How many miles is my car built for?

Do modern cars really have an “expiration date” in terms of mileage or is this just a myth?

Too often the cliché is heard that new cars are not built like old cars and that they are unable to travel “infinite miles” as old cars did.

Another theory often heard about new cars, which manufacturers have designed to last a certain number of kilometers, which they can’t go over. After all, what is the point of all this?

The first and only certainty is that new cars, made with all the know-how that manufacturers have acquired over the years, are fortunately not made like the old cars.

Depending on the class to which the vehicle belongs, during its design and development, the manufacturer determines its technical characteristics as well as specifications, Which also has to do with their estimated life cycle.

Despite the fact that modern cars are significantly more complex, they are built to stricter specifications across the board and They have dozens of electronic systems that didn’t exist until a few years agoThey don’t seem to shy away from the miles they can get, compared to older cars.

Proof of the above are the dozens of reliability surveys that are published from time to time by authoritative sources on both sides of the Atlantic. in the aforementioned investigations They are presented as reliable, 10-year-old models with hundreds of thousands of kilometers (200,000-400,000 km) and are now being sold as used..

Even a little digging into the used car classifieds in Greece reveals many “young” modern cars with hundreds of thousands of kilometers available for sale.

In an effort to reassure the public that the cars they produce do not have an expiration date, car manufacturers offer state-mandated warranties.

Of course, not only do many manufacturers stick to the legally required two years, But they offer longer warranties of up to eight years. In fact, in some cases, usually for warranties of up to five years, There is no mileage limit on the part of the manufacturerwhile this was not done with older cars.

As can be seen from the above, the answer to the question “how many kilometers is a car made for” is definitely not definitive because modern cars are not designed with an expiration date, but to last as long as possible over time, just like the old ones.

The endurance of the vehicle over time and its mileage performance They depend to a large extent on its driver(s), their behavior behind the wheel and of course the care and consistency shown by the owners with regard to correct periodic maintenance and correct repair of any damages that occur..

The misconception about the reliability of old cars stems from the fact that they were much easier to build than new cars. It is for this reason that they can “hide” damage for a very long time, without immobilizing it. In new cars, even an “innocent” fault is detected, He can even stop the car, as the center console tries to prevent further damage.

If everything was done correctly then a car, Whether it is new or old, it will last for many years and hundreds of thousands of kilometers before it is time to replace it. So much so that the question of the “end date” can be considered moot.

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