A new report finds that the median age of cars is increasing, showing that the reliability of cars has increased over the last decade which may make a used car a smart purchase.

The study from R.L. Polk & Co. finds that the median age of the American car is 9.4 years, breaking the previous record of 9.2 years.

Trucks also saw their median age increase, although they still were slightly behind the age of cars. The age of light trucks increased from 7.1 years in 2005 to 7.5 years in 2008. Overall trucks had a median age of 7.6 years.

As automakers have increased the reliability of new cars over the last few years, it has trickled down to the used car market. Buying a used car today means that it’s likely more reliable than a used car was a decade ago.

“[Consumers are] realizing that the used cars of today are not the used cars of a few years ago, and that realization is not positive for new car sales,” Jesse Toprak, an analyst at Edmunds told Dow Jones recently.

Find New York Used Cars with New Jersey State Auto.