Commodore.ca: The PET, VIC, 128, 64 & More Forum

I had a question regarding the Commodore's lifespan during the 80's and 90's hopefully one of you can help out with.

The 64 came out in... 82? and was manufactured up until 93..? If someone purchased a Commodore in 82, mid eighties, what is the likely hood it would have seen continued use into the 90's? When were people buying more advanced PC's, such as the 386 or something in between the 64-286/386?
I was watching a documentary where a teenager bought a 64 around 86, but it was still his primary computer in 1990. Connecting to BBS's, programming etc. I'm asking for both historical curiosity and the likely hood a situation such as in the documentary would have been true.

I know my own father bought a 64 back in 82, and I clearly remember using it for games around 88/89. It wasn't until 91 that my father bought a 386/DX40 but even then it was almost $3000, so I'm really interested in knowing the lifespan of the 64. How long did people hold onto them for main use, until "other" system's were being sold at a affordable price? For a system that was released back in 82... it's hard to imagine that home user's, teens, relied on them up until 1990's.

Thanks in advance for the replies.

consumed wrote:The 64 came out in... 82? and was manufactured up until 93..?

It was manufactured until 1992.

If someone purchased a Commodore in 82, mid eighties, what is the likely hood it would have seen continued use into the 90's? When were people buying more advanced PC's, such as the 386 or something in between the 64-286/386?
I was watching a documentary where a teenager bought a 64 around 86, but it was still his primary computer in 1990. Connecting to BBS's, programming etc. I'm asking for both historical curiosity and the likely hood a situation such as in the documentary would have been true.

If the teenager was using it for productivity, such as BBS's, programming, etc., then it is conceivable that he/she would continue to use it because of its low cost and wealth of programs. He/she would have already collected the programs most useful and would have been familiar with them, whereas the other machines and their software have to be bought (making for high cost) and learned (entailing a high learning curve).

Back from Maker Faire 2015,

I got my first C-64 in 1983, by 1986 I had an Amiga 1000 (got a c-128 just before the Amiga) by 1996 I had a working C-64, C-128D and Amiga computers, including an A1200. Must have been about 2002 I got my first Windows machine. Today I have a Windows Tower pc, An Amiga A2000, 030, SD/FF and 21Mbs of RAM, a stock A1000 (Starboard II 2Mb Side car) a C-128 and C-64, so I guess I am not an "average" user.