How Today's Cars Are Built to Last

[Curt Renz]

AARP: How Long Do Cars Last? A Guide to Your Car's Longevity

And, as their technology is perfected, electric cars have the potential to run even longer. “Three hundred thousand miles could be the standard for an electric car,” says Trotta. The engines have fewer moving parts, which reduces breakdowns, resulting in less maintenance and longer lifespans (the same is true for hybrid vehicles). In July 2018, Tesloop, a Tesla taxi company, announced that one of its Model S cars had passed the 400,000-mile mark, and the company says it expects the car to last another 600,000 miles.

 

[CoastalCruiser]

“Three hundred thousand miles could be the standard for an electric car,” says Trotta. "

300K? I get that from 20 year old Hondas & Toyotas. Old news. Expecting 500K on the Model 3. And that's just for openers. ;>

 

[acoste]

“Three hundred thousand miles could be the standard for an electric car,” says Trotta. "

300K? I get that from 20 year old Hondas & Toyotas. Old news. Expecting 500K on the Model 3. And that's just for openers. ;>

I wish today's cars were build to last... They are designed for 15 years / 150k miles (excluding the Japanese). Model 3 reliability is closer to GM and Chrysler. 500k miles mean at least 2 batteries but it is more likely 3 batteries. My estimation is that Teslas will need new batteries every 12 years at most.

 

[animorph]

Porsche once claimed that 17 years was the optimum cost-efficient lifetime for cars. It makes some sense, since some cars will be wrecked early on (long life does nothing for them), and even a perfect 17 year old car would have some depreciation simply due to being out of date.

Of course it depends on your application.