How long do you keep/drive your car(s)?

[Alex Franke]

I saw this article, about a guy that still drives his drives his 1929 Ford Model A, and got to wondering how long most people keep their cars.

Personally, I prefer to drive them until they die, and as a result I become attached to them and have a hard time getting rid of them even after that (case in point: the RX-7 covered in my driveway). We got our current car when we started having kids because it's safer and more reliable. We're considering a different car now, because the we might be outgrowing the one we have...

How about you?

[Ed62]

I have a '97 Buick LeSabre that I bought used in 2000. It had 13,000 miles on it when I bought it. We just bought a new car, and the LeSabre didn't have a hard time finding a new home (to be picked up today). It only has 77,000 miles on it.

Ed

[Richard in Smithville]

I voted for "keep it until the repairs are too much". I need something reliable to get around in as I live in the sticks. I just bought a new suv, retiring my 11 year old Aerostar. The old van still runs well but things are starting to come up and I got a great deal on the Escape. The Aerostar is going to my mum. It will do her well for the short runs she makes to get her shopping.

[Ken Massingale]

We have an '84 S10 Blazer that was bought new, >400k miles on her. Our 'new' truck is a '96 Dodge Ram.

[Sawduster]

Up until the last ten years or so we pretty much drove our cars till they died. Mostly out of economic neccesity. Trade in value really sucks with a very few exceptions so might as well drive it till it dies. In the last several years, having three incomes (retirement and two jobs) and with the kids gone out on their own (to whatever extent they really ever do get out on their own) we are able to afford to drive a vehicle for fewer years and trade them in before I have to spend much time working on them or, more the case these days, pay someone else to fix them. So while I nearly had to tow a few cars to the dealer to trade them in in the past, I have passed the last three down to the kids since the trade in value offered for them was less than the value provided by giving one of the kids a more reliable means of transportation than what they had. This saves me from having to work on their cars since they can't afford to pay some else to fix them.

[Black wallnut]

I bought my first car in 1982. Since then I've owned 6 vehicles, not counting those that LOML has had since we were married and not including our Yukon which we both drive. Included is an early Bronco that was a project vehicle that I never really worked on much, and might have put on as many as 200 miles in the 2 years that I owned it. LOML on th other hand has owned 5 cars since we've been married including our Yukon.

For the most part I keep them until they either cost more to fix than value or get a deal on the next one that I just can not refuse. My Suzuki Samuri is in this class. My dad was trying to sell it and I wanted it. The price and terms were what I could live with so I said yes. It now has 192,000 miles, 100K since rebuild, and 52K of those miles I've put on it. It is in great need of overhaul again and is worth far more to me than what I could sell it for. I often get offers from people wanting to buy it. Replacement cost for something comparable is way more than anyone would be willing to give me for it. I'll likely in the near future find a good used 22R Toyota engine plus trans and transfer case and shoe horn it in. For those that have never owned a Samuri and/or had the opportunity to drive one in the woods there is simply nothing that compares.

[Sawduster]

I bought my first car in 1982. Since then I've owned 6 vehicles, not counting those that LOML has had since we were married and not including our Yukon which we both drive. Included is an early Bronco that was a project vehicle that I never really worked on much, and might have put on as many as 200 miles in the 2 years that I owned it. LOML on th other hand has owned 5 cars since we've been married including our Yukon.

For the most part I keep them until they either cost more to fix than value or get a deal on the next one that I just can not refuse. My Suzuki Samuri is in this class. My dad was trying to sell it and I wanted it. The price and terms were what I could live with so I said yes. It now has 192,000 miles, 100K since rebuild, and 52K of those miles I've put on it. It is in great need of overhaul again and is worth far more to me than what I could sell it for. I often get offers from people wanting to buy it. Replacement cost for something comparable is way more than anyone would be willing to give me for it. I'll likely in the near future find a good used 22R Toyota engine plus trans and transfer case and shoe horn it in. For those that have never owned a Samuri and/or had the opportunity to drive one in the woods there is simply nothing that compares.

