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> This includes cars

Plenty of manufacturers give a 7 year warranty for new cars. In addition, there's no sign that new cars depreciate faster than older cars (when comparing current depreciation for historic depreciation). In markets where cars are driven for many, many years and kilometers (e.g. Finland), there's no evidence that new cars shouldn't be expected to last more than 5 years.

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Seven years is not a long time for a car. My family's last car was kept for almost 30 years. My aunt has never bought more than one car in her entire life -- a toyota camry. Man, if you toss out your car after seven years, you will end up buying almost seven cars(!!!) in your lifetime. That's insane.

The parent made the claim that it's hard to buy a car and expect it to last more than 5 years, which is clearly wrong.

I think the key point you left out is Finland. Long drives, harsh winters, and corrosive salt do a number on cars. 5 years is a long time for a Finnish commuter. It's not very long if you typically use it for Sunday family trips to the ice cream shop in Southern California, however.

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