CNN Money says "Drive your car to death!"

[52andout]

1999 standard Honda accord just hit 185,000 and still getting 30 mpg.

Paid for it in cash and think I got my money's worth.

 

[Meadbh]

I've been eyeing one of these: 2011 Kia Sportage EX FWD - Yahoo! Autos

Also considering the Kia Soul, Hyundai Tucson and Elantra Touring. I think gas is going nowhere but up, but I want a MPV that can haul a bike, camping gear, groceries, etc., so no sedan/coupe. Either small SUV or wagon/hatchback thingy.

I have friends who are on their second Kia Sportage. They have a long commute and put a lot of miles on it. They love it.

Also check out this article on wagon/hatchback thingys.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/glob...ons-that-say-youre-a-canadian/article1965281/

 

[mickeyd]

I've been driving my wheel into the turf for about 30 years. I generally get about 15 years or so out of them and usually (but not always) buy a brand spankin new edition soon after. My last couple of cars were donated to the Society of St Vincent de Paul for their use.

They usaully end up salvaging them or auctioniong them and using the $ to help the poor of Texas.

 

[kumquat]

If you truly love your car it will last forever. A friend of mine is the proud owner of a 1959 MGA that be bought new. He guesses it has about 400,000 miles on it. The bad news is that it has been restored from the wheels up three times, for a total of about $30K.

Edit to add:
Restoration number 4 is needed soon. I doubt he can afford another $20K

 

[bow-tie]

166k on the Bonnie... 200k should be here in a couple years...

The wife's LT1 Impy will see 200k easily...

Update - 217k on the Bonnie, and it still runs well. Looks? Not so much....

 

[braumeister]

I have a good news/bad news situation. The bad part is that my normal driving averages about 24,000 miles a year. The good news is that the high mileage means my vehicles get worn out before they get seriously old, so I get to switch to a newer one sooner than I otherwise would.

 

[Midpack]

Highest mileage I've ever dared is 174K with a Honda Prelude in the 80's, and had very few problems with that car even when I finally traded it in. However, I would never put DW in a high mileage car, she always gets the "new car."

Current Honda Element has over 110K, and I am wrestling with whether or not to put some money in it or trade it. I know the economics greatly favor driving the wheels off it, but I know it will leave me standing on the side of the road one day, just no idea when. I read about someone online who has driven an Element 315K miles, but he's also replaced almost everything on it.

 

[Ready-4-ER-at-14]

Midpack, two of your ideas resonated with me.

The long distance driving in a new vehicle is important for peace of mind. For real long distances like vacation we shop around and tend to rent a new car. Kind of made sense to me to put 3k on a rental car in a week for maybe $100 or $200. Doesn't matter for slow speed driving locally or parked in the garage.

The second was having spouse in the better car. I know I can probably identify a problem early or cope with it. Plus I seem to have less time constraints.

 

[samclem]

If cell phones hadn't been invented, we'd probably be more motivated to sell our cars earlier and be more conscious of preventive maintenance (replacing parts before they wear out, etc). With a cell phone, if DW or I break down locally it's an inconvenience but not the huge hassle that it used to be--somebody can usually come to the rescue in short order. Even with my more "relaxed" maintenance standards, breakdowns still only happen infrequently (it's been about 2 years since the last one). Plus, cars have gotten a lot better: a typical 15 YO car today is much more reliable than a 10 YO car of the 70's.

 

[haha]

Even with my more "relaxed" maintenance standards, breakdowns still only happen infrequently (it's been about 2 years since the last one). Plus, cars have gotten a lot better: a typical 15 YO car today is much more reliable than a 10 YO car of the 70's.

This shows how much this is a perception thing. I would not have tolerated that frequency of breakdowns in my 20s, let alone now. There are bridges, tunnels, ferries, mountain roads and really bad neighborhoods-all kinds of situations where I do not want a breakdown, and also where I would be embarrassed to submit someone else to one.

I have not had a breakdown probably in 30 years, and I don't want any.

Ha

 

[JHD1]

2001 Yukon XL 302,000 miles
1996 Lexus LS400 225,000 miles
2006 Porsche 911S 24,000 miles

All with no problems. I have been looking for a reason to get a newer car but can find none.

Cars now days will last if serviced regularly at the dealer

 

[W2R]

This shows how much this is a perception thing. I would not have tolerated that frequency of breakdowns in my 20s, let alone now. There are bridges, tunnels, ferries, mountain roads and really bad neighborhoods-all kinds of situations where I do not want a breakdown, and also where I would be embarrassed to submit someone else to one.

I have not had a breakdown probably in 30 years, and I don't want any.

Ha

I feel the same, and the likelihood of a car breaking down is the most important factor for me in determining which cars I will buy.

I don't drive on "iffy" tires, either, since I have never changed one and have no desire to learn how to do this in my golden years.

 

[NW-Bound]

I don't drive on "iffy" tires...

In all the occasions that I had to change the tires while on the road, there was a nail in it!

 

[samclem]

This shows how much this is a perception thing. I would not have tolerated that frequency of breakdowns in my 20s, let alone now. There are bridges, tunnels, ferries, mountain roads and really bad neighborhoods-all kinds of situations where I do not want a breakdown, and also where I would be embarrassed to submit someone else to one.

I have not had a breakdown probably in 30 years, and I don't want any.

