Top 15 vehicles owned for 15+ years

[REWahoo]

I knew a guy like that - unfortunately he was senile and all three purchases were made within a year or so. Shame on the car dealership.

+1

Fortunately dad spread these purchases over a period of more than 20 years.

 

[brett]

I got a new Ford product every year as a company vehicle. I had Tauruses, Escapes, through to a Lincoln.

Each one of then required more warranty time in the shop than did my spouses 10 year old Camry. Everything from sub standard pre delivery through to transmissions and engine modules. Bad luck I guess.

 

[rk911]

prior to switching to Jeep (we flat tow them behind our motorhome...plus they’re cool!) we pretty much stuck with new Fords...Maverick, Pinto, Mustang, Capri...all, with one exception due to a wreck, ran at least 150,000-mi before we sold or traded them and none, including the one that was ultimately wrecked, required major repairs. routine maintenance is key. for several years i was driving 50-mi one-way to work and changing oil about every 6-7 weeks. the only car we’ve ever had that had a faint lemony scent was a 78 Cutlass that threw a rod at 15,000-mi. the auto shop instructor at the local high school fixed that as a class project and then we traded it on an ‘82 Capri.

 

[eytonxav]

I'm wondering why you are making this statement.

Perhaps you'd be willing to explain what the issue might be with the information from here? https://www.iseecars.com/cars-people-keep-longest-study

omni

They supposedly use a proprietary computer algorithm for their research and therefore am not confident their data should be relied on.

 

[Extra Medium]

We’re still enjoying the reliability of our 2005 Camry, though it’s starting to look awful.

Last year got rid of the 2000 Camry and bought a Tesla Model 3. Very few moving parts to wear down, we’re hoping it’s going to last long (if the MN road salt doesn’t rust it prematurely).


https://qz.com/1737145/the-economics-of-driving-seven-teslas-for-2-5-million-miles/amp/


https://www.wired.com/story/tesla-may-soon-have-a-battery-that-can-last-a-million-miles/amp

 

[ls99]

My longest owned wheels:


79 K20 Chevy pickup, 18 years.
99 GMC 2500 suburban, still own it.
74 Mercedes 450 SE, 20 years.

 

[LRDave]

Tacomas of various vintages power armies in the Middle East and Asia. I understand it is particularly easy to get parts and if need be, fabricate parts for Tacomas.

I plan on owning my 2010 Tacoma for the rest of my life (or at least as long as we live in our current rural location).

 

[Palmtree]

In 1998 I was in my late 30's. I held my nose and bought minivan. Not a cool one but a Plymouth Grand Voyager. It was a basic model with crank windows and a cassette player. I needed it to haul gear in for my photography business and I never thought I would have it for more that five years. Fast forward almost 22 years. I'm now close to 60 and retired but I still have the van. Only 167,000 miles but with the original transmission. (A known problem. I'm lucky) It's got all the routine maintenance but the engine is very tired. Just last week it needed a new harmonic balancer and a cooling system flush/fill. Still, she just did a 500 mile trip with no problem. We have the funds for a new one but she's a member of the family and the book value on her is so low, it's hard to give her up. Thinking we might donate her to a local charity and buy a off lease 2017 Pacifica as a replacement. Only time will tell.

Our other daily driver is a 2007 Accord with only 67,000 miles. Not even broken in yet.

 

[aaronc879]

Good to see the Forester on the list. Mine is 16 years old and going strong. My Aunt inherited my Grandfathers Camry and it is still going after 28 years. Those things never die.

 

[Masquernom]

You'd probably be surprised how many Lexus and luxury types are leased instead of bought. One reason they probably aren't on the list.

 

[HFWR]

My last three vehicles:

1992 ChevyW/T, owned eight years/120,000 mi. A few minor repairs, but stuff was starting to break...

2000 Chev 1500 Silverado, owned eleven years/115,000 mi. One minor repair, but, again, stuff started going bad.

2011 Toyota Prius, still driving, 107,000 mi. Nothing but routine maintenance. Likely trade in next year.

If I get ten years out of a vehicle, I’m good. Hate breaking down, hate mechanics!

 

[lakerunner]

Although it cost more originally, and cost a bit more for maintenance, I still have my 2007 BMW. Bought it used in 2010 with30,000 miles. My son learned to drive in it and it was his first car when he started college. I still drive it any where I want to go. It has 172,000 miles on it now and is very reliable.

I think the secret to any quality built car is proper maintenance.

 

[harley]

I've got a gold 2004 Toyota Highlander that should hit 200K miles tomorrow. I was mentioning to DW the other day that I see more old Highlanders on the road than any other car. And getting more specific, the gold colored Highlanders seem to last longer than the reds and other colors. But that could just be personal bias.

Based on my anecdotal observation I think the list is pretty accurate. I also see a ton of old Foresters on the road. My daughter is driving a 2009, so her's is getting there. I have no intention of getting rid of my Highlander, and hope if makes it to at least 250K.

 

[HFWR]

i also see a ton of old foresters on the road.

 

[dixonge]

For a long time we were a used-car family. Buy 'em around 100k miles, run 'em till they died. Wife's Toyota Cressida, my Toyota Tercel, both over 200k when we said our goodbyes. One Nissan station wagon in there as well. And then my wife's favorite car ever, a Ford Escort station wagon we bought new. (I was tired of doing repairs at night in the cold) We had one pickup truck which was Isuzu I think, but actually a rebadged Chevy S10. Not a fan of that one. Wife had an Acura TL sport that was a dream! Hyundai Sonata was a wonderful car as well. I had Honda Accord and two Honda CR-V's - all great cars.

