7 Reasons Why I Drive a 17 Year Old Car - Jen Hayes (2023)

FAQs

Why drive an older car? ›

Keeping your old car makes sense if: You're on a Tight Budget. You'll almost always save money by hanging on to your old car for as long as possible. Even if a new car costs less to repair and fill up, those savings are dwarfed by the upfront cost, monthly payments, and higher insurance.

The time you stop driving should be determined by your performance on the road, not age. But when you get to 85 years of age, it's time to start preparing for life away from the steering wheel, even if you feel you are fit as a fiddle. It is less safe to continue driving after you turn 85 years.

A driver's license is one of the biggest status symbols among high school students, and getting a driver's license makes the adolescent feel more independent. Parents no longer have to do the driving - the teen can get places on his or her own.

You can drive it forever. It only becomes unsafe when you fail to maintain it and refuse to repair the worn components. Such as driving a car with bald tires. You can keep driving it until they are all flat and shredded.

Consequently, a car that's between two and three years of age is often considered to be the best in terms of both longevity and price. Once used cars get to about four, five or six years of age, they're not much cheaper than three-year-old models – depending on the mileage on the clock, of course.

Insurance is cheap: Older car equals lower value, which equals lower risk, and thus, cheaper insurance. Taxes are low: Some owners cite low property taxes as a reason to keep an old car. Tires are cheap: For some, replacing and maintaining tires on older cars is cheaper and easier.

In the U.S., you can typically apply for your full driver's license between the ages of 16 and 18. What states can you drive at 14? You cannot get a full, legal driver's license at the age of 14 in any state. You can get a learner's permit at 14 in Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

Learning License Age Limit for Light Motor Vehicle :

The minimum age for driving a transport vehicle is 18 years of age. He or she should have also finished education till 8th standard.

At the age of 16 a student can drive themselves around to practices and save their parents time and money as well. When students get their licenses, they become more independent. If driver's would have to wait to get their license at the age of 18, it would cause them to be dependent on their guardians.

A conventional car can last for 200,000 miles. Some well-maintained car models will reach 300,000 or more miles total. The average passenger car age is currently around 12 years in the United States. Choosing a well-built make and model can help extend your car's longevity.

Why do people prefer older cars? ›

Why? Classic cars compete on a completely different level. It's not about efficiency and speed, but about the experience, style, exclusivity and craftsmanship, all of which are universal and timeless. Classic cars not only appeal to car lovers, but also to lovers of engineering, design, art and history.

On average, a vehicle will last approximately 11-12 years on the road. However, with good maintenance and attention, your vehicle can last even longer. Believe it or not, the Guinness World Record for the highest vehicle mileage on a personal car has over 3,000,000 miles on it!

So are older cars safer than newer cars? Contrary to popular belief, no. In fact, they are more dangerous than newer models due to the lack of modern safety features. This puts many drivers on the road at risk of serious injury or death if they have an accident.

Are older cars harder to drive? As you might expect when it comes to driving an older car, older cars require a lot more physical exertion to start, steer and brake - because they lack much of the modern wizardry that makes driving a newer car so straightforward.

Older cars lack modern features, including airbags, crumple zones, and seat belts. While this does make them less safe than modern cars, that doesn't necessarily mean they're death traps you should steer clear of. One thing to keep in mind is that most accidents are attributed to reckless driving.

While it's a good idea to consider the age of a vehicle and the number on its odometer, it's more important to look at how well the owner maintained the car. A 10-year-old car with 100,000 miles may have received more TLC than a five-year-old model with 50,000 miles.

Age is also an important factor to consider when buying a used car. Just like people, cars get old and start to show signs of wear and tear. Older cars are prone to having more repairs and may not meet the standards of new cars. Also, the value of a car decreases as it gets older.

The maximum age for petrol-related vehicles remains the same (15 years). Diesel-fueled cars have a life cap of 10 years. Any car older than this found on Delhi roads will be fined Rs. 10,000.

Classic cars are known to be oil hogs. The wear and tear on the engine causes oil leaks and oil burning. In fact, your classic car could be overheating in part because there's a motor oil issue. If the engine is burning through the oil, you might see blue exhaust coming out of the tailpipe.

Most cars lose value immediately after they are driven off of the dealer lot, but classic cars gain in value over time, due to rarity, performance, or special attributes.

Should I daily drive an old car? ›

While some view classic cars as an investment, others find great joy in using them. If you plan to increase the value of your car or at least maintain it, using it as a daily driver may not be the best choice. Daily driving will cause wear and tear on your vehicle that otherwise wouldn't happen in storage.

