New car or keep the old reliable

[Bamaman]

People approaching retirement need to address any assets that may need replacing in the coming years. I'm talking cars, trucks, boats, recreational vehicles. But you also need to think about your homes' roofs and HVAC systems that can cost you $10K+ each.

We started staging our purchases 5 years before we thought retirement would happen. We also took it a step farther and moved to an ultra LCOL area to a new house without any exterior maintenance required (all brick and aluminum trim.)

I was doing well until I had to replace our old travel trailer with a fifth wheel trailer--kept in the Blue Ridge Mountains. And we also bought a new Waverunner and boat since we live on the lake.

 

[CardsFan]

SIL is only 61. Car breaks down she can call a tow truck.

SIL and DMIL have one cell phone between them. They never have it turned on, may not have it with them, and do not have AAA. IF they have the phone, they might call a tow truck, or they might call DW and me.

Anyway, it is what it is.

 

[Ronstar]

We keep our cars until they start costing too much $ in maintenance. Our retirement dates never figured into the replace car equation.

Retired in 2014, replaced my 2009 truck in 2017 with a new truck. I'm good to go for the long haul there.

Still have DW's 2012 Acura. Probably replace it in 5 years.

Still have my 2001 corvette, but Im thinking of selling it.

 

[HI Bill]

Our current ones are a 04 Volvo S80 and a 95, yes as in 1995, Ford Ranger.

The question is, do many people buy a new or at least newer car going into retirement, thinking that this will last them a number of years and have the security of knowing there will, hopefully, be only routine maintenance?

At 15 to 24 years, I suspect that you've kept your cars well past the average duration for most on this forum. Most folks replace their cars every "x" years (for me, X is about 7 to 10 years). I value reliability over cost savings. If I were you, I'd save up for new vehicles over the next 5 or 6 years, and buy new vehicles as your entry/celebration into ER if your current vehicles make it that long and are suiting your current needs! Another idea has to do with future use. If you're driving 2 miles to the local grocery store, you may not need a new vehicle. If you want to take extensive road trips in retirement, at least one new vehicle would be needed!

 

[mamadogmamacat]

Have a 2004 Prius with about 150K miles. Have a very good local mechanic who keeps my car in good shape. i will keep it until he cannot do that any longer. Expect that will be sometime within the next 3 to 10 yrs. I am currently toying with the idea of buying a used (2 to 10 yr old) Prius or maybe Prius V, just to have a second car, and perhaps one a bit bigger as I am now sometimes giving rides to church friends. really enjoy this make/model, for both reliability, which is so much better than anything else I have owned, and for its power and ride comfort.

 

[brett]

Keeping our 2007 Solara (Camry) and our 2006 Accord. Considered trading the Accord for a Rav4 but decided against it. We like the Accord. Besides, we are away four-five months of the year.

We follow the mtce recommendations when it comes to fluids, belts etc. Have not had any issues beyond the normal mtce issues like tires, brakes, etc.

 

[FreeBear]

We’ve always been a 2 car household. We replaced a Honda with 190k miles when we retired. It’s our big road trip car; we use it for trips over an hour away. We keep our kid 2005 Toyota for local stuff. It has only 120k miles on it. Hope to delay replacement for 4-5 years. The new replacement will then become the road tripper. Want to squeeze more than Utica the old Toyota since it has been very reliable. Also waiting out the sequence of return risk of the first decade into retirement before blowing that much $.

 

[ckelly78z]

We currently have some of the newer vehicles we have had for awhile;

-2004 Mustang GT convertible ...my DD
-2004 Diesel Excursion Limited....people/camper hauler
-2006 Jeep Liberty Renegade, wife's DD
-1996 Ford F150, firewood truck
-2003 BMW 325 CI convertible, wife's old DD..too nice to junk out, but 260,000 miles.

Ironically, the oldest 1996 F150 is the one with the least miles at 150,000. It is a long bed/std cab/ with a 4.9 inline 6.

Next year, I hope to upgrade to a later (2005-2010) GT Mustang convertible, but most likely with over 100,000 miles.

