One of the effects that the economic crisis, (specifically, the difficulty in obtaining a loan for a car purchase), has been the aging of the average car on the roads.

In the province of Granada alone, for instance, there are almost 200,000 cars over 15-years old on the roads. The total car population for the province is 633,698… and a half, if you count mine.

If you can’t get a bank loan for a new car, you hang onto your own and repair it. The trouble is, with a shortage of cash for repairs, only the very necessary jobs are carried out, just to get it through the next ITV. It’s a make-do arrangement.

The average age of the nation’s cars, vans, lorries and buses is 11.3 years, according to the Asociación Nacional de Fabricantes de Automóviles y Camiones (Anfac). In 2007, the average car age was 8-years old..

Farmers patch up their tractors, companies patch up their fleet of company cars and your average Joe Bloggs makes sure that he has some masking tape & superglue in the boot, just in case.

But it’s not just a case of being stuck in the middle of nowhere when your old banger finally gives up the ghost; the risk of accidents on the roads also increases, logically.

(News: Granada)