How long do you plan to keep your car?

[jollystomper]

We have kept our cars between 9-11 years, until they die or we pass them onto to the kids. We have tried to stagger things so that every 5 years or so one of them has to be replace. However, 5 years ago all three of our cars had to be replaced in the same year (accidents and expensive transmissions/motors blowing up) and we went with Toyotas for the first time. These cars has been a joy, with no unexpected maintenance issues so far, as compared to our previous GM/Chrysler/Ford cars.

Mine has just over 100K miles. DW's has only has 55K miles which is low for a 2011 model year (every time I bring it in for its regular maintenance I am approached by a salesperson wanting me to trade it in towards a new car). We are hoping to get another few years out of them.

We have budgeted for another "newly used" car (SUV or minivan), we are taking our time about it and looking for a good deal.

 

[bclover]

Generally for me I get an itch for anew one about year 7-8. When I was full time I put over 110 miles on my car every day so getting to 100K comes really fast. I have a 6 year old Infiniti and I'm approaching 100k. as long as it's riding pretty good I'll hang onto it.

 

[kgtest]

DW drives 30k miles a year. Hoping her '13 Camry lasts us another 3-4 years. My '14 truck should last at least another 10 years.


Final answer, 8-12 years, depending on how big the maintenance headaches get.

 

[GreatLaker]

My last car was a '94 Honda Civic CX that I kept for 18 years and 250 k km (about 155 k miles). It was so cheap even the right hand exterior mirror and body side moldings were options. Living in a big city a lot of my driving was city traffic jams and freeways, and highway trips. It was still reliable, but feeling old. A breakdown would have meant a long tow, and/or dozens of drivers passing by honking their horns and making rude gestures. It's still on the road with another owner doing occasional duty in a small town.

I hope my 2012 Lexus IS350 lasts longer. No plans to sell it. Will keep as long as it is reliable. It predates many of the new mega-gear transmissions and complex infotainment systems that have been problematic on a lot of new vehicles.

I do put aside money annually into a savings fund for eventual replacement, targeting having enough saved to pay cash for a new vehicle after 12 years. If it lasts longer that's a bonus.

 

[brett]

Kept the Camry for 17 years, then our son had it for another 2 years. 425 plus KM's when we passed it to our son because we only had one underground parking spot in our rental condo and he needed wheels.

Plan to keep the 2006 Accord and the 2007 Solara for at least another 10 years or until the cost of a major repair is more than the value to us. They only have 200 and 100KM respectively on the clock.

We do not put much mileage on them, the Solara is a summer vehicle only.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Our goal is 10'ish years or 100K'ish miles.

ME:

-1994-2006: 1994 Ford Ranger 250K'ish miles...ran great until I sold it.

-2006-2012: 2006 Ford F-150 110K'ish miles...sold it and I got my DW's "hand me down" '09 Infiniti she bought new. Transmission failed at 60K miles (on F-150) but was covered under warranty.

-2012-2018: 2009 Infiniti G37 110K'ish miles. LOVED THAT CAR!!! No maintenance issues at all. Sold to CarMax and bought truck below.

-2018-Present: 2018 F150. Moved to the country. Needed something that could get out to the sticks in almost any weather condition. Miss the G37, but doesn't make sense to have 3 cars.

DW:

2004-2009: 2004 Honda Accord. 60K. Fantastic car that I didn't want to sell. DW wanted something more high end for her RE business and got the Infiniti which she got tired of it at about 60K miles and I got it as a "hand me down"...lucky me!

2009-2013: 2009 Infiniti (see above)

2013-Present: 2012 Toyota Highlander. 70K'ish miles. Runs like a champ and no maintenance issues.

Since I am retired and the DW w*rks from home, we put very few miles on the cars. I imagine we will have the Toyota and Ford for many more years.

