Lorraine Explains: Why Consumers Hesitate to Spend on Car Maintenance

Lorraine Explains: Consumers hesitate to spend money on car maintenance

Hanging onto your car can save you money, but not maintaining it will cost you

Author of the article: Lorraine Sommerfeld

How long do you plan on keeping your current car? The idea of consumers hanging onto their cars longer has been gaining traction over the past year or two; we talked about it here. But the same headwinds that might be delaying new purchases are also threatening a blow to something perhaps more troubling: car owners not keeping up their maintenance.

A new report from The Wall Street Journal found the average age of a car on American roads is 13.6 years -- 30 years ago, that number was 8.4. Canada is a little short of that, from the most recent figures available our vehicle age is about 11 years. Our harsher climate may play a role, but our weaker dollar also spurs more exports of attractive used cars.

Some people can't afford a new, or new-to-them, car. Some have announced their gas-powered vehicle will be taken from their cold dead hands. Some people actually believe when we buy an expensive product, it should last. Whatever the reason, we're keeping our cars for longer than ever before. The WSJ report however, is pointing to a troubling trend: some consumers are hesitating not only on spending money to replace a vehicle, but also in some cases, to maintain it. Some aftermarket outfits -- parts suppliers, tires, oil change shops -- are reporting steep drops in sales, and some are taking a hit on the stock market. Tire shops are taking a hit on people opting for cheaper imports, but one round of inferior tires should be enough of a warning for anyone.

There is a laundry list of factors to consider: cars are built more reliably, and they should be lasting longer and require less maintenance. Hauling your new(ish) car back to the dealer for a tune-up (remember those?) every few months is a thing of the past. We expect -- and for the most part, receive -- vehicles that will be worry-free for years.

An odometer churning over 100,000 km is the expected norm. Double and triple that is the goal for many of the stalwart Japanese rigs, and the continued domination by Toyota of annual retained value ratings from Canadian Black Book proves it. That list is a good place to start if you're considering a new vehicle, especially one you intend on keeping.

Maintenance is cheaper than repair

The WSJ piece is direct: many people are keeping their cars out of economic necessity, but they're delaying maintenance for the same reason. Maintenance is always, always, always cheaper than repair, and though any celebration of people not cycling through cars the same way they do paper towels is encouraging, we need to take note of the real reasons people might be doing so. A poorly maintained vehicle is dangerous for owners and other road users. If basic safety levels are compromised, that's a problem for all of us.

Read more HERE

Consumers hesitate to spend money on car maintenance | Driving

 

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