Top Brand Auto on Road close to 20 years old?

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: dishdude
A-bodies. I still see a ton of Cieras and Centuries and they haven't made those since '96.


+1. I travel all over the country and would say these are consistently the greatest numbers. Combo of longevity, rustproofing, and the fact that many of the olds/Buick types were old peoples' cars so low mileage examples are still out there.

 

[NHGUY]

Tons of 01-07 Caravan/Town & Country,03-up GM pickups,TrailBlazer,Focus,Subaru Outbacks,RAV4s,CRVs,Rangers,Explorers...but largely nothing older than late 90s (except an occasional Cavalier,Escort,A body FWD,and my K car...lol).

 

[CBR.worm]

Originally Posted By: expat
Pick up trucks usually hang around a long time here. Lots of 1980's Fords and Toyotas, not so many Chevys or mopar.

What strikes me is the cars you don't see anymore. I can't remember when I last saw a Pontiac Aztec (and there were a few around) Dodge Neons seemed to have disappeared almost overnight.



This. Around here I see lots of 80's and 90's BMWs and Oldsmobiles oddly. Lots of other cars from the 90's on, with the exception of Chrysler cars and originally inexpensive cars, I think they have all been retired or moved up north. Lots of good condition 90's luxury or near luxury cars of all ages. It is not at all uncommon here to have an original owner 1990 Mercedes or Jaguar that is still dealer maintained and kept here in a garage for winter use only.

The single most common 20 year old cars running around here would probably be Panthers and Camrys followed by 7 series BMWs.

 

[HTSS_TR]

It is normal to see 25-30 years old vehicles in So Cal. Virtually no rust on any vehicle down here, so they keep going and going with minimum maintenance. It is not unusual to see original OEM coolant, ATF, brake fluid ... in 20-25 yeas old vehicle.

 

[Gasbuggy]

This is an interesting question. My area is a bit more affluent so I don't see many pre 2000 cars. I notice quite a few 94-97 accords still on the road, but I'm more inclined to spot them.

 

[TheOnlySarge]

I live in the land of no rust and lots of Chevy Pickups that go forever and ever.

 

[DustinAsh]

I see a lot of old 22-re powered toyota pickups in my neck of the woods...

 

[01rangerxl]

You name it, you can find it here. Domestic pickups make up the largest number of 20+ year old vehicles, but there's a good bit of everything.

I still see unrestored vehicles from the 1970s being driven. They are generally in need of a restoration, but they are still going after 40 years of just being repaired or updated as needed. Most of the time it is a pickup or a full size GM car. Someone around here has an old unrestored Valiant. It's not super uncommon to see a 1960s or 1950s vehicle, but they have generally always undergone a restoration at some point in their life. Sometime in the early 1970s seems to be the rough cut off for finding unrestored drivers here.

Vans also live a long time here. It's not uncommon at all to see a G-Series GM van or a boxy Econoline still being used as a work van. Lots of Aerostars and Astros too. I see Aerostars daily and they haven't been made since 1997...they never have intact bumpers, usually just some plastic remains, but the rest of the van is still working hard.

You can even find the occasional early 1990s Cavalier or Escort, but cars like this don't fare as well as far as devaluation and the majority are gone. Nor do a lot of the "rental" type cars, though I do have a neighbor with a 1991? Mercury Sable. A lot of Buick/Olds, Grand Marquis, and other similar larger semi-luxury/plush cars are available though as there is still a somewhat decent supply of one owner old people cars trickling into the market.

 

[fdcg27]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
It is normal to see 25-30 years old vehicles in So Cal. Virtually no rust on any vehicle down here, so they keep going and going with minimum maintenance. It is not unusual to see original OEM coolant, ATF, brake fluid ... in 20-25 yeas old vehicle.


A moderate climate is a boon to any vehicle.
I'm always amazed at the cars I see when we visit such areas.
Socal is certainly such a place.
2/7ths of the vehicles in our family fleet are over twenty years old and both of these are used as daily drivers from time to time. They're both pretty low on miles for their age, though.
The longest lived vehicles around here seem to be high-end German cars and pickups.
Twenty YO BMWs and Mercedes are pretty common as are Chevy and Ford pickups of the same age. Old Japanese and Dodge pickups aren't all that common here, probably due to rust.

 

[artificialist]

Originally Posted By: UncleDave

The cars I see on the road longest in So California are timing CHAIN cars vs. timing BELT cars.

Most people simply ignore the belt change till it blows.

After X amount of time pop goes the weasel - an interference engine car goes to wrecking yard and a non interference end user gets raped on repair at that stage.


Yeah, that is why so many 3rd generation Maximas are going away.

10 years ago, people loved their 3rd gen Maxima so much that they would actually change that timing belt. Now people just beat on their Maxima until it dies.

There are plenty of 4th generation Maximas out there because they had a very durable timing chain.

I still encounter a good number of late 1980s and early 1990s Hondas and Toyotas. Most had a non-interference engine, and since those cars were pretty good, people were willing to spend the money on a new timing belt.

I see a large number of Olds Cutlasses out there, it amazes me how long they last. Most other GM cars of that size didn't last.

There are many Crown Vics in Florida. Few cars are as tough as a Crown Vic.

 

[Andrew1972]

I live in coastal nh and 20 year cars are not prevelant. Camry would likely be most prevelant in the 1996 vintage.

 

[GenSan]

Throughout the upper Midwest(MN,WI,IL,MI) I see the 1st generation Toyota Highlander (2000-2007) regularly on a daily basis. Toyota must have solved their rust issues, eh?

 

[Robenstein]

I still see lots of 20 year old GM W and H platform cars like Grand Prixs and LeSabres. See a decent amount of Ford Panther bodies around also that are around 20 years old.