Ha

Hey, you're missing a priceless opportunity to meet the locals, exchange small talk with tow truck drivers, etc!

Among the cases I'm counting are "failure to start" (bad solenoid), flat tire discovered while starting an errand (nail in corner of sidewall/tread), dead battery (left lights on). I didn't think these kinds of events were that unusual and only the solenoid was likely due to the car being old.

When I was a kid our family drove newer cars and, still, we'd have a no-kidding on the road breakdown fairly often when we were taking a big road trip. The cars are a lot better now, especially if one buys a reliable brand.

 

[W2R]

In all the occasions that I had to change the tires while on the road, there was a nail in it!

Nails are very common on the less traveled roads here ever since Hurricane Katrina. Actually F. has another nail in one of his tires right now. There is a gas station here that will remove a nail and plug the hole for $6. Luckily I have never had a completely flat tire out on the road due to a nail.

 

[W2R]

Hey, you're missing a priceless opportunity to meet the locals, exchange small talk with tow truck drivers, etc!

When I was driving the POS Plymouth Acclaim (K-Car)* that I had to drive for a couple of years right after my divorce, it had to be towed so many times that I was on a first name basis with the tow truck drivers. I didn't like that one bit! Also I was late to work so often that I used up most of my vacation leave time.

So I bought my first Toyota, and life improved nicely.

*(Not to say that all Acclaims were a POS, but this one was.)

 

[wallygator69]

2001 Yukon XL 302,000 miles
1996 Lexus LS400 225,000 miles
2006 Porsche 911S 24,000 miles

All with no problems. I have been looking for a reason to get a newer car but can find none.

Cars now days will last if serviced regularly at the dealer

Bingo we have BINGO

2006 Ls400 205,000 miles all original except for power steering hose. Other than Maintainance this is the only thing to break. Original shocks, struts, exhaust, EVERYTHING...

WIsh I bought 2..

Wally

 

[JOHNNIE36]

Here's a new one on warranties. Recently leased (same goes for purchase) a 2011 Honda CRV. Dealer add ons were paint protectant, color coordinated door edge guards, nitrogen filled tires (), pin stripe, splash guards and something called "auto butler" which gives you a free wash every two weeks and a free detailing every six months AND A LIFE TIME WARRANTY ON THE POWER TRAIN. All that for $2995. This would be a great feature if you bought the car with the intent of driving it forever. I asked how they could do this and the salesman tells me, "for the most part we never have any trouble with the drive train. Its the A/C, brakes, shocks, power steering, etc. that give you trouble as you put on the miles. I'm sure that is true. By the way, my deal included the dealer add ons for free.

 

[RetiredGypsy]

Another thing to brag about extremely high mileage cars is that you can begin to measure your distance in light seconds instead of miles. Science!

I've barely turned over 24k miles on my motorcycle, but all the cars I've had were pushing 90-100k miles when I bought them without any troubles at all. I wouldn't have a problem at all buying a car with more than 100k on if it was a Honda or Toyota or one of their related brands.

 

[Telly]

...snip...2006 Ls400 205,000 miles all original except for power steering hose. Other than Maintainance this is the only thing to break. Original shocks, struts, exhaust, EVERYTHING...

That's a LOT of miles on a 5 year old car. 200k/5 years = 40k miles/year.

Sounds like a lot of interstate/high speed driving. That's the way to get high vehicle miles with lowest repair costs... lots' of miles in the shortest time.

Many years ago lived next to a guy that was on the road all the time. He put incredible miles on common cars, many that were not known at that time for longevity. He carried oil, antifreeze, washer fluid, brake fluid, a set of jumper cables, Auto trans fluid, a funnel, a tire pressure gauge, and a roll of paper towels with him in a box in the trunk. He would check everything himself on the road. And drive and drive and...

 

[Sarah in SC]

We loved our Saturns, Ready. They "retired" from daily use to the salvage man with 270k and 350k respectively, IIRC. The manual transmission one was the real workhorse, though, it was the one with the higher mileage.

DH is replacing the harmonic balancer in the Olds this week, what a $%^&* of a job that is. He's given up on getting the bolt off, and hopes to find a shop willing to charge him just the labor to do it (there's a special tool).

If we'd come across another Saturn when we bought these, we'd have snapped it up. As it is, the Olds came from DH's mom and the Buick was only $2700 so cheaper than anything else. I do miss the gas mileage on them, though! You are right about that!

 

[FinanceDude]

2003 Accord rolled over 125,000 last month. Gonna drive it up to 200,000 and then give to son, who will be old enough for a car then. The Accord has side airbags and ABS and FWD, and is a FOUR-CYLINDER...........

 

[rescueme]

I just took my '02 Mustang GT in this morning for its annual state inspection.

As usual, it needed nothing (even at 9 years old).

The service manager told me the same story he does every year; the only maintenance they performed was to dust off the frame when they put it on the lift ...

Heck, what do you want for 18k on the odometer

 

[Orchidflower]

I bought a new Camry Solara in Sept. 2001 and it's a 2002 model. I am still driving it as it only has 75,000 miles so far (taking care of Grandma till she died = little if any driving around). I am keeping her until she coughs and dies for sure!
I'm not trying to impress anyone, obviously, and am becoming more of a LBYMer since I no longer have the big bucks rolling in from now working anymore.