Oh really now? How Young People Are Endangering the Car Industry

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

For some reason, younger Americans are buying fewer of the vehicles sold in the United States and old people are buying a larger percentage. As of 2017, more than half the new cars bought in America were by people over 55 years old. Within three decades, many of those people will be off the road, and they may not be replaced at all.

New research by the Green Car Congress looked at cars and light trucks sold by buyer's age in 2007 and 2017. In the earlier year, 31% were bought by people 55 and older. That number was 52% in 2017. Worse for the industry, in 2007, 13% of cars sold in America were bought by people 65 and older. That number rose to 27% in 2017.

At the other end of the spectrum, in 2007, 45% of cars sold in 2007 were bought by people under 45. That figure was only 28% two years ago.

The American car industry has sold over 17 million cars and light trucks for five years in a row. This year may be the sixth. Most of the worry about the auto business is that a recession will damage the total. Another worry is that, as cars last longer, people will turn them in less frequently. That number is now 11.8 years for cars currently on the road and has gotten longer as time passes.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news/how-young-people-are-endangering-the-car-industry/ar-BBWOKsz?li=BBnb7Kz

[DBoon]

1. Maybe young people are more economically insecure than prior generations

You make less, you buy less

Your income is OK, but may not be OK tomorrow, you won't borrow money for major purchases

40 years of stagnant wages has consequences.

[Igel]

6. It'll be a lot of reasons.

Older people buying cars for their scions.

Younger people not feeling the need for mobility when they have T-Mobile. My high school used to have a huge waiting list for parking permits, privileging those who carpooled. This year the waiting list was miniscule and the parking lot is never actually full--many of those on the waiting list don't claim their spot. Instead, there's a long, long line of parental units depositing and retrieving their offspring before and after school.

With greater millennial concentrations in urban areas there's less need for a car, as well.

People are also letting their cars age better. In fact, I finally saw the first potentially convincing argument for a Tesla recently. An analysis of electric cars in fleets showed that (for now, at least) they have significantly lower maintenance costs, ignoring the relative pricing of gasoline versus electricity as the power source. Instead, they found that the fleet cars easily went 300k or 400k miles and still hadn't been retired. New batteries, tires, brakes, sure--but no oil changes or expensive engine repairs. If the decrease in car prices continues and the maintenance expenses really do turn out that low, then if you keep your car for years the up-front expense might be worth it. (No, the study didn't look at present net value of funds expensed, nor at the possibility that wear and tear over years might be different from wear and tear on vehicles that run up 200k miles in a year. I'm a low-mileage driver. My '77 Nova was disposed of in 1991 with 70k miles on it. Our Cavalier was totaled by an idjit after 11 years on the road and 60k miles. I'm driving a vehicle from 2001 with 75k miles. Keeping a vehicle until it reaches 400k miles ... sorry, I'm not sure my '77 Nova, had I kept it from the dealer's lot in '77 to the present, would have reached 400k by now, and nobody's going to want to keep their cars for 42 years or longer. I said "potentially convincing argument", after all. And I don't like the corporate subsidy given to Tesla because Musk was a rock star or because government really needs to preach and convert me to its one true path. That a car *needs* to go 400k miles to reach the breakeven point tells me that it's not a fiscally sound investment. I wouldn't invest in the businesses with those cars in their service fleets.)

[LittleBunny]

10. Today's cars do last a lot longer, particularly reliable Japanese brands.

I'm old enough to remember the horrible American cars during the 70s and 80s. They'd get 60,000 miles on the odometer and were falling apart. Headliners torn, dashboards cracked, door welds separating, rust holes in the fenders, you name it. A Toyota today with 60,000 miles on it is barely broken in.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

43. What I'm noticing is how few miles you put on your cars.

I'll spare you the details, but I put at least 12k miles per year on my cars. Often more.

Last year I traded in my 2004 Honda Civic with at least 150k miles for a 2017 Honda Fit with 12k miles. I'm up to almost 30k miles after a year.

Here's something else that I think matters. While driving a car for several hundred thousand miles is a worthy goal, another thing to keep in mind is advances in technology. The difference between my 2004 Civic and my 2017 Fit is astonishing to me. I am more than glad to be driving the newer car. For one thing, it goes at least 10k miles between oil changes. It tells me what kind of mileage I'm getting. I've got the headlights set so they come on automatically when it gets dark enough outside. I have a back up camera as well as one on the passenger side mirror. Wow. I can really see what's going on around me.

