Long long long term car ownership

[Railrust]

I always go into buying a vehicle with the thought of...I'm going to keep this thing forever. Then it's sitting there at around 170,00 plus miles, it needs a major repair (and small ones) and I bail. Just did it with a Lexus, it needed $4,000 in various reposts and I traded it in. Kind of regretting that when I'm paying my monthly car payment and that yearly $500 plus excise tax bill comes in. Never mind the dealer hidden fees when I bough the thing...the paper work prep crap.

I'm a tech, I know how vehicles can go south pretty quickly and start nickel and diming you, but maybe it is worth fixing these things? My Lexus had to go simply because almost every part for that car was three times as much as a typical brand, but I'm seriously considering keeping my latest vehicle (2018 Silverado) for a ridiculously long time.

Anyone go very very long term on a vehicle and was it worth it? Paying for those big big repairs.

 

[eljefino]

I drove an $800 saturn another 11 years, I think that's long term.

When I dumped it, there were many issues creeping up at the same time. I was pretty happy, because I didn't want a nickel-and-dime situation. It had a driver's window that needed guiding to go up, falling headliner, 4 oddball brand tires, and a clutch/tranny issue that blocked 1st gear despite double-clutching.

That was at 244k-- at 175k I went through it with new piston rings, timing chain, struts on all 4 corners. Was a nice mid-life refresh that I got to enjoy for many miles. Barely burned oil at the end and the AC still worked.

My excise tax is a fraction of MSRP, so it doesn't matter if my car is 5 years old or 20-- a $25k car is a $100 annual bill. I'm annoyed when GM overinflates their MSRP then offers 17% off or whatever-- that just hits me with unnecessary tax.

If we only bought new and went 20 years, we'd buy about three cars as adults. That's pretty boring.

 

[CT8]

Cars wear out.Depreciate in value and are generally a some what a necessary waste of money. Though cars are better transportation than a horse. Usually people let their cars go to poop instead of keeping up on the repairs.. Yeah $4,000.00 repair on the rest of a worn old pile is not worth it.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Our 2006 Acura TSX (mighty K24) has almost 190K. I have replaced water pump, alternator (O'Reilly rebuilt) and PS pump (new Amazon cheapie).
Wish I had rebuilt the original alternator. Kept the original ps pump; I will rebuild it if the cheapie goes south.
Besides these items, I have only done regular service.
This car ain't going nowhere.

The 2001 V8 Tundra has 190K. Don't think I have replaced any components besides service items.

Both of these vehicles look and drive great.
I do believe in keeping them alive and have no problem fixing them as long as the body and interior are good.

 

[PimTac]

This is really a case by case decision. A lot of people will not realize or they do not care that they will pay more by getting rid of the older car. On the other hand, circumstances change. The car may not suit the new circumstances.

 

[A_Harman]

I bought my 2002 Camaro new and have put 271k miles on it. It's not just my car, it's MY CAR!
I have used it for track driving ever since I got it, and have had to do a lot of major repairs on it over the years:
4 sets of rear axle shafts.
3 rear end swaps, including a custom rear end build.
10 sets of front wheel bearings.
2 complete sets of springs.
at least 30 brake jobs, probably closer to 50.
1 broken front sway bar.
2 alternator replacements.
2 trips to body shops to repair crash damage, but nothing serious.
1 transmission rebuild when reverse got hard to find
1 clutch replacement as preventive maintenance when the trans was rebuilt
engine still runs good, but is consuming a lot of oil

I drive the car year-round, so I have 3 sets of wheels and tires for it: Blizzaks on the factory 16's for winter, Conti high-performance all-seasons on 17's for the other 3 seasons, and soft tires on 17's for track use.
I also have a set of C5 Corvette front brakes that get put on before track season, then go back to the factory front brakes for winter.

Why go through all this?
I just like driving it. It fits me.

