How long do you keep your cars?

[Donald]

Until they are embarrassing to drive or something major goes like engine or transmission. Both vehicles are on a yearly diet of CarWell. The pickup is at 200K. How long will its transmission last is anyone's guess. I do use Amsoil ATF and a Magnefine trans. filter. The engine is a Cummins so that will last.

My next car may be a new Subaru from a dealer in Albany that offers a lifetime powertrain warranty. Between Carwell and that warranty I might be able to keep that car until I am too old to drive.

 

[Pop_Rivit]

It depends. I usually keep them well into their golden years assuming they are road worthy and safe. That being said, I recently sold my 2006 Elantra in favor of a 2002 Buick. The Buick is extremely low mileage (less than 40,000) has never been in rain or snow, and has all the service records. It's pretty much a brand new 12 year old car. Since the value of even a very low mileage extremely clean 12 year old Buick is pretty low, it made more sense to keep it and sell the Elantra. There was nothing wrong with the Elantra, but for the minimal price difference and fuel mileage difference, it just made more sense to purchase and keep the Buick.

I also had planned on keeping my full size 1999 Dodge pickup for many more years, but I inherited a 1999 Dakota over the summer. Since I no longer need a full size pickup, and since I know the complete service history of the Dakota (I did most of it), it made more sense to sell the full size pickup and keep the Dakota.

I have no doubt that we'll keep our 2006 Subaru for a few more years, but it's always possible that a deal will come along that is too good to pass up.

 

[hpb]

Myself, I couldn't care less what I drive or how old it is, as long as it's safe and roadworthy. If I have to fix it occasionally, so be it. Case in point, my Falcon, bought it for $150 a couple of years back, and will soon be dropping in an engine and trans out of a low mileage wreck to give it a new lease on life. I'll drive that car until it dies!

My wife, on the other hand, likes to have a newer model car, and is big on safety features. So her car tends to be traded every 5 to 6 years, either on a new car, or one that's only a couple of years old.

 

[Bud_One]

I purchase vehicles to keep them till the value of their repairs surpass the value I hold for them or they get totaled beyond my abilities to repair them at a reasonable cost.

 

[jmb3675]

I usually only keep them until they rust out or need a major repair. My 2002 Focus I will likely keep on the road as long as I can though. In reality it is probably not worth replacing the engine if it ever dies, but I like the car enough that I would do it anyway. I feel the same about my truck, although that only has just over 100k miles and only has one rust spot. I plan to take care of that in the spring.

 

[440Magnum]

Well the '66 in my .sig has been in the family since 1968, and I've had it in my personal care since '91. I've had the '69 since '94. I drove the '73 Plymouth I got in '1978 until I gave it away last year with almost 440,000 miles on it. Getting the SRT was (so far) a once in a lifetime change for me.

 

[cashmoney]

Originally Posted By: SLO_Town
Hello:

Based on the build date, January 2003, come this January 2015 my BMW will be 12 years old. I special ordered it from the factory (no sunroof) and took possession in February 2003.

As you can see in the pictures (taken April 2014) it's completely used up and needs replacement. Terrible after only 84K miles. Simply terrible!

Scott















Beautiful car and great job keeping looking good! A man after my own heart.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: Astro14
That's a great looking car!

Those of us who live in states where they salt the roads know that your car would be toast after two winters of salt...

Plus the OP only takes it out when it's not raining, which is probably 99.9% of the time in Cali anyway.

That is the benefit of living in California, especially in So Cal. On the average we have about 5-6 raining nights and 5-6 raining days a year, the remaining 250-255 days are mostly sunny and warm.

 

[Bluestream]

I only keep my daily driver for 20 years. After that I feel self conscious about driving an old car. I have lots of money, and could buy any car I wanted and pay cash for it, But I like the challenge of doing the repairs myself. I have never had a car loan in my life, as I dont belive in borrowing money for an aseets that decreases in value, If you have to pay someone the old cars can nickle and dime you

 

[MCompact]

As for the current fleet:

1975 2002: 6 years
1995 318ti: 19 years
1999 Wrangler: 12 years
2004 X3 2.5: 9 years
2007 Mazdaspeed 3: 7 years
2009 328i: 3 years

1996 Speed Triple: 9 years

 

[HerrStig]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: qdeezie
Aside from all of my rambling, what factors make YOU get rid of a car? I'm just asking out of curiosity.

When it starts to nickle and dime me to death, it's typically the time to let it go for me. My goal is not to have steady monthly payments on a car, but if something constantly breaks, it starts to feel very much like monthly payments. Last month I spent $300+ to fix a water leak. This month I'm spending $500+ to get a window regulator replaced and some other stuff. Not liking this one bit. I hope this pattern does not continue. This car is barely driven.

Similarly, we dumped my wife's 6-year-old MB recently because the extended warranty was up and we've gone through some major repairs while it was still under warranty. I was afraid issues would continue to pop up and then I'd have to foot the massive bill myself.
German cars are not exactly the path to low ownership cost glory. Toyota maybe. Not the "ultimate driving machine, but.....