We co-signed a new 2018 Honda Civic for my daughter who is commuting 100 miles a day, and it is the only new car we have bought since 1985.

 

[kgtest]

I want RV camera, collusion avoidance, lane departure warning, blind spot warning & self-adjusting cruise control. After that, car age is negotiable.

LOL...I had to laugh...Collusion avoidance hehehe. I want that feature on my next car as well!

 

[Teacher Terry]

My cars are new compared to some of you). My friend drives a 30 year old car and it only has 100k/miles on it. She rents a car if she takes a trip.

 

[gerntz]

LOL...I had to laugh...Collusion avoidance hehehe. I want that feature on my next car as well!

Got me.

 

[brett]

We have 2006 Accord and a 2007 Solara (Camry)-both sixes.

Both extremely reliable. Never been stuck. But....I replace fluids, belts on the recommended schedule. If I have my druthers we will have them ten more years.

 

[Jerry1]

Why not earmark $30K or whatever you project for the car you want, and wait and spend it when you actually need to? Money set aside for an upcoming major expense should be just as comforting as having the expense already taken care of.

I agree with the above. Personally, I wanted new cars so I went ahead and replaced then before retirement, but setting the money aside is just as good and of course getting more out of your current car is good too. Also, include a couple more cars in you overall retirement budget. I’m almost 60 and DW is just over 60 so we see at least two more cars in our retirement.

 

[Gumby]

We had long planned that we would enter retirement with new cars. So we have a 2018 Subaru Forester with 13k miles on it and a 2019 MINI Cooper with less than 100 miles on it. We also have a 2001 BMW Z3 Roadster as a toy.

Based on our usage so far in retirement, I don't know if we'll ever need another car. I retired on June 1 and the young wife on June 17, which is the day we bought the MINI. In the two months since then, she has put less than 100 miles on her new car. We have put 1000 miles on the Subaru, but over half of that was driving to Maine and back. We have yet to drive the roadster this year. Given that I drove my last car until it had 303k miles, I can't see that we'll ever wear these ones out at the rate we're going.

One of the reasons we have such low mileage is that we live right in town and everything we need is close. We can walk to a dozen restaurants, the hospital and the library, and the grocery stores we use are all only a little over a mile away. Our longest regular drive is to go out to our community garden plot, which is three miles away.

 

[jollystomper]

Why not earmark $30K or whatever you project for the car you want, and wait and spend it when you actually need to? Money set aside for an upcoming major expense should be just as comforting as having the expense already taken care of.

I agree. This is what I did. I sent aside up to 35K for an additional car (SUV) + insurance. I finally bit the bullet this week and found one under my budget that is great. We are still keeping our two other older cars, I am willing to pay for the flexibility.

 

[Ginny]

We have an 11 Lexus convertible that was my daily commuter (1 mile, HA! HA!) My fun truck was a 04 Ford F150 that I loved, but DS needed a vehicle. We have an 08 Ram diesel to haul the travel trailer and other stuff, including dump runs, but it is not comfortable for traveling. We bought an 18 Highlander new (I loathe repairs) that I love and will keep for 100k+ miles. Our 2 motorcycles bought before retirement and 2 boats were bought after retirement, all used.

 

[StuckinCT]

We buy a new Suburban every 5 or 6 years as we have three kids, and lease one new luxury car. Just leased 2019 BMW 540 today, payment $790 but I don't like owning German cars off warranty and BMW basically does all the maintenance. Also, if I get in an accident, it's BMWs and my insurance company's problem. I figure a basic car will cost be $400 or $500 a month and life is short.

 

[thepalmersinking]

We buy a new Suburban every 5 or 6 years as we have three kids, and lease one new luxury car. Just leased 2019 BMW 540 today, payment $790 but I don't like owning German cars off warranty and BMW basically does all the maintenance. Also, if I get in an accident, it's BMWs and my insurance company's problem. I figure a basic car will cost be $400 or $500 a month and life is short.

Leased an Audi A6, same reason