Car longevity and total cost

*The bottom line is this: The total cost of operating a car over its full lifetime can be 3+ times what you spend on gasoline alone*
**Car longevity** is of interest to many car owners and concerns several things: maximum service life in either mileage or time (duration), relationship of components to this lifespan, identification of factors that might afford control in extending the lifespan.

Barring an accidental end to the lifespan, a car would have a life constrained by the earliest part to fail. Some have argued that rust and other factors related to the body of a car are the prime limits to extended longevity.

## Background

An automobile is a highly engineered collection of complex components, each of which has its own lifespan and longevity characteristics. The MTBF (mean time between failures) of some components is expected to be smaller than the life of the car, as the replacement of these is considered part of regular maintenance. Other components, which typically experience less wear, are expected to have a longer life; however, a large longevity may very well require replacement of several of these, raising issues of economics.

The motivation for pursuing longevity can vary. The economic trade-off of the remaining value versus repair cost is usually considered when deciding to repair or discard. Other factors, such as emotional attachment or a desire to reduce waste, may also be involved.

The life of the auto, as the collection, follows, according to a very common model, a bathtub-like pattern. After an initial phase, where failure because of design and manufacturing defects as opposed to wear-out, is more likely (hence the offering of the warranties by the dealer), there may be a long period of unlikely failure. The maximum lifespan and future value as a classic for any car are typically not known when the car is purchased. Research into longevity of vehicles will improve the ability to predict car life, with such things as a life table for cars.

## Statistics

According to the New York Times, in the 1960s and 1970s, the typical car reached its end of life around 100,000 miles, but due to manufacturing improvements in the 2000s, such as tighter tolerances and better anti-corrosion coatings, the typical car lasts closer to 200,000 miles.

* For a $20,000 car the cost per mile is 10¢ per mile (not including gas, new tires, maintainance...etc).

* If a delivery route is 100 miles per day 5 days a week then the car will travel 26000 miles per year and would only last 7.5 years (assuming that it is never driven for any other reason).
	+ Minimal car insurance is about $1000 per year. Full car insurance can be more than twice that. Thats $15,000 over 7.5 years or 7.5¢ per mile.

A $50 oil change every 5000 miles costs 1¢ per mile. A tune-up will cost more but isnt needed as often.

New tires may cost $600 every 40,000 miles or 1.5¢ per mile

The average fuel economy for new 2017 model year cars, light trucks and SUVs in the United States was 24.9 mpg (9.4 L/100 km).

* If gasoline is $2.50 per gallon then the cost per mile is 10¢.

In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency assumes the typical car is driven 15,000 miles per year (13 years).

* Maintenance on a 10 year old car can easily be $500 per year. (Used cars are cheaper to buy only because they are more expensive to operate.)

## Factors related to longevity of vehicle

Sikorsky and others, have developed lists that itemize steps that a car owner can take, or identified operating and maintenance rules, to ensure maximal longevity.

1. Regular oil changes
2. Monitor the key fluids
3. Maintain the transmission
4. Change the spark plugs as needed
5. Replace the timing belt as recommended (if applicable)
6. Replace air filter as required
7. Know and use your maintenance manual
8. No sudden starts and stops
9. Keeping a plentiful supply of low cost replacement parts.
In a public economics sense, Kasmer argues that retrofitting autos with a newer transmission would extend the lifespan while at the same time increase fuel efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and prevent the sudden influx of discarded vehicles into the waste bin as cars are junked to be replaced by a modern vehicle. However, with replacement parts for modern cars becoming ever more high tech, expensive and proprietary and therefore difficult to obtain (due to OEM copyright), many critical components are no longer available at low cost from third party aftermarket suppliers. Due to this fact, most modern cars can no longer be maintained once repair cost of the car exceeds the resale value. This trend has led to the modern cars being labeled as the first ever "disposable" cars.

## See also

* Internal combustion engine
* **Car longevity and total cost**
* Tune-up
* Oil change
* Fuel economy
* Milage deduction