Roads and rules

Cars drive on the left side of the road and have the driver's seat and steering wheel on their right side. The legal minimum age for driving is 18 years. Drinking and driving is prohibited. Road signs and rules follow international standards, and most signs on major roads are in Japanese and English.

In Texas, one must be 14 to begin classroom instruction for a learner's license and 15 to receive that provisional license to drive with an instructor or licensed adult in the vehicle. Department of Public Safety Sgt. Victor Taylor said it would be illegal for a 13-year-old to drive on public roads.

South Dakota, North Dakota and Montana have the lowest age to drive in the USA where a full license can be issued at just 16 years old.

If you want to drive a car, you'll need to be at least 17 before you can do so on UK roads. There are, however, exceptions to the age limit. You can get a provisional licence and take your car driving test at 16 if you receive the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) that's made to long-term sick or disabled people.

Countries with the lowest driving ages (17 and below) are Australia, The Bahamas, Canada, Malaysia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom (mainland), United States, and Zimbabwe. In some jurisdictions in the United States and Canada, drivers can be as young as 14 (with parental supervision).

The citizens are given their right to vote at the age of eighteen years by the Government because it considers them as responsible citizens who will contribute for the betterment of the society. Thus, 18 years is the right age for driving if it is done in disciplined manner.

Teen drivers have a higher rate of fatal crashes, mainly because of their immaturity, lack of skills, and lack of experience. They speed, they make mistakes, and they get distracted easily – especially if their friends are in the car.

The highest mileage car on record is Irv Gordon's 1966 Volvo P1800S, with over 3 million miles. There were even two electric cars in the study. The Tesla Model S has a potential lifespan of 133,998 miles and the Nissan Leaf 98,081.

How long do engines last? ›

Average engine lifespan

For some time, the average lifespan of a car's engine was eight years, or 150,000 miles. New designs, better technology and improved service standards in recent years have increased this average life expectancy to about 200,000 miles, or about 10 years.

Rough, bumpy rides can be due to bad tire alignment, incorrect air pressure – too low, too high, different pressures in each tire – or even the tires not being mounted properly. Worst case scenario could be the rims themselves have become damaged or warped.

ABOUT NEW CARS

It's a fact – newer cars are safer than older cars. Advanced technologies and improved structural designs make newer cars a safer choice for your family.

Cars do become less efficient as they age. With wear, the sealing of the combustion chamber becomes less efficient, loosing compression and thus power. However, in practice, the car really needs to be very old before you ever notice it…

The average car gets in 10,000 to 12,000 miles per year, so used cars with an annual average lower than that can be considered as having good mileage. Simply divide the odometer number by the car's age in years to determine it's annual average.

There's no absolute number of miles that is too many for a used car. But consider 200,000 as an upper limit, a threshold where even modern cars begin to succumb to the years of wear and tear.

Depending on how well you treat your car, you could potentially reach over 500,000 miles. In fact, there's a driver whose car reached even more than that.

It's a statistical fact that cars become less safe to drive as they age. According to the National Highway Safety Administration, the driver of a vehicle that's 18 years old or older has a 71 percent greater chance of dying in a bad car crash compared to a driver who drives a three-year-old car.

Since they lack automated features, classic cars have a more hands-on driving experience, and they can be easier to work on yourself. And while newer cars will depreciate with age, classic car values tend to appreciate due to supply and demand, especially for well-maintained ones.

Keep driving it and you save money not only because you don't have to make payments on a new car, but also because insurance premiums are lower, and in some states, so are registration fees and personal-property taxes.

Are older cars more safe? ›

So are older cars safer than newer cars? Contrary to popular belief, no. In fact, they are more dangerous than newer models due to the lack of modern safety features. This puts many drivers on the road at risk of serious injury or death if they have an accident.

Older cars are more likely to develop mechanical defects than newer cars, such as tire failure like blow-outs, brake failure, engine issues that cause drivers to lose control of the vehicle.

Toyotas, Hondas and Fords? According to a 2022 study by Experian Automotive, a lot of wealthy folks simply don't drive fancy cars. The study found that for people with household income of more than $250,000, 61% don't drive luxury brands. They drive Toyotas, Fords and Hondas like the rest of us.

In fact, one of the best things you can do for your car is drive it regularly– once per month is the recommended minimum. One of the biggest issues with old cars is that they're not used regularly. If you leave your car in the garage for too long, its seals and rubber components can dry out and cause leaks.

A conventional car can last for 200,000 miles. Some well-maintained car models will reach 300,000 or more miles total. The average passenger car age is currently around 12 years in the United States. Choosing a well-built make and model can help extend your car's longevity.