Can an old domain automatically have good reputation?

Domain age does not automatically confer good reputation:

Dormant old domains that never sent email or stopped sending years ago have neutral reputation. They need warmup like new domains because providers have no recent data.

Old domains with bad history carry that baggage. Providers remember past problems. Purchasing an aged domain does not escape its previous owner's reputation damage.

Age provides slight benefit in that providers may be marginally less suspicious of established domains than newly registered ones. But this advantage is minor.

Recent sending history matters far more than registration age. A domain actively sending clean mail for six months outranks a ten-year-old domain that never sent.

Age is like seniority without performance. A captain who has held a license for decades but never sailed has no voyage record to prove competence.