Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Cars Are Getting Old

Here's an artifact of the difficult economic times we're living in: The average age of all the light vehicles on the road is up to 11.2 years as of 2012, according to a study done by automotive research firm Polk. Back in 1995, that same number was just 8.4 years. It just crossed over the ten-year mark in 2008.

Part of that can be attributed to cars and trucks that are simply built better these days, and as a result, they have been lasting longer. But it also indicates that as the economy improves, we could see more and more people trading in their clunkers for new vehicles.

We've started to see that already. Motor vehicle dealers report that they have seen their sales jump by 15 percent since 2011.  Business has been good for auto parts supplies as well, who have been furnishing the replacement pieces to keep those older cars on the road.

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