 

[Lakedog]

Currently have a 2007 Honda Element with low miles (75k) and in great condition so will likely keep it for a while yet. One reason for the low miles was a couple of years of RV travel with the Honda in a garage much of that time. But I really don't drive that much nowadays, maybe 7-8k miles annually.

Previous rig was a 1992 Toyota 4WD ext cab pickup (prior to Tacoma) which I had for 16 years (252k miles).

 

[nash031]

IN 2016, we dropped my wife's 2004 Acura RSX prior to the birth of our first child. It was around 140,000. Replaced with a new small SUV. My 2007 Infiniti G35 is at 121,000 and we'll probably trade that for a new/late model used mid-size SUV in the next year or so since the family's growing +1 again. So we're averaging 10-12 years and 120,000+ on our cars and moving on when needs dictate. Haven't had one fall apart... yet. Seems about right to me.

 

[nash031]

Especially with only 2 kids, maybe no need to enter the minivan phase of life? Fingers crossed.

I have mixed feelings about two kids and minivans. On one hand, everyone - literally everyone, men, women, etc. - I know with two kids who has one swears it's the greatest thing ever. But it's still a minivan...

 

[braumeister]

 

[IMATERP]

Sold my 2008 Honda Accord LX in May 2018. The car had 140k miles on it. A private buyer offered me the high end of Blue Book ($6,400) for it.

Took the money and put it toward a 2018 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid. Nothing flashy, just a reliable vehicle which I will put about 7,000 miles per year on. It is my intention to drive this vehicle for the rest of my life.

I

 

[MarieIG]

I have a 2006 Honda Accord, with 136K miles on it. If it were up to me, I would never get rid of it.

 

[Teacher Terry]

2010 Honda Accord with 80k miles and 2008 Toyota Corolla with 51k miles We will probably have them another 10 years.

 

[DrRoy]

In the past we have gone 10 +/- years and 120-180K miles. Now, we have a car that is just over a year old and we like the new tech and no repairs needed. We will perhaps only go half the time going forward (blow that dough).

 

[Stashu]

Vehicles have been my and DW's week spot, but I am determined to keep my current one for 8 - 10 years. My last 2 and current one have all been GMC Sierra Denali pick-ups of 2008, 2011 and 2017 model years. The 2011 was not so bad... Paid $50K cash, drove it for 6 years and traded in for $25K (only 50,000 miles). Paid $57K cash for current one using niece's employee discount and only have 10,000 miles on it after 1 1/2 years (work from home). All three trucks have treated me very well but that 6.2L is a guzzler. Fortunately, I have an $800/month car allowance and am able to expense gas, insurance and maintenance. It will be a tough adjustment for me when I sell the current one, since I will have FIRED by then and plan to replace it with a more fuel efficient pickup that is not top on line. Time will tell as I may be in a "blow-that-dough" mode!

 

[COcheesehead]

I lease a new car every 3 years through my business. I am amazed at the leaps in technology and safety in just that small amount of time. My latest car, which is actually a truck, has a back-up camera, blind spot monitoring, side traffic indicator when backing up, hot spot capable, Apple connect which puts everything that is on your phone onto the screen on the dash - all your music, maps, texts, contacts, etc,. All hands free. Breadcrum mapping, complete mechanical monitoring, an altimeter, I could go on. I assume electric and self driving will be in the next one in three years.

 

[iloveyoga]

My average is about 8 years. I buy new with cash. I really enjoy the safety features and the AWD on my current 2015 Lexus IS 250. We made one mistake with it, the seats get harder and harder to get in and out of. Will watch that the next time.

 

[hiker88]

Just sold my 1990 Acura Integra with 135K miles on it. It was a great car and experienced no major problems with it, but decided a new SUV would be a better choice for doing long road trips to camping destinations. New vehicle is a Honda CRV, which I plan to keep as long as it is reliable.

 

[Dtail]

My average is about 8 years. I buy new with cash. I really enjoy the safety features and the AWD on my current 2015 Lexus IS 250. We made one mistake with it, the seats get harder and harder to get in and out of. Will watch that the next time.

