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Comment by John23832 | Hacker News Reader

There are plenty of mililenials out there with cars, they just don t have NEW ones.

But for the millenials out there with old cars, and for the ones without a car at all. Nobody wants to buy a car because they're a huge financial responsibility. Duh? Millenials, who are sattled with student loans or, even worse (statistically), didn't go to school, don't want to attach themselves to a huge payment every month. If they're in a city, owning a car probably comes with huge parking fees as well.

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As a gen X-er, we didn't have new cars when we were young, either. My mother said it was a bit of a problem - good cars required less skill to drive, but it was older people with skill that got them. Meanwhile the young, inexperienced drivers have the crappy old cars that you really should have some experience before driving them (For example, I remember driving for half a kilometer on a dead-flat tyre because I didn't recognise the feel of that pull. Something felt wrong, but I had no idea what...)

I daresay, for recent college graduates, buying used cars and even clunkers has been common for a very long time.

There are plenty of mililenials out there with cars, they just don t have NEW ones.

The article also points out that driving licenses have dropped significantly, so it's not just a matter of buying cheaper cars.

The article asserts this, but doesn't support it. It's got a statistic for the current rate, but for the past it basically says "back in MY day we were EXCITED to get our licenses."

For the boomer generation cars were socialisation: how you got to see your friends.

For the millenial generation that's smartphones.

Agreed. Another possible factor: 15 years ago, most states had full licenses at 16 years old. Now, most states have restricted licenses, that "graduate" into unrestricted licenses by 17 or 18 years old (21 in the case of Maine) [1]. Even then, your unrestricted license can be delayed based on your driving record. I'd guess that the wait and the additional red-tape makes driving in general a less exciting proposition than it was "back in my day".

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driver%27s_license_in_the_Unit...

As living in the city is getting more and more popular, this is very much understandable.

I can only speak for Berlin, but I got rid of my car soon after moving here. As a student public transport is basically free (it's part of the semester fee) and after finishing university, getting anywhere from anywhere at any time of the day (and at any state of consciousness) felt so natural, that I quickly got myself a BVG subscription.

You can always rent a van for cheap if you have to transport something big - that is if you have a driver's licence. Many people who were born here never bothered to get one.

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