How Old Can a Car Be Before It's Not Allowed on the Road?
3 Answers
A car's lifespan is not strictly defined by time. In China, domestic vehicles with mileage under 600,000 kilometers can generally be driven on the road. After 15 years, vehicles must undergo two annual inspections, and those that pass can continue to be driven normally, except for taxis. Service life limits for various motor vehicles: Small and mini taxi passenger vehicles: 8 years; Medium-sized taxi passenger vehicles: 10 years; Large taxi passenger vehicles: 12 years; Rental passenger vehicles: 15 years; Small instructional passenger vehicles: 10 years; Medium-sized instructional passenger vehicles: 12 years; Large instructional passenger vehicles: 15 years; Public transport passenger vehicles: 13 years; Three-wheeled vehicles and low-speed trucks with single-cylinder engines: 9 years; Low-speed trucks with multi-cylinder engines and mini trucks: 12 years; Dangerous goods transport trucks: 10 years; Other trucks (including semi-trailer towing vehicles and full-trailer towing vehicles): 15 years.
I recently helped a friend with scrapping an old car and looked up the policies. Actually, there's no mandatory retirement age for private vehicles anymore—they can legally stay on the road for as many years as they run. But keep a few key points in mind: failing the annual inspection is a deal-breaker, especially with emission standards getting stricter. I've seen plenty of cars over 15 years old pass inspections in one go if they're well-maintained. However, an aging car is like an aging person—major components like the engine and transmission are prone to issues, and repairs can get expensive. More importantly, safety is critical; driving a car with a rusted-through chassis or worn-out brakes is just not safe. So the focus shouldn't be on the car's age but on its overall condition. For peace of mind, I recommend getting a full check-up at a repair shop every six months for older vehicles.
During my previous vehicle inspection work, I handled numerous cases involving older cars. The mandatory scrapping regulations have long been revised, now only applying mileage and age restrictions to commercial vehicles like taxis. Whether a private car can remain in service primarily depends on three critical criteria: if it fails annual inspection it must be scrapped, if accident damage causes irreparable deformation to key structural components it must be taken off the road, and if it fails emissions testing three consecutive times it must be retired. However, in reality, special attention should be paid to wiring degradation in vehicles over ten years old - just recently I handled a case of spontaneous combustion caused by short circuits in aging wiring. Additionally, older vehicles' safety features often lag behind modern standards, so I recommend upgrading with new equipment like tire pressure monitoring systems. After all, meeting safety requirements is the fundamental baseline for roadworthiness.
