Vehicles Used in this Study

Vehicles Used in this Study


Description: The vehicle classes, repair and maintenance
operations, replacement items, insurance, fuel and oil
consumption, taxes, and other costs included in the study and
the values of the factors used to compute these costs are given
in Table 1, Vehicle and Estimating Bases. In the current study,
between two and seven vehicles were selected to represent each
vehicle class.

For this study, 29 domestic and imported vehicles were
chosen to represent eight vehicle classes: subcompacts,
compacts, intermediates, and full-sized automobiles; compact
and full-sized pickups; and minivans and full-sized vans. The
selected vehicles represent the most popular nameplates in
their class. For each class, the selected nameplates account
for at least 47 percent of 1990 sales (using the Automotive
News assignment of vehicles to classes). The vehicles selected
are intended to be typical of new vehicles in each size
category, but, because of changing technology, they are
probably not representative of older vehicles in their
respective size classes.

The average age of an automobile (7.8 years) is higher now
than it has been at any time in the post-World War II period.

The vehicles were equipped as described in Table 1. All
have gasoline engines. The optional equipment selected is that
which the automotive industry reports to be typical for each
vehicle size group. For example, data show that about 92
percent of intermediates have air conditioning. The purchase
price of each vehicle was calculated using dealer cost plus
freight plus an estimate of dealer markup. The markup depends
on many factors--the size of the dealership, the dealer's
inventory situation, the time of year, and the ability of the
buyer to negotiate. For most vehicles, the markup is roughly
half the difference between sticker price and dealer cost.

Vehicle Life: Many things, such as individual driving
habits, climate, garage facilities, type and condition of road,
type of use, and sometimes luck, can affect the service life
and operating costs of a vehicle. Most private passenger
vehicles are now staying on the road for at least 12 years; and
the average vehicle accumulates 128,500 miles in these 12
years. The same distribution of these miles over time--12,900
miles the first year, decreasing to 8,200 miles traveled in the
12th year--has been used for all eight vehicle classes. (Annual
mileage actually does vary somewhat by vehicle class, but the
data on how it varies is weak and using different annual
mileages would reduce the comparability of results across
vehicle classes.) The complete mileage distribution is shown in
Tables 2 through 9.

The decreasing mileage distribution is consistent with the
average annual miles driven by age of vehicles; but, in normal
circumstances, an individual's need for transportation is
relatively stable from year to year. It is unlikely that an
only car would be driven successively fewer miles each year.
What is more likely is that, as a vehicle ages, it becomes a
second or third family vehicle or its ownership is transferred
to a household that uses it less.

The average vehicle is sold or traded two or more times
during its life, often through new or used car dealers. This is
often prompted by the need for or anticipation of repairs.
Dealers serve as quality control judges of the used vehicle
trade. They wholesale those vehicles that require very
expensive or time-consuming work and make the repairs on the
remainder prior to resale. Battery and tire replacements, brake
linings, radiator repairs, body work, and numerous other
replacements and repairs are included in the used vehicle
reconditioning programs of many dealers. The additional work
done under dealer warranty does not impose direct out-of-pocket
expenditures on the vehicle owner, but these costs are
submerged in each vehicle's purchase price. For the purpose of
this report, no effort has been made to separate them.