'It keeps running, so we keep driving it:' People are keeping vehicles longer than ever
"That old car's worth money!"
Remember the Victory Auto Wreckers' vintage advertisement depicting a hapless man watching his ancient sedan falling apart?
Old cars are still worth money, but instead of being junked, millions of Americans are keeping them.
The average auto age in the U.S. is an unprecedented 12.5 years, S&P Global Mobility reports, and some Daily Herald readers outpace that number.
Why hold on to your car? Thrift and love, they explain. Because a car is more than a possession - it's a friend that got to the hospital fast, powered through the snowstorm and endured loads of screaming carpoolers.
Leslie Murray, the proud owner of a 1999 Ford Expedition, was tempted by the new 2023 Expedition at the Chicago Auto Show.
"It is a very nice car but also comes with a price tag of over $70,000! Thanks to my mechanic (he is wonderful) and my being diligent with basic maintenance, the (1999) car runs beautiful. It has always been garage-kept and is rust-free."
When she bought the car, it was the latest Eddie Bauer model, "totally loaded with many bells and whistles," Murray noted. "My favorite part of the car is that the pedals can be moved to make my driving it easier since I am 'height challenged.'
"Unless I win the lotto, I will probably keep it. With the high price to replace the car along with high interest rates, a car payment rivals a mortgage payment!" the Prospect Heights resident said.
Likewise Greg Roemelt, whose wife owns a 2002 Honda Odyssey minivan, said "it keeps running, so we keep driving it.
"If anything major were to fail, we would replace it, probably with another new Odyssey. We've visited the Honda dealership and keep current on pricing and options for the newest vehicles."
Ultimately, "my wife really likes her 2002. I keep telling her (jokingly) we could do a 'resto-mod' and get it back to new-car condition with updates to the entertainment and safety systems," the Arlington Heights resident said.
Auto expert Tom Appel of Palatine explained "a lot of people decide to sell a car when it starts to make them mad."
But that's happening much later in a car's lifetime, said Appel, Consumer Guide Automotive publisher.
"One of the things that has happened in the last two decades is that cars have become much more reliable and less expensive to maintain (although) not less expensive to repair.
"If you're doing the easy stuff, the oil changes, there's not a lot more you need to do. With fewer valve jobs or broken water pumps, "people feel less compelled to sell a car."
Meanwhile, after pandemic and economic issues shrunk supplies, customers can kick actual tires in showrooms instead of ordering online. At Packey Web Ford in Downers Grove, Greg Webb finally has 25 popular Ford F-150s in his lot.
With vehicles returning, there's a fringe benefit. "Everybody has incentives and some of them are considerable," Webb said. He recently sold a Ford Explorer with 0% interest for 48 months plus a $1,000 rebate.
Vehicles are more expensive than before COVID-19, but "that also raises the price of trade-ins considerably," Webb said. A car that might have lost 30% to 40% of its value three years ago as a trade-in now is assessed at losing 20% to 25%, he estimated.
Reader Carrie Pasquesi held on to her minivan for 18 years but had to let go last month.
"The air conditioning went out and repairing it would have cost more than the car's Blue Book value," she said.
One more thing
If you're hankering for a car that could last forever, Appel recommends a Toyota Corolla or Honda Civic. "People are generally good to those cars," he said. "They buy them to keep them, and I think it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy."
One new trend caused by more people ordering cars is a color splurge, Appel said. While dealers typically stock neutrals like white, black and gray, "we're starting to see more red and blue and green on the road."
Got an old car that's still going strong? Drop an email to mpyke@dailyherald.com.
Gridlock alert
As part of ongoing construction, IDOT is closing ramps to the inbound Kennedy Expressway at the following roads: Irving Park, Sacramento and Webster. Closures start at 6 a.m. Monday; ramps should reopen in two weeks.