How long do you keep cars?

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RunningBum said:
I don't set a time or mileage limit. Seems foolish to me to get rid of a car you like, that's working well for you, and is reliable, just because of a number. If it's starting to have problems, want specific safety features on a new car, or have other reasons, replace it then. The trick is how to tell if it's starting to have problems without having it strand you somewhere.
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+1

My 2003 SUV has less than 30K miles on it, and has been garage-kept. I don't see getting rid of it soon.
 
I think the cheapest way to drive is to buy new, maintain the car, and drive it until it becomes too unreliable - aka, until I worry it will break down on the highway and strand us.

Our cars have gone
14 years
11 years
9 years
17 years
6 years (I switched from a sedan to a crossover to deal with a joint problem)
18 years, and still running
13 year, and still running

I wouldn't feel at all bad about spending more money to buy more frequently. I thought I'd trade my current car much sooner, I just can't find anything I like better.
 
Texas Proud said:
Wow... I see some keep their cars for many many miles... the most I have put on a car is 125K.... over about 14 years... I had two cars so put some on another...


Now I just do not drive that much...


My rule used to be 10 years or 100K miles..... I will still keep to this but might adjust if needed... DW loves the 4 1/2 yo Pilot and we will probably keep for many years... I bought one of my sisters used car about 1 1/2 years ago... had 18K miles and is a really nice Genesis... she now 78 and has said she will buy a new car every 4 years... so I will probably buy her used one then...


Now, why 4 years? Well, the technology on cars are changing so much faster... she wanted some bells and whistles that were not on her car... she said she will want more to help her out in a few years... she has the money and no kids so why not?


If I were in my 70s I think I would also be willing to blow the dough... so that is why the old rules do not apply like they used to...
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Matches our thinking so it must be good. :)
 
I have no bench mark. Available safety features would be the closest thing to that. When the assisted driving features became readily available, I bought. That was most likely my shortest cycle, about 3 years. Better lane keeping, side monitoring, auto rear and front breaking, and yes some form of autonomous drive. So, when these, compared to what my MDX currently has, becomes what I perceive as a favorable price/benefit ratio, I will trade.
 
For my daily drivers, I've started keeping them a little longer. These days I'll keep them an average of 24 months. Basically with two daily drivers now, I'll buy a new one once a year and typically keep my mileage under 40k when I trade them in. Yes, I'm getting older but I still drive a lot and I much prefer newer luxury cars with ultra high performance.
 
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Durango died at 18. Cavalier is still going at 15. Replaced the Durango with a 2014 kia.
 
Usually keep them until they are worthless. But, a couple of key factors for me:
- not embarrassing to have it parked in front of my house or to go out with another couple.
- makes me happy. (I actually like having the oldest car).
- MOSTLY, its got to be safe and dependable.
Otherwise, its off to the scrappers.
 
Depends, last truck was 10 years old with 190k. Got rid of it when the body went.

DW has a 9 year old Wrangler with 24k on it. I don't know when we'll replace it.
 
Mykle57 said:
Usually keep them until they are worthless. But, a couple of key factors for me:
- not embarrassing to have it parked in front of my house or to go out with another couple.
- makes me happy. (I actually like having the oldest car).
- MOSTLY, its got to be safe and dependable.
Otherwise, its off to the scrappers.
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+1
I've posted this before. We have 2 cars:
Camry 1997 - 198,000 miles now. A little rust. Runs great.
Camry 2004 - 275,000 miles now. No rust (a small dent), runs great.
And we will drive them until they drive no more. Will fix them when they break, change the oil, get new tires.
 
We seem to be alone in the "We Like New Cars" crowd. We typically lease and allocate $5k - $6k a year for the budget thereof. This usually gets us a medium priced luxury car with all maintenance etc., currently we have a nice BMW 3 Series.

It actually cost us spot on $5k a year, we pay all 3 years in advance and have no payments. It was a ~$50k car new (2018). After 6 years a new car will have cost us $30k 9 years $45k. Still not the total price of the car, plus we did not have to pay the $35k difference when we got it.

I get it that some folk do not like or want a Pseudo luxury car, that is OK. But those who do would be better off leasing even if it cost a little more over a 9 - 12 year life span.

If we had paid $50k we would really be obliged to keep the car for the full life span. This is problematic if one likes new cars, and for me the BIG one is if it is in an accident and reported to Carfax/AutoCheck, then the resale cost is impacted severely. With a lease car you just give it back. Just my $0.02.
 
Recently sold my 1990 Acura Integra with 135K miles on it. It still ran great, but figured a new SUV would be more practical for my road trips to remote locations where I do landscape photography. New vehicle is a Honda CRV which I expect to own a long time if it has the same reliability as the Integra.
 
I kept my last car (1999 Camry) for 16 years and put 321,000 mile on it. It was still running fine but since I was driving back roads after dark I thought it smart to replace it. I gave it to my nephew and he uses it to commute to work. I have no idea how many more miles he has put on it.
To answer your question, I will replace a car when it is either unreliable or to the point it probably won't be long until it is.
I'm hoping my current car (2015 Camry) will last me the rest of my life.
 
We tend to keep our cars until they become problematic or a life change necessitates a different vehicle. That seems to mean we keep our cars from 7-12 years.

The only deviation was an Acura that I wound up despising and just didn't want to keep.

Earlier in life we cycled from sedan to Subaru wagon to Toyota minivan in 3 short bursts as kids showed up. Being young-and-dumb we bought all 3 new. Got killed the first 2 but kept the minivan for 12 years and drove it everywhere.

