Most American drivers keep their car for more than 10 years

A recent study has indicated that the average age of most vehicles on the roads of the United States is more than 10 years, and 78% of drivers will keep the same vehicle for more than 10 years, while recent vehicles that are kept for less than 3 years account for no more than 5%.

These figures are almost similar to Spain’s average life figures (although the statistics we have are from May, so by now we should be around 12 years on average), which is all the more striking considering the size of the population and the wide variety of different models available on the other side of the pond, as well as a more favourable economy.

A short drive through some streets in this country confirms these data. You don’t see cars as new as they used to be, although, admittedly, most have also shrunk in engine and body size in response to the increasingly prohibitive prices of fuel.

This data comes from one (of many) surveys and should not be taken as definitive. But there is something we should mention so that we don’t believe we are on the same level as them: the difference is that in the US, those who keep a car for more than 10 years do so mostly out of passion, and a small percentage out of necessity. In Spain the opposite happens: fewer and fewer people can afford to say they keep their old car because they like it. The explanation is simple: we keep our old cars and don’t buy a newer one because we simply don’t have the means to buy another.