The lifespan of an automobile varies. Some folks can't hold onto a car for more than a few years, while others will make that sucker last for a decade or more. Meanwhile, your average commercial jet lasts somewhere in the neighborhood of 16 years. Han Solo, on the other hand, has been flying the Millennium Falcon for decades... or roughly 40 years, when you count up the time between the first three Star Wars movies and also The Force Awakens.

Prior to Solo, though, the Falcon belonged to Lando Calrissian, and the iconic Star Wars ship was even around during the era of Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith, which took place around 18 years before A New Hope, as evidenced in this cameo from the prequel.

So, yeah, the Millennium Falcon is old. Like, really old. And in the 30 years since Return of the Jedi, apparently it was in decent enough shape that all it needed was a replacement sensor dish.

That, and Han Solo is still flying the damn thing. But why?

Kristian Harloff asked Harrison Ford that very same question during a chat with the cast for Fandango, and Ford gave a pretty simple answer: Han Solo is nostalgic.

"I think he wants a ship that served him well," Ford says. "The ship that made the Kessel Run in 12 parsecs. Han Solo's probably more nostalgic than I am. I'm not that way about machines, but he is."

You wouldn't necessarily assume Han Solo is the kind of guy who gets hung up on nostalgia, but there ya go. He's just like the rest of us!

Will the Millennium Falcon survive another go-round in The Force Awakens? We find out December 18.