Right now, we only by CPO. Awesome CPO deals out there.
 
I like to keep them about ~10 years. I don't worry about resale value because nothing is worth much at 10 years.

Main factors:
Am I bored with it?
Is it giving me issues (random repairs in the $500+ range)?
Is there something else on the market I've got my eye on in my price range?

Safety features are going to be another factor. My 2007 car had my first rear view camera. My 2016 version blows it away with the lines and the increased visibility, side and front proximity warnings and what not. I can only imagine what the 2026 versions will offer, and might not want to wait till then.

My parents now lease primarily for this reason.
 
Typically keep vehicles less than 75K miles, which equates to about 10 years. Currently have a 2006 truck with 56K and a 2015 Camery with 5K. Camery replaced a 2002 Dodge Stratus with about 58K miles, which we sold because the wife wanted a new vehicle before she would allow me to retire :)
Neither of use like to drive. I'll probably get a new truck in 7 years when the wife retires, it's only fair :) !
 
I kept my last car for 14 years, about 175000 miles. My current car, bought new, is 9 years old with less than 50000 miles on it. I just don't drive nearly as much as I used to.


DH's last pickup lasted 14 years. His new pickup is 4 years old and has less than 50000 miles on it. He doesn't drive as much as he used to either.


We like buying new vehicles when we replace one. There is no set time for us to replace what we have. Mine is standard transmission and it sometimes gives me a problem if my plantar fasciitis is acting up, so we know we'll replace it someone sooner than later. Then we'll probably get a crossover, maybe a Subaru.
 
We currently have a 2008 Altima with 75k miles used for local driving. We recently reacquired a 2000 4 runner (180k) we had given to our niece and she no longer needed for us to tow a hypothetical boat. Also have a 2005 Sprinter camper (140k/diesel) that we use for long term travel. Typically we would keep a vehicle until it became unreliable or a relative needed a car. Right now we are considering replacing both the Altima and the 4 runner with a newer used Honda CR-V that we could use locally and tow behind the Sprinter.
 
I hate car buying and I am really procrastinating. We have a (at that time, top-of-the-line - $36,000) 1999 Chrysler Town & Country. It is (at 135,000 miles) in wonderful mechanical condition. It is however starting to have electrical problems -- doors may or may not lock/unlock with remote, alarm goes off unexpectedly, wipers have intermittent difficulties, etc. We are, therefore, looking to get a replacement -- a one or two-year-old something.

Our other vehicle, the 2008 Roadtrek RV only has 220,000 miles on it so it still has another 100,000 to go before I think about it. (Again, in excellent mechanical condition. It also has much fewer fancy electronics to go wrong.)


(Oops, corrected to 220,000 miles.)
 
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We have 2007 cars - Lexus & Toyota Solara with 165K & 130K miles. No problems with either vehicle. Since ER, we are only putting 3-5K miles/year on each car. Trying to keep them as long as we can because new cars are so expensive and we’d rather spend the $$ on travel.

We live in a very urban area so have considered cutting back to one car, using alternative transportation (walk, bike, scooter, Uber, Lyft, public transit) on the somewhat rare occasion that we need to be out at the sane time but not together. As long as we have these two cars and they’re running well, we’ll keep them, but we will have to make a decision on one vs two cars when one of these cars dies.
 
Scuba said:
We live in a very urban area so have considered cutting back to one car, using alternative transportation (walk, bike, scooter) on the somewhat rare occasion that we need to be out at the sane time but not together.
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We swore high an low that we could not live with just one car...…… fast forward. We turned in one lease and were vacillating on what car we should get for #2, well 6 years later we still only have the one and seem to be doing just fine. We live on an Island and rarely do more than 6k a year on the one car. I did have a scooter for a while for pottering around the island, it was fun. I sold it as it was too big for me (~400cc). I am now looking for something about 150cc as a potter vehicle. We have no plans to go back to 2 daily drivers, but may consider a "Toy" car if I can ever decide which one I want. :)
 
I drive very little, having used the trains to get to and from work in my working years, and having walked to the train for most of those years. So, my mileage is extremely low compared to the mileage I have seen posted by many of you.


The first car I bought was in 1986, new. Not wanting a loan, and not driving much and not caring about the common features the car lacked, I drove it for nearly 6 years. It was a stick and didn't have power steering or A/C. The hot summer of 1991, along with being able to use my mom's car (hers had automatic, P/S, and A/C) for part of the summer gave me the incentive to have a different car by the next summer. I had maybe 30k miles in just under 6 years with the car I would eventually trade in in early 1992.


The second car was a former rental which had 10k miles in its 6 months in service. It had A/T, A/C, and P/S. I would add 50k miles in the 15 years I owned it until too many things went wrong with it in its final year. I paid cash for it, too.


The third car I bought with cash in early 2007 I still drive today. In 12 years I have put on about 37k miles. Its maintenance costs have been rising the last few years but not near the point where I want to get rid of it like the previous car in its last year.


While I could afford to buy a new car, my goal is to get another 4-5 years out of it because that is when I would have unfettered access to my rollover IRA (age ~60) and that would provide another source of money to pay my expenses if I need to plunk down $25k or $30k for a new car.
 
I used to keep a car as long as possible.

Now, the deal breaker is if there is engine or transmission problem, then time to go car shopping. Otherwise, the car is a fixer upper.
 
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