Building Back Better seems to be a running joke for the last four years as Americans deal with another financial issue revolving around automobiles. AP reports that automobiles in the United States are owned for an average of 12.6 years, setting a record high in recent times, and it’s all thanks to ridiculously high prices that most people can’t afford.

AP’s business news report tapped into the S&P Global Mobility that tracks the vehicle registration data across the nation and the time people hold on to their cars is at least two months more than last year – which also set a record. Seems like Building Back Better turned into building back expensive. The report did say there’s a tiny bit of hope, with some new sales prices starting to go down a bit, but with the average new-vehicle selling spot being over $45,000 – that is still way too high for most folks in the working class. AP’s report said the following:

Still, with an average U.S. new-vehicle selling price of just over $45,000 last month, many can’t afford to buy new — even though prices are down more than $2,000 from the peak in December of 2022, according to J.D. Power.

“It’s prohibitively high for a lot of households now,” said Todd Campau, aftermarket leader for S&P Global Mobility. “So I think consumers are being painted into the corner of having to keep the vehicle on the road longer.”

Photo CC cropped, for humor purposes.