I've had three 4X4s, a Bronco (original style), a '61 IH Scout, and a Samari. The Samari was the most fun to drive in the desert.

[Tequila]

Working on my third car right now. The first one was a starter car that quickly became too expensive to repair. The second one lasted from 1994-2001 when it got wrecked by a drunk driver. The current one's going on seven years now with over 100k miles and repair costs starting to climb, so I'm starting to get the fever to look for the next one.

[bmyers]

Can you add " till death do us part " to the poll?

I usually keep vehicles until they die a natural death or my wife kills it... So far it's been about 50/50 natural to untimely deaths...

My preference always seems to be work on repairing the old girl today (the cars, not the wife) and take tomorrow off. I couldn't afford to pay cash for a new car and have a hard time promising to pay for 3-5 years every month.

That said, I've been twisting wrenches since I was 13 or so. If you keep up with vital fluids, they really can last a while. I live in AZ so rust isn't a factor.

Bill

[jackellis]

I'm on my fifth vehicle and the third in thirty-odd years (first two were well used junkers in high school and college). My current ride is a '91 Ford Probe that gets around 28 mpg and puts on only about 6,000 miles a year. Before that it was a 1983 Nissan Sentra that got 37 mpg. It became a magnet for dumb drivers so we sold it after the second accident with 18 years and 190,000 miles on it. Bad idea because it still ran well.

My wife has owned four vehicles over 40 years. We still use her 1984 Subaru wagon as an airport car. Starts up right away, even after spending the entire winter in a cold garage. We might die before it does!

[prlundberg]

I've owned 9 vehicles in the 16 years I've been driving, but pretty much all upgrades were due to practical reasons. Like needing a car that reliably starts at college, something to pull a trailer, or something with 4 doors and room for a carseat.

We currently have a minivan and an SUV. So long as they remain reliable, it will be some time before we buy another one. Hopefully both last until we are done paying for daycare, which we just started.

I used to do a lot of wrenching myself but a lot of things on newer vehicles are beyond my ability. And beyond my patience. I find myself paying for somebody else to do a lot of things I used to do myself just because I don't feel like dealing with it anymore.

Cars are terrible investments,

[buckeye]

The last car I bought new is a 1998 GMC Savana(full-size van). We bought it because we like to take long trips and it works well for our 4 boys. It currently has 198,000 miles and is still going strong. In the last 2 years, it has made trips from Michigan to Myrtle Beach and New Orleans. We recently retired a 1994 Pontiac Trans Sport that we bought new after the transmission finally went at 240,000 miles. I also currently have 3 90's Saturns that I bought used and maintain them as a fleet for my 3 teenage drivers. All have between 138,000 and 165,000 miles.

[bthere]

There are almost no cars that are investment items themselves. For me they are transportation. My ideal new car has between 6000 and 20,000 miles. I keep 'em until the wheels come off. If I can't sell them at the end within a reasonable time, I donate them.

[sparkeyjames]

I lease my vehicles. After years of having cars that I kept till they were wheeled off to the junkyard I decided that I was sick of wrenching on my cars (or paying to have them fixed) and had better things to do with my time and money. Leasing provides me with a new vehicle every couple of years and I don't have to spin a wrench on them unless I feel like changing the oil myself.

[ragswl4]

I keep them till the cost of repair is more than the worth of the vehicle then sell them "AS IS" while telling any perspective buyer exactly what is wrong with the vehicle. Most cars/trucks I have kept for 10+ years and usually sell for $2K-$5K. Of course "AS IS" in California means that it must pass a smog test so normally there is not a huge repair pending.

Wife now drives a 2003 F-250 Turbo Diesel (6.0) and I drive a 2000 Mazda Miata purchased last year with 28,000 miles on it. I will keep the F-250 till is dies and the Miata until the wife buys me the Porsche so I'll probably have the Miata for a while.