Nine Car Brands Americans Keep the Longest

Toyota and Honda vehicles are known for their quality and longevity. These two Japanese automakers have built their reputations on sensible virtues like dependability and fuel efficiency – they’re certainly not known for styling or performance.

Decades of hard work and attention to detail have brought sales, market share and respect to both. You might think people would never get rid of their Toyota or Honda, but you’d be wrong. The top nine car brands Americans hold onto the longest might surprise you.

The ninth-place finisher in our longevity caravan is Dodge. The Chrysler subsidiary climbed one place up the ranks this year. It was 10th in 2011.

Since its journey through bankruptcy, the company’s sales have been steadily improving, and so has the length of time people hold on to their Dodges. The average owner keeps his or her’s for an even six years.

On the downside, Dodge’s customer retention rate is a trifling 21 percent, which is the third-lowest of all the makes measured. The industry average is nearly 50 percent.

Beating its sister division and earning an eighth-place finish is Chrysler. When traded in, the average age of a pentastar vehicle is six years, just like Dodge.

In comparison, the average Chrysler buyer is 55 years old and apparently isolated from all media; either that or they simply don’t care about quality.

The company’s vehicles were rated least dependable of any major manufacturer by J.D. Power and Associates. Chrysler buyers are advised to keep a pair of comfortable shoes in their vehicle at all times. The chance of going for an unexpected walk are high.

The average Ford patron is slightly younger than Chrysler’s, clocking in at a not-terribly geriatric 52. As for customer retention, the company is tied with Honda at 60 percent. FORD: Fortunate Owners Repeat Decisions.

Bringing some international flair to this truncated top 10 list is Infiniti. At trade-in time the average age of one of these luxury cars is 6.1 years. Last year it clocked in at 5.7, which was a strong enough showing to earn it ninth place on this list. But like George Jefferson they’ve moved on up.

Nissan’s luxury division manages to retain about 46 percent of its customers — a few clicks less than the industry average. The typical Infiniti buyer is aging gracefully, with an even five decades on their life odometers. That means they still have plenty of time to sample other high-end vehicles from competitors like Audi and Cadillac, and apparently most of them do.

Our list’s fifth-place finisher was named after our 16th president. Lincoln is Ford’s luxury brand, and it’s struggling to reinvent itself in the 21st century. New product is on the way but it may not be enough, especially for the crowd that buys these vehicles. The brand’s cars, trucks and crossovers take an average of 102 days to sell. Only GMCs take longer.

At 6.79 years the average buyer keeps their Lincoln longer than the brand’s namesake president served in office.

Perhaps this troubled brand will meet the same fate as Honest Abe, martyred at the hand of a greater cause, in this case, One Ford.

Yes, they still make cars, but given Suzuki’s recent departure from the American market it’s hard not to wonder how much longer the triple-diamond will hang around. One thing’s certain, its buyers won’t let go. On average they keep their Mitsus for nearly seven years.

In the United States last month the Japanese brand sold fewer than 4,000 units. Compounding its sales problem, only a third of buyers who trade in a Mitsubishi purchase another one. Its retention rate is the eighth worst in the industry. Perhaps it’s time this old warrior performed harakiri.

Buick, along with GMC, is one of the surprising survivors of GM’s bankruptcy a few years ago. Even today the tri-shield’s sales are relatively small – it’s the General’s lowest-volume brand – but they are improving. Its sales were up nearly 15 percent last month.

As you’d expect, the average age of those buyers is way up there, clocking in at 59 years old. Only Lincoln customers are more senior. However, there is still hope. That figure is down from a nursing home-grade 62 back in 2007.

As for customer-retention, Buick keeps just 38 percent of its buyers. There’s plenty of room for improvement here.

Another automaker with a disappointing retention rate is Jaguar. The crusty British brand manages to keep just 31 percent of its customers in the fold. Again, the industry average is 49 percent.

Quality is another issue for the company. They perennially end up at the bottom of various reliability surveys.

Though they may not perform well in areas of quality or customer retention, the folks that do put a Jaguar in their driveway tend to keep them for quite a while. The average age of these vehicles when traded in is seven years.

Coming in the top spot on this top-nine list is Volvo. The Chinese-owned Swedish automaker is known for safety; unfortunately of late it’s not known for keeping its customers. Only 30 percent of buyers come back for a second helping. Still, they’ve been holding on to their vehicles longer than any other brand. When turned in, the average Volvo is 7.05 years old.

On the bright side the average age of its buyers is younger than you might think, clocking in at 51 years.

With just 0.4 percentage points of market share the company moves fewer vehicles in the United States than MINI or Scion. Volvo may be selling safety, but other automakers are selling cars.

[Source: 24/7 Wall Street]