As for electric cars, they've been widely praised here. But until I can get one for the cost of a two year old Honda Fit, no thank you. I do not spend that much money on a car.

[Drahthaardogs]

21. The new Jeep Grand Wagoneer us $87,000

Who can afford that? Car prices are ridiculously high these days. They snooker people into leases and 84 month loans.

It's bullshit.

[Blue_true]

32. I am surprised that a Jeep, even fully decked out costs $87,000.

I looked at a fully loaded Shelby Mustang Cobra earlier this weekend, that was $95,000. But the Cobra is a substantial car also, I just can't imagine a Jeep being in that vicinity.

[Blue_true]

30. I tend to go with your synopsis.

Plus AI is taking a lot of the white collar jobs that young people used to fill.

[raging moderate]

2. ,

HEY, MILLIONAIRE CEOS!

Here is a piece of news. When you don't let people get money, then they can't buy stuff!


You guys took too much of the profit. Give some of it back. Raise the wages of working people.

[keithbvadu2]

18. Henry Ford paid enough that many of his employees could afford the products they were making.

Henry Ford paid enough that many of his employees could afford the products they were making.

[Blue_true]

33. He was a vile racist and hated Jewish people, but on employee wages, he was ahead of his time. nt

[brush]

3. Uber Lyft have an impact on that, as well as pre-owned sales. Why go to...

the expense of a new car that devalues as soon as you drive it off the lot when you can get 2-3 year-old, dealer maintained pre-owned with a new car warranty for half the price of a new car?

Or not buy one at all and use Uber/Lyft with no down payment, big monthly bill, maintenance/insurance/gas/parking etc. costs.

[Jake Stern]

7. Read a piece about how it's actually cheaper

to use Uber/Lyft than own a car in places like NYC and DC.

[Wounded Bear]

20. I'm tempted to try that, and I'm in my 60's...

Can't afford to buy a replacement car, and the insurance is a burden, too.

Get crappy mileage on what I have, though the miles I drive are pretty small overall.

Don't have the app yet, partly because my CC's are kind of hurting. If I can get my balances down, I might just more that direction, but hard to do on a fixed income.

I know, first world problems. I have stable housing (more or less, anyway) and can feed myself, so not as bad as many have it.

[Blue_true]

35. The big issue is garaging. That can be very expensive in big cities.

Plus, those places have excellent mass transit and markets are a short walk away from most people's homes, so a car is not required on most days.

[uponit7771]

22. +1, ten yr old cars that look and work fine is a norm now

[Blue_true]

34. Some people prefer a new car.

If you are buying a muscle car, buy it new, same for most luxury cars. Now trucks, those are good secondhand purchases.

[MineralMan]

4. My wife and I bought a new car this year.

I'm 74, and she's 63. We traded in our 7-year-old car on a new one of the same make and model. Like most people, we're making payments on it for five years. who knows? Our new one might be the last one we buy. So, we won't be buying another new one for quite some time. We did buy a 23 year old Ford Ranger pickup, though. Stuff to haul away.

Why do older people buy more new cars? Because we can and because we need to replace an older one. Still, I see that people under the age of 45 are buying cars, too. They must need a new car, same as us old geezers.

Cars do last longer these days. That's good. They're better than they used to be, which is also good. People who have a car in good condition don't need a new car, so they don't buy one. They will, though.

[Codeine]

9. I'd like to pick up a used Ranger

but they really hold their value. They don’t get “cheap” until they’re largely used up.

That’s here in California where trucks aren’t as ubiquitous as in other areas, of course.

[MineralMan]

15. There's a glut of them here

They made them in St. Paul. Mine, though, is 23 years old, and has 277,230 miles on it. So, I have only about $1500 invested in it. It runs great, though, isn't rusted out, and has new brakes, new tires, and a new exhaust system. In California, it would be about twice that much, if it would smog. Here, we don't have smog checks

[keithbvadu2]

19. As I get/got older, I need a more reliable car than when I was younger and could work on them.

As I get/got older, I need a more reliable car than when I was younger and could work on them.

[MineralMan]

24. Good point. That's why I bought my first new car in 2012.

Another one this year. I'm a good mechanic, but no longer interested in working on cars. So, I don't, although I'll do some stuff on the pickup. Even there, though, I'll have any difficult work done.

[MurrayDelph]

28. I'm 66

Three weeks ago, I traded in my 9.5-year-old Prius after 151,000 miles (and evidence of rodents) for a new all-wheel drive Prius.

