Grand Junction Sure is Driving Some Old Automobiles

Sometimes it is so hard to say goodbye.

It's like a close, loyal friend that has been with you through good times and bad. It may be a car, a truck, a van or an SUV, but there are a lot of holding on to a piece of yesterday - regardless of what the reason may be. It may be a sentiment, it may be a necessity, but a lot of people are driving old automobiles - and I'm not talking about classics.

I saw a report the other day that said the average age of vehicles on the road today is 11.8 years. I was surprised by that. Didn't expect it to be that high, though I drive a truck that is nearly 25 years old. So I wanted to find out about the old vehicles people are driving in Grand Junction and I discovered I am not alone.

And then there are the people that balance things out with their newer vehicles:
* 3 years
* 6 months
* 6 years
* 5 years
* 4 years
* 3 years
*4 years

If you throw out the 3 classic cars that were over 50 years old, the average age of the 51 vehicles in my survey was 13.6 - not too far off from the national average.

This changes my perspective. My wife's car is 7 years old. I was thinking maybe it was time for a new one, but after seeing all of the old vehicles Grand Junction is driving, I figure she can drive it for another 7 years and we won't have a car payment.