Last vehicle we owned was a Scion xB, the 'toaster' - such a fun little car, although I think I'm done with stick shifts.

We put a *lot* of miles on our cars, long commutes, vacations and storm-chasing. Not sure if we'll ever own again. Maybe a VW Crossfox...

 

[scrabbler1]

My current car is a 2007 Corolla and it will turn 13 next month. I drive very little, so it has only 13k miles on it. My building (a co-op apartment building) has a heated garage, so most of the time it is not exposed to the outdoor elements and rarely gets started in cold or hot weather.


My previous car was a 1991 (Chevy) Geo Prism, which is basically a Corolla but assembled in California. I bought it, a former rental with only 10k miles, in early 1992. I added 50k miles in the next 15 years, before it went downhill in early 2007. Most of its problems were due to my unsuccessful attempt to change the battery, something I had done successfully before. I had an unusual extended test drive of a Prism in 1991 when I rented one while on vacation (not knowing I would eventually buy one). I liked it.


The car I owned before that was a 1986 Dodge Colt, the same as a Mitsubishi Mirage. It didn't have automatic transmission, air conditioning, or power steering, and the lack of these things was dictating my driving habits which I didn't like. I put about 26k miles on it before I traded it in as part of buying the Prism 6 years later.


Most of my commuting miles to work were done on trains, which kept my cars at home (and, starting in 1994, in that heated garage). At most, the daily use was driving to train stations for a short time before I moved to residences which were walking distance from train stations.


I remember from my research of cars before I bought them looking through Consumer Reports magazines to see the projected reliability of various cars along with its past reliability. Remember those handy charts which showed red circles for good ratings and black circles for bad ratings? All the Japanese (and clones such as Chevy Geo) cars such as Toyota, Honda, Mitsubishi, and Nissan had lots of red or half-red circles while all the Detroit-made cars such as Ford and Buick had lots of black or half-black circles. I quickly concluded: no Detroit-made cars for me!

 

[ncbill]

A buddy of mine owns an independent VW/Audi shop. He stays very, VERY busy. I asked why he didn't include Toyo/Honda/Etc. and he said that they wouldn't bring in nearly as much business as the VW does.

After we convinced her to stop driving I went back through her records and found Mom was spending ~$3,000/year to keep her 1977 VW Dasher wagon going.

 

[scrabbler1]

I recently heard the consumer show host Clark Howard tell a story about a guy who owned a chain of independent Toyota repair shops. He was not making much money. So, he switched to repairing German cars. He is now making a ton of money.

You reminded me of those old TV ads featuring the Lonely Maytag Repairmen.

 

[Vinnyfrombrooklyn]

I drive a 03 Buick Rendezvous Put 40k miles on it last year. At 190k I think its good for another 20 years. Would never buy a Toyota and that article is bias towards them I think.

 

[tps7742]

We have a Lexus we have had since 2003, I had a 2004 Toyota Tacoma I just passed down to my grandson. We bought both of these new at the time. No doubt the Toyota makes a reliable automobile.

 

[timekeepr]

We have always bought new and hang on them until they die. We have a 2002 Highlander my DW drives and likes, never had any major repairs. We also have a 2004 Prius and 2011 Tundra that we use to pull a trailer.

My dad gave me their 1976 truck in 2000 a few years before he passed. I learned to drive in that truck. Unfortunately I sold it 4 years ago. I wish I held onto it but I don't have the garage space anymore to a keep it inside (would just rust away) plus it need a new engine, fix some rust and new brakes. Keeping vehicles in a garage seems to help them last longer.

My dad got a 1981 Celica used in 1983. He kept it until 2000 when his mechanic said it was getting dangerous to drive, too much rust in some key areas.

 

[2retireearly]

Wonder why no Lexus on the list? I’m guessing more to do with owner demographics than reliability of the cars.

Lexus is a Toyota

 

[bluelight]

The best cars I have ever owned have been Nissan's. My current one, a 2002 Nissan Pathfinder is still my daily driver and has been extremely reliable. It has a bit of rust around the wheel wells, and is showing it's age but it still runs well. Family has tried to talk me into buying a new car, but I think I'm going to try to make it to 2022.



My husband's family were Toyota people. His mother's mid 1990's Toyota Avalon is still being driven by his youngest son.

 

[Gearhead Jim]

Our fun cars are Corvettes; we're on our 5th one and love the driving experience, but reliability has been annoying. They are the only car we buy a manufacturer extended warranty for, and except for the latest one (still under factory warranty), in every case we've gotten more money back in covered repairs than we paid for the extended warranty.


After many years of expensive frustration with problems on our GM daily drivers, we switched to Toyotas about 30 years ago for family cars and never looked back. Every GM car we've owned had more problems in the first year than any of our Toyotas in the first 100k miles.


Most of our miles get driven in the Corvette (2-3 month road trips) so our two current Toyota Camry V6's (2005 and 2011) are only 77k and 45k miles. We'll probably trade in the 2005 this Spring just because of the age factor, and improved features on the newer vehicles.

 

[SloHan]

I purchased a Honda Fit sport with the 5 speed manual new in Jan of 2008 for my w*rk commute. The Fit has been a very reliable car. I did have to replace the starter and clutch last year and I’m on the second battery. Brakes have been replaced and I have bought a bunch of tires. Other than that regular fluid changes and spark plugs @ 100K. The Honda now has 218000 miles and is my Winter Beater/Rainy day car.