 

[Wolf359]

Just depends on the costs of the repairs. I had a car where I put about 200k on it. Over that time period I put in multiple items like struts and alternators. But the most expensive part was just buying it the first time, I usually bought lifetime warranty items so when it went again the 2nd or 3rd time, it just cost me labor, the part was covered under warranty. Multiple sets of brake pads, mufflers, tie rods, sway bar links etc. Of course when the transmission went, there was no more saving it and I dumped it.

 

[Railrust]

Originally Posted by A_Harman
I bought my 2002 Camaro new and have put 271k miles on it. It's not just my car, it's MY CAR!
I have used it for track driving ever since I got it, and have had to do a lot of major repairs on it over the years:
4 sets of rear axle shafts.
3 rear end swaps, including a custom rear end build.
10 sets of front wheel bearings.
2 complete sets of springs.
at least 30 brake jobs, probably closer to 50.
1 broken front sway bar.
2 alternator replacements.
2 trips to body shops to repair crash damage, but nothing serious.
1 transmission rebuild when reverse got hard to find
1 clutch replacement as preventive maintenance when the trans was rebuilt
engine still runs good, but is consuming a lot of oil

I drive the car year-round, so I have 3 sets of wheels and tires for it: Blizzaks on the factory 16's for winter, Conti high-performance all-seasons on 17's for the other 3 seasons, and soft tires on 17's for track use.
I also have a set of C5 Corvette front brakes that get put on before track season, then go back to the factory front brakes for winter.

Why go through all this?
I just like driving it. It fits me.

See this is pretty cool because you actually had fun and enjoyed it along the way, too often that's not the case.

 

[Railrust]

Originally Posted by eljefino
I drove an $800 saturn another 11 years, I think that's long term.

When I dumped it, there were many issues creeping up at the same time. I was pretty happy, because I didn't want a nickel-and-dime situation. It had a driver's window that needed guiding to go up, falling headliner, 4 oddball brand tires, and a clutch/tranny issue that blocked 1st gear despite double-clutching.

That was at 244k-- at 175k I went through it with new piston rings, timing chain, struts on all 4 corners. Was a nice mid-life refresh that I got to enjoy for many miles. Barely burned oil at the end and the AC still worked.

My excise tax is a fraction of MSRP, so it doesn't matter if my car is 5 years old or 20-- a $25k car is a $100 annual bill. I'm annoyed when GM overinflates their MSRP then offers 17% off or whatever-- that just hits me with unnecessary tax.

If we only bought new and went 20 years, we'd buy about three cars as adults. That's pretty boring.


Now that's what I'm talking about, a serious repair at 170,000 miles...the chain, the rings, struts all around. That's an expensive repair. That's when I usually bail, and I'm hoping I won't next time

 

[skyactiv]

I've had my 2013 VW GTI since new, 6 years this month. Paid cash for it and it has 156K miles on it, mostly from my wife's business travels.
I have owned much more reliable cars in the past but the VW has been the best driver. But all good things come to an end and now that spring is here,
I'm looking at new vehicles.

 

[KrisZ]

My 2006 Mazda 3 with over 170k miles is still doing well although it needs some work. I recently changed the CV drive shaft and made a bone head move of not replacing the seal, well it is slowly dripping now. But it also needs a wheel bearing on that side, I didn't hear it until I got new tires, so I will do that job and the seal at the same time.
Other than that it's pretty solid although I'm thinking to get an alternator and starter rebuild kits for it.

I'm itching to get something else after driving this thing for so long, but I will probably keep it as a third vehicle.

 

[HowAboutThis]

My dad was a believer in keeping cars forever. Most driving done around town, especially. It has affected me as well. We always had more cars than people in my family growing up, because when one needed a repair the other could be driven. Lessened the annoyance. I recently traded an 02 with over 200k miles and it pained me. Yes, repairs were getting annoying. In a 6 month stretch had $1800in repairs. Pulley bearing, calipers seizing, clutch being glitchy, cat throwing codes and starting to cause drive ability issues. So, I kept it a few more months, waiting for a good deal, and then traded it in on a Corolla I'm hoping to keep for 10+ years 200k+ miles. The difference being, I put a lot more miles on per year currently so I might hit a lot of miles before a lot of years.

