> How is a three year old car aging?

It shouldn't be; depending on source, average length of new car ownership in the US seems to be somewhere in the 7-9 year range, and average length of car ownership (including cars bought used) seems to be ~4 years, and average car lifespan seems to be around 15 years. A car 3-4 years from new shouldn't be “aging”.

That’s a terribly short lifespan IMO. I would have thought the shortest lifespan models to last at least 15 years.

I hope they’re getting sold to Mexico or something, not scrapped.

That's likely what's happening. Owner buys it new, uses it for 7-9 years. Goes to the used market, where it gets 4 years. Maybe a second turn on the used market, and then it gets sold overseas. I hear the Middle East is a big consumer of used cars from the US.

Also, "aging" is going to be heavily influenced by socioeconomic group. For some people, aesthetic damage to the paint or interior is enough to qualify as aging. Other people are more interested in the functionality, and other people are interested in whatever drives. I have friends that consider a 3 year old car to be aging, and I have friends who drive 10 year old cars and think they're just fine.

I do think Teslas (and electric cars in general) are going to have an impact on the used car market, especially on the cheaper end. These batteries don't have tremendously long lifespans, and a replacement often costs as much as a cheap ICE car.

I'm curious if there's going to be any profit in repairing electric cars with new batteries to sell them in Mexico or other parts of the globe, or if we're basically just going to be cutting off part of the used car market. The social impacts of developing countries losing access to a relatively cheap supply of vehicles could be bad.

I think that also includes cars getting totalled early on in their lifespans? That would bring the average down appreciably!

Average for modern cars is 20+ years, hence the 2021 change in odometer reporting regulations. It used to be 10 years before that based on older studies.

https://www.nhtsa.gov/press-releases/odometer-disclosure-req...

Your reference does not actually state anything about the average life of cars, just that reporting mileage is required for cars up to 20 years old.

20 x 13500 is 270k. I don't think that's average.

https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ohim/onh00/bar8.htm

Sorry about that. This is a more relevant link about the odometer ruling change with the actual statistics:

https://dmvnv.com/news/20023-new-odometer-rules.htm

"The average age of a vehicle in the U.S. is now almost 12 years, up from 7.6 years when the odometer rules were last changed in 1988."

It is in Tesla-land.

To keep the meme bubble Musk's created alive and justify the market cap as well as personal buying decisions, it is neccessary to create a conversation where a Tesla is always the default, the "normal".

Thus: A three year old car is "aging", the steering wheel falling off is no reason to complain [0] and buying a two-ton sportscar is the ultimate pro-environment move.

[0] https://preview.redd.it/canfcfr00tw41.jpg?width=551&auto=web...

This isn't about market cap. It's about people doing mental gymnastics and adjusting expectation to feel like they got a fair deal or didn't get screwed. People make all the same excuses every time a Tacoma frame rusts out or the 3.4 eats a timing set.

We are agreeing actually.

The group you are describing are the ones who bought the car. The one I am describing are the ones who are holding Tesla shares/options and doing mental gymnastics how Tesla is still undervalued and will moon forever.

Dont forget the early (08ish) powerstroke models that would do #fun things like vomit their glow plugs out randomly.

>>Are we switching to a disposable car model now?

I'm afraid we have done long ago now. BMW estimates that 90% of buyers won't keep their car for longer than 3 years. They are rolling out a subscription model for features based on that fact - so you buy the car which has all the functions built-in from factory, but then pay an annual fee to unlock them. Fancy heated seats? You get a 7 day free trial, after that it's a paid unlock. Same with adaptive cruise control, adjustible suspension, sport driving modes, etc etc. Tesla might have pioneered this model but BMW is taking it all the way. And they have the gull to say it actually saves their customers money so it's a preferred option.

That is the stupidest thing I’ve heard of. While providing some flexibility it increases the cost for customers who don’t subscribe.

Bmw aren’t long term reliable and haven’t been for decades. Brands are not following their example.

I can't imagine buying a car with DLC/microtransactions. I wouldn't even buy one.

Well, apparently companies love these - it means that work vehicles can all be bought in "basic" cheapest spec, but if the employee driving them wants fancy gadgets, they can pay for it from their own pocket! What's not to like?? /s

> How is a three year old car aging?

That's exactly what this recall is meant to address: that the eMMC is aging faster than what is reasonable.

This is what I meant, but the person replying to me took offense. lol