That is why our next vehicle purchase will be an SUV which will be easier in and out.
It will also offset the low slung sports car in and out.

 

[TDub]

I have mixed feelings about two kids and minivans. On one hand, everyone - literally everyone, men, women, etc. - I know with two kids who has one swears it's the greatest thing ever. But it's still a minivan...

Same. Based on the unanimous feedback that minivans are “wonderful”, and a “total game changer,” I believe we would love having one, too. We’re just resistant for some reason. Acceptance IS the final stage..

 

[Andre1969]

How long to I plan to keep my car? I'll let you know next week, when the mechanic gets back to me! The brake pedal went to the floor on Thursday morning (luckily, in the driveway, so I left it and drove my truck to work), and the check engine light keeps coming on at random...I put a code reader to it and it's supposedly the MAF sensor...again.


Anyway, the car is a 2003 Regal LS. My Dad bought it as a used car in late 2003, with 19,500 miles on it. It had been a rental. I inherited it last year, with about 67,000 miles on it. It now has around 80-81,000 on it.


My daily driver before that had been a 2012 Ram Hemi, that I bought new in September 2012 (end of the model year so it was a deep discount). It has about 49,000 miles on it. I figured I'd save money with the car, because it would reduce wear and tear on the truck, plus the car gets better mileage, and doesn't require 89 octane. And, it's a helluva lot easier to park, if I go into DC or Baltimore!


But, I've probably had to put about $4,000 into what had been a "free" car, over the past year and a half. It's saved me, I estimate, about $1200 in fuel. So, not worth it, from a strictly financial standpoint. I've thought about getting rid of it if the repair bill gets too high, and just using the truck. But, then the truck is going to get "used up" faster. And, I just moved about 3 months ago, so I'm driving a lot more than I had been. And amortizing it out, the car has only cost around $250 per month in repairs.


It's annoying, to keep sinking money into this car, but at the same time, any newer car I'd want is going to cost a lot more than that per month! FWIW, my truck was $358/mo ($19471 financed @ 3.49%, 60 month), the only other payment I ever had was $347/mo ($20389 financed @0.9% for 60 months, on a 2000 Intrepid).


And, once you factor in inflation, those numbers are even worse. That Intrepid's $347/mo would be like $522, according to the inflation calculator I used. And even though 2012 doesn't seem that long ago, inflation still took that $358/mo up to $391.

 

[ugeauxgirl]

I have mixed feelings about two kids and minivans. On one hand, everyone - literally everyone, men, women, etc. - I know with two kids who has one swears it's the greatest thing ever. But it's still a minivan...

I'm sure having a minivan is very convenient, but I'm just not doing it. I have an 11 and 14 year old- its quite possible to not drive one. DH has a Ford F150, and I drive a Mazda6. DS who will be inheriting a vehicle is grateful we don't have a minivan.

 

[Sunset]

Cars depreciate so quickly that I tend to keep them as long as possible. I drive a 2002 F150 (So 16 years old). I figure every year I keep it past the payoff date is like putting extra money in my pocket. I will say that I recently moved from Georgia to Ohio and I may need to trade just to get a 4X4. The light truck bed on the 2WD makes it a bit scary to drive in the winter when the weather gets iffy.

.....

Put snow tires on it for winter driving, they are better than all season's in the snow.

 

[steelyman]

I’m currently driving an SUV that’s in great shape, but when the time comes I’d consider a minivan (if any still exist!). I appreciate cargo capacity.

 

[Chuckanut]

Normally I would go ten years or more on a car. But, with all the new safety related advances and the huge improvement in hybrid gas mileage over the past 5 years, I might just replace my 2012 earlier. Most likely, I would 'sell' it to a relative at a price that is a good deal, then replace it with a newer model.

However, I must admit it's nice to have a paid off car that still runs well. Every time I see the price of a replacement auto (new or used late model) , I can't help but think of all the travel that would buy me.