auto ownership limits

atwhat age or mileage must an automobile be disposed of in japan? specifically the engine.

There is no limit. You can own the car for as long as you want.

That being said, Japanese aren't too bright when it comes to car ownership. I'm not trying to be mean, but it's true!

Not sure where or how it started, but most Japanese do not keep their cars for very long. 2 or 3 years and they buy a new one. They tend to believe a car with 50k kilometers on it is "old". It's completely absurd.

My car has 80k kilometers on it. That's about 50k miles. The engine is practically new! It will last to 160-200k easily. Yet, this is old by Japanese standards. It has nothing to do with the condition of the car or engine. Not really sure what it's based on, really. Some would argue it has to do with Shaken, and that it's cheaper to buy a new car than to pay for another 2 years of Shaken. But I don't buy that. Poor excuse if you ask me.

When I was there from 87-89 I had a '79 Galant and an '81 Corona. They ran perfectly well. Thanks to those who sold them to me before their time!

That is correct there are no age or mileage limits.

However, lets clear up some misconceptions in your following comments.

Not sure where or how it started, but most Japanese do not keep their cars for very long. 2 or 3 years and they buy a new one. They tend to believe a car with 50k kilometers on it is "old". It's completely absurd.

The average age of cars in Japan is between 7-8 years old, but new cars tend to enter the secondary market a few years before that. 2-3 is extreme, its probably more like 4-6. Btw, this is very similar to many European countries, and just a little bit less than the US which is about 6 years for new cars.

100k kilometers is considered old. Yes, the mileage is low, but Japanese drivers also tend to drive less on average (about half as much as American for example) so the age of the vehicles becomes much more similar to cars in other countries with a lot higher mileage.

Not really sure what it's based on, really. Some would argue it has to do with Shaken, and that it's cheaper to buy a new car than to pay for another 2 years of Shaken. But I don't buy that. Poor excuse if you ask me.

There are actually several economic factors that drive people to purchase new cars. The shaken is just one part of the story. Of course that increases for older cars, plus there is up to a 50% surcharge for cars older than 10 years. Taxes, maintenance, and secondary insurance costs can also go up quite a bit with older cars. Add to that there are tax incentives for purchasing new cars, such as eco subsidies, which further drive down the cost of a new car.

There's also the possibility with a leased car that you can get all the advantages in reducing your yearly costs (taxes, shaken, maintenance) without really increasing your monthly lease costs, and it becomes similar to how we can get new cell phones every year or two without really paying more out of pocket.

I'll also point out that, altho Japanese people tend to drive fewer kms than Westerners, they wear out the engines disproportionately by idling ridiculous amounts. I've seen endless examples of people leaving their cars/trucks idling while they ate lunch/took a nap/went shopping/fed the baby/had a quickie/slept overnight in a rest stop/chatted with friends/etc. I would estimate Japan could drop their oil imports by several percent overnight if they just stopped that damaging habit.

Average of cars on the road in the US is about 11 years old.
ref: http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/autos/story/2012-01-17/cars-truck...

Yeah, the idling thing kills me. But what's even worse? The "shut off my car at every stoplight, and start it up again when it turns green" people. Completely illogical. It makes me wonder how these ridiculous ideas get into their heads.

Yllwsmrf, I'm off the belief that cars are one of the worst investments you can make. They are money pits. New or used. Still, I tend to think a well-maintained used car is a better investment than any new car, even without tax incentives or cheaper shaken. The costs associated with interest from car loans ,the depreciation of a new cars value, and even the cost of insurance pretty much washes out any advantages of buying new.

And 100k is not old. Not by a long shot. Even a decade old engine with 100k miles is a waste of an engine if it's disposed of too early. Waste of money, actually.

Americans can be just as ridiculous though when it comes to buying cars. There are plenty that buy a car, pay off a 5 year loan and go out and buy a new car with a new 5 year loan. Just as ridiculous if you ask me.

CD20,

Yes, average age is about 11 years. But new vehicles are kept less than 6 years on average before entering the secondary market. That is the statistic we are discussing here.

https://www.polk.com/company/news/polk_in_the_news_americans_are_keepi...

Yeah, the idling thing kills me. But what's even worse? The "shut off my car at every stoplight, and start it up again when it turns green" people. Completely illogical. It makes me wonder how these ridiculous ideas get into their heads.

While I don't agree with the practice based on safety and possibly wear reasons, its promoted as a way of reducing unnecessary emissions and wasted fuel. I guess it might make sense for high use commercial vehicles like taxis and buses, but regular people don't really do this.

Yllwsmrf, I'm off the belief that cars are one of the worst investments you can make.

Well its a mistake to think of cars as investments in the first place. They're not, unless you are a businesses or directly make money from your vehicle. For most individuals cars are simply a cost.

I tend to think a well-maintained used car is a better investment than any new car, even without tax incentives or cheaper shaken.

And I would agree with you. But frankly, we are not even in the same market as those that buy a new car every 5-6 years. For those people, it may actually make financial sense to update their cars frequently.

The costs associated with interest from car loans ,the depreciation of a new cars value, and even the cost of insurance pretty much washes out any advantages of buying new.

Unless you are in a lease program. In that case, your payments could stay the same regardless of the vehicle, so it makes economical sense to upgrade as often as possible.

And 100k is not old. Not by a long shot. Even a decade old engine with 100k miles is a waste of an engine if it's disposed of too early. Waste of money, actually.

The cars are not disposed of. There is a thriving secondary market in Japan, and a huge secondary export market to the rest of Asia. I don't know if an economist has ever looked into the lifecycle of Japanese cars vs cars in Europe and America for example, but I wouldn't be surprised it the system here compared similarly to other markets.

Americans can be just as ridiculous though when it comes to buying cars. There are plenty that buy a car, pay off a 5 year loan and go out and buy a new car with a new 5 year loan. Just as ridiculous if you ask me.

Agreed, and that's a different story. I always find it surprising how people can get so addicted to credit.