WHITE MARSH, Md. — The bottom line is people are keeping their cars longer. While regular service keeps them rolling, the owner of Jim Barbey Automotive says people are holding on for a variety of reasons.
"Your insurance rates are going to be lower. Obviously financing, most people have their cars paid off, you know, within 5 years, so they have a 10 year old vehicle they've been taken care of since new. They're obviously going to want to keep that vehicle because they feel comfortable with it," said Barbey.
While some folks aren't crazy about learning all the new technology, Barbey says it can be helpful.
Owner of Jim Barbey Automotive gives tips on how to keep your car longer
"Well, a part of the technology is these cars have maintenance schedules built into them, and they're reminding the customers what they need when. So that's really important to where before you didn't have that, and now you, you know, the car is telling you, hey, come in, you need service, you need a D1 service, you need a trans service, you need to change your fuel filters," said Barbey.
Susan Moscareillo got her 2009 Subaru in 2015 and plans to keep it for the long haul.
"My car is a 2009 Subaru, and I plan to keep it until it needs a major, major repair," said Moscareillo.
"When I got it, it had 75,000 miles on it, and I've had it 10 years. It's got 121 now. The secret of making a car last is to put it in the garage. If you have a garage, a car lasts 3 to 4 years," said Moscareillo.
Kicking the tire down the road to hold onto your old car longer will save you some money, but there are pros and cons to consider.
According to AAA, vehicles 10 years and older are four times more likely to have a problem serious enough to need a tow for a repair.
To keep your car longer and safer on the road, AAA says make a good BET — make sure your vehicle's Battery, Engine and Tires are checked regularly.
"I tell my customers, you know, come in for your periodic maintenance, your oil changed. At that point I can look for things going wrong, and that's where we can fix that. Now you don't wait for it to be broken. You be proactive.....You see that 200, 250,000 miles out of them," said Barbey.
Moscareillo has her own way of keeping her older car feeling fresh.
"You know the new car smells long gone, which is. I've got Gain dryer sheets .....so now the whole car smells like Gain, so it isn't new anymore, but it smells good," said Moscareillo.
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