I the idea of a Tesla, but I frequently commute between L.A. and Portland, and the recharge factor isn't sufficient for my needs.

[MineralMan]

29. Hybrids make sense where you are.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

44. Ahhh, yes. The recharge factor.

I make fairly long drives several times a year. To drive 200, maybe 300 miles, then spend six hours recharging the car. . . hmmm. Especially when the end point is over 600 miles from home. Spend three days driving . . . no thank you. Until an electric car can recharge in under 30 minutes I'll stick to a gasoline car.

[Blue_true]

36. People in cities and many surburbs can get by without a car.

If one takes into account insurance, daily parking fees, garaging at home, a car in an urban area becomes a big monthly expense that a lot of people avoid.

[Jake Stern]

5. Get the cost of college back down

To where a summer job could pay a years tuition and books and we can start to tut tut young people.

[uponit7771]

23. +1, college cost is disgusting

[Codeine]

8. Well they can't fucking afford them, can they?

It just hit me the other day that my kids will probably be living here forever because they’ll be priced out of their own apartments or houses.

[lunatica]

11. I've been a reactionary boomer buying foreign cars for decades

Honda’s mostly.

[KentuckyWoman]

12. Blame the boomers.

I'm not being sarcastic.

As the boomers age out and stop driving, or pass on, a lot of nice, well cared for used cars are on the market. When we sold our 2nd car it had 30,000 miles and was 6 yrs old. A sweet deal for the young couple that bought it.

Add in the economics faced by the under 50s - not a lot of people are going to want to pony up for a brand new car hot off the assembly line.

China and India are the markets of the future. In fact the demand is so high I understand buyers load up containers with stolen cars and cars refurbished after floods etc, and ship them off to China and India.

[SonofDonald]

13. My children and nieces and nephews

All bought used lease returned vehicles in the last five years, it's the way to go

My eldest nephew just picked up a 2017 Ford Fusion with 17,000 miles on it for $20,000, I drove the exact same model with the "Platinum" option and the sticker was at $36,000 new

That's a huge savings in two years and the car was maintained at the dealership
Since day one, can't beat that.

They are all in their early thirties and explain to me they don't want to work just to pay off a car loan, they have other things to do with their money like buy a house and start families.

I'm 60 and I bought a Dodge Diesel truck in 1991, it's got 108,000 miles in nearly 28 years and these trucks lifespans are known to hit 4-500,000 miles

So my grandkids may still be using it, I know it's a diesel but I'm a retired diesel mechanic and I keep it running like it should be, I do realize that we need to start curbing emissions and saving our planet though

I only put 2500-3000 miles a year on it and only use it to haul a fifth wheel around Washington in the summer months

If I lived in the city I would still own a car but not drive it unless I needed to, I drive my normal everyday car only 3000 miles a year right now, I'm retired so no driving every day

I'm already looking at installing an electric setup in my driver, I know to save the planet we have to change

And we'd better get started....

[Blue_true]

37. Do you live in Washington State?

If so, Seattle daily parking fees aren't cheap. Where would you garage a car in Seattle proper, people used to do that on the curbside, but that is no longer an option in some areas. You can garage a vehicle in a parking garage for a monthly fee, but that runs into hundreds or even thousands of dollars per year (in high traffic areas, it is wiser for parking garages to take only daily fee parkers, they make more money per day, except on weekends in some areas of the city (not the popular areas)).

[SonofDonald]

41. Washington yes Seattle no

I have my own garage and own two vintage cars, one is 91 years old the other 72

All my relatives live in the country and I'd have them store them, I'm storing two for relatives right now, both for nephews who don't own a house yet

We're a car lover family

[Blue_true]

46. Rural is a totally different ballgame, there all you need is an acre and a enclosed building

on that acre. I was in New York City one weekday. Some guy literally had a scissor garage on what must have been a space not much larger that a pickup. He was able to garage around 20 cars for the day, the payoff was worth his time. Once when in Miami, I left my rental car at a garage that had car elevators, storing cars over something like 10-12 stories, but it was expensive for me, at the same time there was no other choice.

[SonofDonald]

48. My garage is 45x35 feet

It can hold four cars and a 25 foot fifth wheel and the truck to haul it

I own five vehicles besides the fifth wheel

The two vintage cars were restored by my Father and myself in the late seventies/ early eighties but they've only been driven about 250 miles each total in the last ten years, they are family heirlooms and each have new family owners after I'm gone

Four of my cars were given to me, three from family and one recently from family friends who are in their nineties and no longer drive, I wouldn't own this many cars otherwise

I'm looking at going all electric in my daily driver, a 1998 triple black mustang cobra convertible as we have to do something about the environment and to ignore this is at our own peril

I'd ride a motorcycle but I've been there and done that, it still hurts years later.

