[Spooky23]

The lifespans of cars have little to with the power train. Any post-2000 car is capable of about 200-400k miles.

After that, wear and tear takes its toll. I live in the northeast, where salt and other factors takes you to the lower end. As an example, I drove a 2003 Honda Pilot for 260k miles. I made the decision to get rid of it as the suspension and frame rust made repairs far in excess of the value of the car.

Electric cars are the classic capital vs operational expense discussion. More expensive to buy, sometimes cheaper to own.

[mdorazio]

I hate seeing people say things like this with zero data to back it up. With a few exceptions, less than 5% of cars reach 200k miles [1].

[1] https://www.iseecars.com/longest-lasting-cars-study#v=2022

[bradlys]

A lot of cars get totaled. My car would’ve made it to 200k but someone ran into it at 196k. Due to depreciation and mileage - it was a full write off after that crash.

For reference, I could still drive the car after the crash just barely. It would’ve been a lot of work to fix but on a 50k car, it might’ve been worth it. On a 5k car? No.

[formvoltron]

Right now the Ford F150 lightening base - $7500 tax credit nearly == the base ICE F150.

Minus gasoline volatility. (volatility has a price, just ask wall street options dealers) Minus repairs. Minus damage to environment.

[dsadsadsaddsa]

It would be interesting to see any data on the reasons why cars are scrapped. I have a hunch that electronic problems make up a large percentage of them, along with rust.

[Spooky23]

Biggest reason is risk and loans.

Cars typically have pretty predictable depreciation schedule but after you hit a certain point the car could be worth anywhere from scrap value to a few thousand dollars. Few banks are going to write a loan for a 10 year old car, insurance valuations may not cover the loan value in the event of loss and few qualified customers are in the market for an old car.

As a result, you’re limited to cash buyers and parts buyers. Cars that meet whatever the cash buyers value are worth a lot. Even minor variances from whatever the car/truck guys want will take the value from $5-7k to scrap.

State regulations have an impact as well. In New York, all check engine light issues make inspection/registration a no-go. Many repairs exceed the value of a new car. In a place where the state doesn’t do inspections, you can run a beater longer. That circles back to the finance issue - banks won’t write loans for cars that may be pulled off the road.