But it's ALMOST ALWAYS cheaper to repair a car than have payments. For instance, the car I had really couldn't have had anything else go wrong with it, barring an engine implosion (which was probably minimal risk). So I'm sure I would've had a year of normal maintenance costs before anything else major being necessary. $150/month is a cheap car payment.

Think of it this way. For $10k you can get a used car. Using a loan, you'll be paying $250-300 if you have a reasonable credit rating. What are the odds of $3k-$3600 in repair bills each year over the next 3-4 years of payments? Exceedingly low.

 

[gman2304]

I had my 1995 Nissan 4x4 pickup for 19 years. The transmission bearings became noisy so I sold it for $5,000 and bought my 2005 Avalanche used 5 years ago for $7,000. I've spent about $400 on repairs in that 5 years, instrument cluster rebuild and drive shaft u joints. I've owned two trucks in the last 24 years but my wife buys a late model used car every 6 to 8 years. I have no emotional attachment to vehicles so if the Avalanche starts to nickel and dime me, I'll wash rinse and repeat..... used of course.

 

[Andrew1972]

My wife is on her third car of her life at age 46. 96 Civic>2005 Subaru Legacy Wagon> 2018 Tiguan.

Myself I buy 6 year old vehicles and keep 2-7 years.

 

[HowAboutThis]

It's also odd that my wife has a 15 year old vehicle with almost 200k and she wants to update. I offered her my 1.5 year old car and I'd keep driving hers but she doesn't like my car and wants AWD for those 2 days every year her rear wheels need to be used.

Anyway, I digress. I've thought heavily about selling my newish one and driving her old one. Because...I'm sure I can get 250-300k before it starts using a quart every 100 miles instead of 1 every 3k miles...and it'd be cheaper to insure.

 

[JTK]

I wish I could be content in keeping a daily driver long term. I tend to maintain them as such. More than 10 yrs is exceedingly difficult in my climate of ~6 months worth of winter. In 30yrs of owning vehicles, I think the longest I've kept a vehicle was 5yrs. It's usually no more than 3,

 

[KrisZ]

Originally Posted by JTK
I wish I could be content in keeping a daily driver long term. I tend to maintain them as such. More than 10 yrs is exceedingly difficult in my climate of ~6 months worth of winter. In 30yrs of owning vehicles, I think the longest I've kept a vehicle was 5yrs. It's usually no more than 3,


If you rustproof regularly, 10 years a quite easy. Toronto area is not much different than Buffalo in climate and the amount of salt on the roads, my Mazda 3 (one of the worst cars for rusting) did just fine in there for 11 years and continues doing fine in California.

 

[HowAboutThis]

Originally Posted by JTK
I wish I could be content in keeping a daily driver long term. I tend to maintain them as such. More than 10 yrs is exceedingly difficult in my climate of ~6 months worth of winter. In 30yrs of owning vehicles, I think the longest I've kept a vehicle was 5yrs. It's usually no more than 3,


Why is it difficult? I grew up in MN. 90s and 2000s cars last about 15-20 before rust starts to take out fenders. Sounds like rationalization...

 

[MCompact]

I've had my Club Sport Since new- now going on 24 years. I bought my Wrangler in 2002. The long ownership times reflect how much I like them. I can't see keeping my 2er that long; I know I'll want something faster in a few years.

 

[JTK]

KrisZ and HowAboutThis, you're right. If you are diligent with yearly rustproofing, things should go much better. Up until a few years ago, you had to go into Canada if you wanted Krown in my area. There was one or two outfits who offered an oil-like spray, but not readily available.

Without that, you're going to have issues by year 10.