One of these days we will no longer be able to ignore what's happening to our environment, hindsight may be 20/20 but we'd better wake up soon before it's too late

They're just cars

[bobbieinok]

14. Mindblowing how obvious facts ignored in 'serious' reporting--'they can't afford new cars!!'

[Hermit-The-Prog]

16. gee, wonder if exploding student debt, healthcare costs, and global warming are factors

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

17. Was this just a study of New car sales?

Younger Americans are generally saddled with more debt after college than previous generations, as the states' contributions decline. So it would make sense that younger people would buy used cars, or get hand-me-downs from older relatives, who are more likely to have the disposable income to buy new cars.

[roamer65]

25. They can't afford the payments and the insurance.

[Blue_true]

38. And in many urban places, garaging cars. nt

[Kurt V.]

26. yip. yip.

[SallyHemmings]

27. The insurance industry saw this ten years ago

This generation learns to drive later for a variety of reasons. More options such as transportation alternatives, nor do they define themselves by their vehicle.

Furthermore, they can’t afford it. They are drowning in school debt.

[The Wizard]

31. Crooked dealerships

and telephones are a factor. Smart phones allow us to reach out without going out and the cost of dealership maintenance on vehicles is prohibitive. More and more people rely on car services like Uber. Insurance is another factor in car ownership.
I worked as a mechanic for dealerships in the 60s and 70s. back then they were dishonest, but with some integrity. Today's dealers are just thieves.
Do not bring your car to a dealership for anything. Many of the recalls are scams to get you in the door so they can sell you unnecessary services, reaching into the the thousands. In ten years dealerships will obsolete. The Internet allows car shopping without the hard sell tactics employed today. Greed played a major role in making automobile ownership too costly and troublesome.
The Tesla model for sales could save the industry, and the internal combustion engine will be history.

[ooky]

39. Almost no one I personally know buys a new car anymore. Young or old.

I guess there are just so many better economical options, and few can afford to add in a whopping new car payment to their budgets already strained by soaring costs of health care, child care, rent, school costs etc. Everyone I know either buys used cars or keep their cars longer. I'm retired and don't drive much and so the expense of a new car makes zero sense for me, even though I could probably afford one if I wanted it. But I have no desire to make such a large purchase, and don't need to. Instead I'm happy to keep driving my 2005 Trailblazer I bought new while I was still working. It only has 86k miles, is in great condition, and at the rate I drive will probably be the last car I ever need. My mechanic says it will probably last past 200K miles and that's a lot of years for my mostly around town driving. I know it all depends on circumstances, but these days there seem to be a lot more better cost options for a lot more circumstances.

Maybe middle income folks would buy more new cars if they got a trickle up tax break instead of waiting for the wealthy's big tax breaks to trickle down. The 1% only need so many new cars. New car dealers might want to think about becoming yacht dealers with the current tax and economic policies.

[Takket]

40. THEY. DON'T. HAVE. MONEY.

Duh............

This is what decades of Reagonomics has done to us. we are STILL waiting for the trickle down. it is NEVER coming.

[meadowlander]

42. Most of the suburbs within reasonable commuting distance of most major cities

are owned by middle aged and elderly people.

So your choice as a young person is pay so much for an apartment you can't afford a car; or spend three hours a day commuting.

I didn't own a car until I was 42. Between gas, insurance, tags, repairs, etc. I couldn't afford it and I always lived in walkable/busable neighbourhoods anyway. The two or three times a year I actually needed a car I just rented one and that was way cheaper than owning even an old beater.

I think in the future carsharing will be a lot more popular as the actual cost of owning a car gets shifted more and more onto the user with higher gas prices and real estate costs.

As a side note I went in a few weeks ago for my 150,000 mile servicing on a car that only has 40,000 miles on it. And I had to struggle to clock that much - including a seven day road trip this year. I often wonder how the "average" person manages to drive so many miles a year. They must spend half their life commuting to work every day.

[maxrandb]

45. The Who explained this explosively 50 years ago

https://m.

[Initech]

47. Shit, have you seen car prices lately?

Any decent fully equipped sedan is going to run you $25K and that doesn't include gas or maintenance. They can go up and up. Nobody has that kind of money right now. Especially graduate students who are strapped with student debt that they will never pay off.