Survey: Vehicle owners holding onto cars longer, putting on more miles

July 8, 2011—A recent mileage survey conducted by AutoMD.com revealed that car owners continue to hold onto their vehicles longer and plan to put more miles on them compared to previous years.

According to the survey, 58 percent of car owners said that a recovering economy has not decreased the number of miles they plan to drive their current vehicle. Nearly 80 percent of vehicle owners plan to put about 50,000 more miles on their current vehicle than they put on their previous vehicle.

The survey also revealed that only 12 percent of car owners plan to buy a vehicle in 2011. Only half of new car buyers cite a recovering economy as a chief motivator to purchase, while the other half plan to do so out of necessity. In addition, most potential car buyers are not likely to buy service contracts. The majority of survey respondents consider service contracts to be too expensive, and would rather visit a repair shop if a problem arises, according to AutoMD.com.

"With better built vehicles able to sustain longer lives on the road, and new access to robust online repair information, we are not surprised that car owners continue to hold onto their current vehicles for miles longer than before, and that many of those who plan to buy a vehicle are opting out of purchasing a service contract and plan to either do their own repairs or visit their local repair shop instead," said Brian Hafer, vice president of marketing for AutoMD.com.

The AutoMD.com mileage survey was conducted online during the first quarter of 2011. The survey polled more than 3,000 car owners.

AutoMD.com, a wholly owned subsidiary of US Auto Parts Network Inc., is a free online automotive repair resource designed to empower car owners with the best way to repair their vehicles.