Personally, I have never kept a car more than five years. I let go of cars for a variety of reasons -- got bored of them, blew up an engine (or two), I wanted to go faster or my tastes have changed. Buzzing around town this weekend in our "old" M3 got me thinking -- is there and automotive equivalent to dog years?
As it is, I get the feeling that our E46 would be in its early-40's in human years. It's got plenty of athleticism and enthusiasm left in it, but those crow's feet are starting to show. As noted in earlier posts, it's got some wear here and there, but it's holding up fairly well. As hard as I suspect this black beauty's been flogged, I think it's actually surviving exceptionally well.
Scratches and wear from daily use are showing on the ashtray lid (even though we don't smoke in our cars), as DiPietro posted, the weatherstripping is losing is adhesion, there are a couple of nicks in the upholstery and there's a wear spot where our thumbs rub against the handbrake well. Most obvious for me though, was the steering wheel -- it's now smooth and shiny from years of shuffling by sweaty-palmed pilots.
Unlike some cars though, the M3's buttons are still in excellent shape. I once had a Ford Mustang Cobra that had several black buttons that had worn to white plastic. Those worn bits were completely illegible after only two years on the most frequently used buttons (volume and track skip). I can't see even a hint of this type of wear on the Bimmer.
Given my judgment of its equivalent human age, the automotive aging comes in just under six years per human year. Of course, this equation relies heavily on what kind of car it is, how hard it was driven and where it was driven. In the case of our '02 M3, I could easily see it as the Keith Richards of the car world -- still rockin' hard well past its "sell by" date. What say you?
Mark Takahashi, Associate Editor @ 71,300 miles
adavis2493 says:
02:44 PM, 05/11/09
According to this website, you are suppose to divide the Mileage by the year.
71,300/2002= Roughly 36y/o
canadaphant says:
02:59 PM, 05/11/09
Adavis-I like that formula. That makes my car 45000/2004 = 23. Just getting into its prime!
ivannachoo says:
03:25 PM, 05/11/09
this formula is flawed...
my 1989 beater/creaker/leaker VW GTI with 150K miles would be approx 75 years old
my 2000 Accord with 160000 miles would be 80...
shaddai says:
03:28 PM, 05/11/09
Yeah that doesn't work for me either... 5900/2008 = just less than 3. I've had it a year this month...
drunkenpanda says:
03:40 PM, 05/11/09
190,000/2004 = 94.8
330,000/1992 = 165.66
Our Youngest car: 80,000/2006 = 39.88
canadaphant says:
04:10 PM, 05/11/09
Haha, not perfect, of course. Let's try making it a little better. (Miles/8000)+(years*4)=age?
That makes the M3 37 years old, my 45k '04 XJR is 26, the GTI is 99, the accord is 56, Shaddai's car is still a little kid at 5 years old, and drunkenpanda's rides are 44, 109, and 22 respectively.
Not that I'm a nerd or anything.
Monocrom says:
05:29 PM, 05/11/09
@ adavis2493 ~
Going by that equation, my mom's 1992 Mercury Sable with over 100,000 miles on it is 55 years old. (Seems a bit low).
You also have to take into account if a car has been cared for by previous owners.
hondacura4 says:
05:31 PM, 05/11/09
Whats the next used high performance car Edmunds will purchase? Id like to see a 98-02 Acura NSX, 04 Cadillac CTS-V, 03 Mustang Cobra or something thats a bit rare and somewhat affordable to purchase and maintain.
cwc1 says:
06:12 PM, 05/11/09
Yeah, I vote for them getting an NSX...
slickersdrip says:
06:20 PM, 05/11/09
Haha, that equation works for me. I'm 21 and I've had my SRT-4 for six years and still have a heck of a lot of fun with it without a lot of emotional investment. It has just shy of 41,000 miles on it which makes it about 20 and a half. About a perfect match, I suppose.
redwoodaggie says:
08:14 PM, 05/11/09
Ohh, I like the used NSX idea. I am curious to know about the cost of ownership on those.
drmillerM3 says:
08:15 AM, 05/12/09
In the case of our '02 M3, I could easily see it as the Keith Richards of the car world -- still rockin' hard well past its "sell by" date. What say you?
sounds good to me; as it should be. This is the type of car of car that should age well. It has great styling, an intoxicating engine, great bloodlines, but high maintenance cost.
Lol, kind of sounds like an Orange County trophy wife or something. I'd be ok having one of those too ;)
girkabob says:
09:05 AM, 05/13/09
So according to the first formula, my '92 Corolla with 212,500 miles is 107 years old! The drivetrain is still perfect. Not bad for a granny!
It's 95 when I use the second formula.