Old Cars

"It has been previously reported that SA has the oldest car fleet on mainland Australia, with the average age of cars at 11.1 years.

Dr Such said owners would be more willing to upgrade from older cars if there was a financial incentive."

Old cars are a hazard. They are unsafe and unreliable. We do need to find a way of ensuring people keep their cars in good condition. I'd like to see information about which cars have been involved in road deaths and then another list of which cars are involved in road accidents. I don't think it is the cars which are the problem...we have a lot of unnecessary road deaths...but you know, data gives insight into trends which can be helpful. The older cars here are generally well maintained because we have people who just love their cars. New cars can't be worked on so easily and it has taken away a satisfying pass time even though it has generally meant we have safer cars. You have to be at a certain financial level to be able to get a good car. If you are relying on garages to repair them, well it just isn't that personal these days. Most mechanics will get to know you if you become a regular and that is helpful when you have an older car, but a lot of places are production line and we are gearing up to that approach rather than a personal one. Having said all of that, I saw a brilliant Morris Minor on the roads yesterday. It appeared to be running beautifully and the paintwork was perfect...some people here just love their cars, so I believe we should work on that approach of encouraging those who just love cars to get good at what they do and then make sure people like me who rely on a mechanic learn to make good relationships with their service department! I can now change my car every 5 years and that is now the best option for me. I couldn't always afford that and learned to befriend one service department which served me really well because they knew me and my cars.