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Ultimately! I am above average.
Or at least my car is.
The average age of vehicles on US roads is 12.1 years, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
I find that surprising. Not the age of the cars – but that there is a Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Someone needs to keep track of how many orange barrels of traffic are left so we don’t run out.
The official standardized formula – which I just invented three minutes ago – for converting car years to human years is to multiply by five. That makes the average car 60.5 years old, humanly speaking.
I drive a 2003 sedan with 280,000 miles on it. My wife rides in a 2003 SUV that has traveled 250,000 miles. At 18.5 – 92.5 in a year of car conversion – our cars are on the verge of becoming crumpled, squeaky clunkers – I mean ‘classics’. Like us.
The Bureau of Transportation Statistics indicates that in 1969, the average age of a car or van on American roads was 5.1 years. In 1990, he was 7.6 years old. In 2000, the average rose to 8.9 years; in 2010, 10.6 years; and last year, 11.9.
Today our average cars are in the top 12 and are reaching their teens.
This means that today, if you walk around in a flashy model from 2015 or 2016, you are arrogant. We above average folks wouldn’t think of driving something so new.
(Actually, I think about it all the time. I especially think of a brand new Corvette, maybe in fast blue or torch red. But my rain-cloudy gray bank account tells me to think again. I stay under it. water and above average.)
This is where it gets the craziest – according to vehicle tracking company Black Book, used vehicle prices have soared 30%.
Remember what you learned about depreciation and how your new car lost value the moment you took it out of the dealership? Not anymore. Some used cars are selling for more now than they were in new condition.
I did not invent. People would rather pay more for your old scrap than buy new for less.
The Associated Press reported that the price of the original sticker on a 2019 Toyota Tacoma SR double cab pickup was just under $ 29,000. Now dealers pay close to $ 30,000 for used Tacomas and sell them for over $ 33,000. Used!
Experts blame the coronavirus pandemic (why not?), Which has caused a global shortage of computer chips needed for installation in new cars to properly ensure that your “check engine” light comes on on your board on board.
Unfortunately, the dealers don’t seem to want to pay me $ 30,000 for an 18.5-year-old wheezing. But once they turn 25, Ohio cars can be registered as historic vehicles. Then it’s off to the ancient artifact market – I mean, classics.
A few years ago, I received my Golden Buckeye Card, which is sort of the historic license plate for humans. Not only am I above average, but now, just like my car, I am maturing to be a true classic. Old.
As one philosophical t-shirt says, “It’s weird being the same age as the elderly.
Unlike the great philosopher Yogi, I may not be smarter than the average bear, but I am definitely above average.
Anyone want to buy a used classic car?
Contact the Above Average Columnist (aka “Relicâ€) at burtseyeview@tribtoday.com or www.burtonwcole.com.
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