What is the useful life of a car

When we change cars is something very difficult to determine and an issue in which many circumstances converge, from our economic situation, to the use we give to the vehicle, going through the situation of the automotive sector, which can lead to there being or no help for the acquisition.

In any case, as a general rule, we should not wait for the car to be scrapped to get rid of it. In we explain what is the useful life of a car .

Maintenance expenses

You can tell if your car has reached the end of its useful life when the cost of a repair plus other periodic maintenance and insurance costs are approximately 80% of the cost of a new or second-hand car. In these cases we will already have clear that the useful life of our car is finished; since in a few months it will be more expensive to maintain it than to have bought us one.

To provide tangible data, we can point out that after eight years of life of a car, although we have not done many kilometers, we must begin to make calculations about whether we should buy a new car. It is time, then, to think about changing car and assessing to acquire a new one whose maintenance costs are not high and allow us to enjoy a vehicle in perfect conditions.

The mileage to know the useful life of your car

Another indicator that can help us know if a car is in good condition or should already be changed, is mileage. The more a vehicle is used, the more it wears out and, therefore, the more damage it can suffer; So, the kilometers traveled by the car can also help you determine its useful life.

In relation to this issue there is a lot of controversy because this data is very relative depending on the brand we are talking about, as well as the horses or the quality of the product. However, to offer an average, experts indicate that from 320, 000 kilometers should begin to assess the possibility of changing vehicles.

The years of the car

To know what is the useful life of a car you can also look at the year of registration or, which is the same, the age of the car. A current vehicle usually has an average duration of about 14 years because, during this period, it covers the mileage that we have indicated above.

However, surely you know someone who has a car of twenty years and still works well. This happens because, surely, it will not have used it hardly and, although its motor is old, it has not been worn out by the use.

Of course: repairing a car with these characteristics is usually more expensive because there are parts that are no longer manufactured. The same happens at the time of having to pass the ITV since, at present, there are controls of factors that before were not watched as much as it is the case the CO2 emissions of the vehicle. In this other article we tell you what is reviewed in the ITV.

External factors that affect the life of the car

In the useful life of our car there are also external factors, such as the aid that the Government can have to buy new vehicles and reactivate the sector. Thus, if we verify that over the years our car consumes a lot of fuel or forces us to change tires too often, and we have the opportunity to buy a new one more profitable in this regard, we can take advantage of the vehicle to change.

You also have to bear in mind that the more years a car has, the less its value will be in the second-hand market. So, if your goal was to resell the vehicle, you have to know that it is best to try to do it when, even, it is in good condition and has not reached the age or mileage that already indicates that it should change.

In this other article we discover when you should change your car so that you have some important aspects in mind.