 

[zrxkawboy]

Originally Posted By: Quest
we typically bought used (


Pretty much what we do.

 

[nwjones18]

My truck has been in the family since new and I still drive it daily. I don't have any intentions of ever getting rid of it unless its totaled. I really enjoy the I-6 5spd combo. I do like my Cadillac. Its comfortable and extremely quick, but gets 16mpg in the city and has little annoying problems regularly.. I think my next daily driver will be something 4-cyl and a manual transmission.

 

[Clevy]

I keep mine til they are totalled or not worth fixing. I get comfortable and I see no need in replacing a running vehicle just to have another running vehicle.

 

[ThirdeYe]

As long as humanly possible. I love my cars and I've flirted with parting with the Integra for a while, but I just can't part with it yet. I enjoy it too much, even though it's draining financially to have a 20 year old rusty beater.

 

[Silverado12]

I used to keep them a long time, then in the past 10 years I got into the habit of changing up every 5 or so years. I think I'm going back to my old ways. Buying new cars gets 'spensive. In recent years, I pay cash, so no car pymts. Semi retired now and I run the road for a little pocket change, so I'll keep these vehicles until they give me issues. I don't think the Chevy will ever give me problems, but we'll see.

 

[mjk]

My life has changed drastically the last decade. Until I bought the Tahoe, I've been essentially buying 3-4k cars, and keeping them for approximately 100,000 miles.

I figure 100k miles, with a max purchase of 4k, is a decent ROI.

My present Camry was bought with 126k for 3500.00. It currently has 237k on it. Probably the best car I've ever had. Will unload it this spring to my mechanic, and look for another 4k/5k Avalon or Camry.

 

[fdcg27]

Out of the seven vehicles in our family fleet, only two are under 100K and only those two are less than a decade old.
Cars last a long time and are usually not expensive to own if given some basic maintenance.
I used to like to say that a car is like a tube of toothpaste: Use it up. I also used to like to say that there isn't much that you can't fix for a hundred bucks.
You can keep a car for as long as it can be maintained and repaired to be safe and reliable in use.

 

[MCompact]

Originally Posted By: fdcg27
Out of the seven vehicles in our family fleet, only two are under 100K and only those two are less than a decade old.
Cars last a long time and are usually not expensive to own if given some basic maintenance.
I used to like to say that a car is like a tube of toothpaste: Use it up. I also used to like to say that there isn't much that you can't fix for a hundred bucks.
You can keep a car for as long as it can be maintained and repaired to be safe and reliable in use.


Exactly; I'm never selling the Club Sport, and probably not the '02 either. The Wrangler will also probably remain in the garage, but everything else will go sooner or later...

 

[babyivan]

I grew up with my dad being a used car dealer, always switching cars, driving something different every other day. With dealer plates, the insurance covers whatever car the plate is on and no inspection is needed.

I get bored quick thanx to dear ole dad, changing cars as quickly as a month or two. Ive owned and registered over 31 cars in my life and NEVER owned more than one at a time and I just turned 40yrs old!

I I I I '84 CELEBRITY, '84 CUTLASS, '85 FIFTH AVE, '85 CELEBRITY WAGON
I I I I I I I VICS/GM'S '88 VIC, '87, '89, '90, '92, '92, '97 GM'S
I I I CAMRYS '88, '90, '96... ALL 5 SPEEDS
I ALTIMA '01 5 SPEED
I CELICA '90 5 SPEED
I I MINVANS '91 SILHOUETTE, '96 LUMINA APV
I I FIREBIRDS BOTH '89 TPI 305 5 SPEEDS (ONE HAD DUAL CATS)
I I MUSTANG '91 5 SPEED AND BRONCO '88
I FOCUS '00 5 SPEED ZETEC
I REGAL 3800
I HONDA SOHC VTEC 5 SPEED
I SOLARA '99 V6 SPEED
I CIERA '87 3.8 (CURRENT)
I LESABRE '05
I SATURN '94 5 SPEED

-29 vehicles

CARS I DID NOT REGISTER, BUT TECHNICALLY OWNED
I 94 LESABRE
I 98 CROWN VIC

-2 vehicles

Lately, Ive been better... Ive had my current car since hurricane Sandy flooded my '97 Grand Marquis (a tad over 2 years and counting). If I find something I like, I will hold on to it a bit longer and I love my '87 Ciera with her high output 3.8 Buick engine!

In fact, I'm about to throw on my old NYS Liberty plates thanx to my car being 25+ yrs old and qualifying as historic. NY lets you run period correct plates on historic vehicles (I'm just waiting on my historic registration sticker from the DMV). That should help keep it in the fam for at least a few more years.

When I get "the itch", I start cruising Craigslist and then have to talk myself out of it or it gets bad.
Usually I like to switch to something completely opposite of what I currently have (for example: 4cyl stick to a v8 'couch').

I'm actually pondering a 2nd car in addition to the Ciera.... I was thinking something manual, mid-90's and V8. I love F-body cars (Firebirds/Camaros), but Mustangs are just SO much easier to find!