“Retiree Vehicles”: Advantages And Disadvantages

So-called “retiree vehicles” have a positive image. Cars are often clearly declared as such in newspaper advertisements or on the Internet. In fact, such pensioner vehicles usually have many advantages that allow you to get a top vehicle for a mostly low price.

Of course, not every “retiree vehicle” is the same! Only the most common properties are discussed here.

Table of Contents

Positive characteristics of a typical pensioner vehicle:

Very low mileage, often only 5000-8000 km/year – mostly caused almost exclusively by shopping trips
Often permanently stored in garages
Often driven gently, rarely at full throttle (this means, for turbo engines, for example, a fully intact turbocharger)
Even after 50,000 km, there are often only very few stone chips in the paintwork and windscreen, as the car is rarely driven on the motorway
Partly high-quality motorization, partly sporty automatic transmission
Used by many drivers only as a “fair weather vehicle”.
Overall little wear on the engine and exterior

Disadvantages can be…

Sometimes only poorly repaired (paint) damage caused by parking bumps
New cars are often sent for service from the outset in “backyard workshops” instead of to an authorized workshop
Equipment is often poor
For vehicles that have not been moved for a long time, an oil change is usually recommended, even outside the service interval