The disruption in the pattern of between 16 and 17 million new vehicle sales that coincided with the recession created a break in the historic sales cycle that essentially led to a greater disparity within the vehicle fleet. With fewer new cars sold, the average age of vehicles increased, therefore leading to a historically older vehicle population. At the same time, new vehicle sales have ramped up, creating a modest surge in the number of new vehicles on the road. 

The breakout of repairable vehicle appraisal data by the age of the loss vehicle underscores the shift that has occurred in the last several years to a markedly older mix. Nearly 42 percent of all repairable appraisals were for vehicles aged 7 years and older during the 2013 calendar year—the highest ever recorded in the last 15 years, and more than 15 percentage points higher than in 2005.

A comparison of annual change in U.S. new vehicle sales to current model year vehicles' share of repairable appraisal volume underscores the relationship of new vehicles sold to the age of insured vehicles with claims. When U.S. new vehicle sales slipped in 2001 and 2002, the appraisal count share of current model year vehicles also fell. A similar, yet more severe pattern can be seen in 2008 through 2010 (see below).