugene, Oregon
20 Aug 15
@bunnybon7 I am certainly not rich, and can't afford a car every few years. There are some that do though, and they must be loaded.
1 person likes this
