Americans Are Keeping Their Cars Longer, as Vehicle Age Hits 12 Years

Re:Americans Are Keeping Their Cars Longer, as Vehicle Age H... by bradleyjg on Sunday June 20, 2021 @11:31AM (#27570989)

It’s remarkable how much they’ve improved. When was the last time you saw a car on the side of the road with its hood up and steam pouring out of the engine compartment?

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Re:Americans Are Keeping Their Cars Longer, as Vehicle Age H... by dharmab on Sunday June 20, 2021 @11:43AM (#27571155)

Yesterday. A man with a truck at the top of a mountain pass, waiting in a camping chair with a jug of water for his tow.

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Re:Americans Are Keeping Their Cars Longer, as Vehicle Age H... by bradleyjg on Sunday June 20, 2021 @12:12PM (#27571435)

I guess I stand corrected. It’s been a long time for me.

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Re:Americans Are Keeping Their Cars Longer, as Vehicle Age H... by throwaway0a5e on Sunday June 20, 2021 @10:54PM (#27575824)

>When was the last time you saw a car on the side of the road with its hood up and steam pouring out of the engine compartment?

Friday afternoon. Although to be fair it was gray ATF smoke and not steam.

I stopped and asked the guy what was up because I probably could have helped if it was easy and the details of the situation favored doing so.

Turns out "muh million mile 4Runner" had sprung a leak in the transmission cooling plumbing. Based on the age of the vehicle I decided it would be better for him to get it towed than have me attempt a field repair so I lectured him on the basics of how an automatic transmission works and why he would be maxing an expensive gamble with bad odds if he were to pour a couple quarts in it and try to make it a few miles to where he was going rather than tow it.

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Re:Americans Are Keeping Their Cars Longer, as Vehicle Age H... by throwaway1777 on Sunday June 20, 2021 @11:41AM (#27571119)

Actually I did see that yesterday. But it was 98 degrees outside and an older car

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