You may be well-represented by the finding of a new study of 1,000 American car owners by American Trucks, which says that 39% of Americans can't afford a new car.
73% of Americans surveyed drive their cars until they stop working, with Chevrolet (84%), Nissan (80%), and Honda ownders (78%) the most likely to do so.
It's expensive enough to maintain your current car, with survey respondents saying they've spent an average of $564 a year to maintain their car, and one in eight resopndents saying they've spent over $2,000 on their car in the last year alone. Volkswagon owners claim the most expensive costs with an average of $703 per year, while Chevrolet owners report $538. Ford owners claimed a $626 average, while Honda owners can brag a $445 annual cost.
Yet it's still seen as more expensive than buying new. The study found that 60% of people surveyed said that keeping an older car is cheaper than replacing it with a new one.
The study further found that 18% of those surveyed regret replacing their car with a newer one, with (perhaps unsurprisingly) current Tesla owners (27%) most likely to wish they hadn't purchased their vehicle.
The top reasons peolple keep their cars include having no payments (63%), the reliability of a solid older car (53%), the comfort and convenience of their car (40%), and lower maintenance costs (35%). 19% keep their older vehicle because they like the way it looks.
American Trucks' study was done in March 2025, and included Gen Z (13%), millennials (53%), Gen X (27%), and baby boomers (8%).
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