Should a Car Be Scrapped After 18 Years of Use?
2 Answers
Whether a car that has been driven for 18 years should be scrapped depends on the vehicle type and usage. Private cars can continue to be used if they do not meet the mandatory scrapping standards, while commercial vehicles must be scrapped after 18 years of operation. Private car scrapping regulations: For household 5-seat sedans and 7-seat SUVs, as well as non-commercial small and mini cars, there is no usage lifespan limit. However, the government will recommend scrapping when the normal mileage reaches 600,000 kilometers. In addition to the above vehicles, small and mini non-commercial passenger cars, large non-commercial sedans, and wheeled special-purpose machinery vehicles also have no usage lifespan limit. Common commercial vehicle scrapping regulations: Small and mini taxi passenger cars have a scrapping lifespan of 8 years, medium-sized taxi passenger cars 10 years, and large taxi passenger cars 12 years. Public bus passenger cars have a scrapping lifespan of 13 years, other small and mini commercial passenger cars 10 years, and large and medium-sized commercial passenger cars 15 years. Mini commercial trucks have a scrapping lifespan of 8 years, while light and large commercial trucks have a scrapping lifespan of 10 years.
I've been driving for over 20 years, and I think an 18-year-old car is indeed worth considering for scrapping. Old cars of this age tend to have numerous issues, with severe wear on core components like the engine and transmission, and repair costs often exceeding tens of thousands. Last month, my neighbor's 2002 car had its transmission replaced, only for the radiator to start leaking two weeks later—it's just one problem after another. The fuel consumption is shockingly high, and with current gas prices being so expensive, a long-distance trip costs more than taking a taxi. Plus, the twice-yearly inspections are a huge time drain. Although the government doesn't mandate scrapping, the incentives are clear—getting a subsidy to scrap such an old car is the most cost-effective option.
