Decades ago, the average life expectancy of a car was much shorter than it is today, forcing people to buy replacement vehicles on a regular basis. Parts would break down and the cars’ bodies would rot away quickly in any type of weather.
Today's vehicles, by contrast, are built to last for at least 400,000 kilometres with just simple care. Yet, as The National reported yesterday, motorists in the UAE only hold on to their cars for about 5 years, which is less than half the 11.5 year average for vehicles in the United States.
It’s not hard to understand the reasons behind this trend, especially as the car is such a status symbol and new ones are relatively cheap here.
Used vehicles from the UAE often end up on the market in north Africa, where the average age of a car listed for sale is 12.8 years. So our attraction to the latest and greatest automobiles is Africa’s gain.
