CNN Money says "Drive your car to death!"

[W2R]

Drive your car to death, save $31,000.
By keeping your car for 200,000 miles or more, you can save the money of buying a new car. Plus: Cars that can outlast all the rest.
August 31 2007: 1:53 PM EDT

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- By keeping your car for 15 years, or 225,000 miles of driving, you could save nearly $31,000, according to Consumer Reports magazine. That's compared to the cost of buying an identical model every five years, which is roughly the rate at which most car owners trade in their vehicles.

Here's the link to the rest of the article: Consumer Reports says 'keep that car' - Aug. 31, 2007

This article sounds like it was written by someone here! I am astounded and pleased that such an LBYM attitudes was picked up by the mainstream media. It gives me something to strive towards - - I have never put that many miles on a car before selling. How about you?

 

[Nords]

Gosh, this article will have the safety & style groups up in arms.

It gives me something to strive towards - - I have never put that many miles on a car before selling. How about you?

Our older car has nearly 14 years and 108K miles. At 3000 miles per year, though,we're gonna need another four decades.

 

[W2R]

Gosh, this article will have the safety & style groups up in arms.


Our older car has nearly 14 years and 108K miles. At 3000 miles per year, though,we're gonna need another four decades.

Same here - - I have 34,100 on a car that is over 7 years old, so at that rate I am thinking it would take me until 2047 to put 225,000 miles on it. By then I would be 99 years old, and I doubt I will drive past 80.

I do not even approach that level of LBYM!! I want a car with a sunroof before I croak.

 

[BarbaraAnne]

DH's car is going on 11 yrs old and only has 60K miles, so we are going to keep it a long time. Mine is a 4 yr old Toyota which I love because it's truly maintenance-free except for tire rotations and oil changes. It has about 35K miles and we plan to keep it as long as possible.

At one point, many years ago when we were young and foolish, we had trendy European cars that were maintenance budget-busters...Never again!

 

[Khan]

My last car only had 70K but is was 18 years old.

 

[Moemg]

I had a geo prism bought new is 1993 that I gave to my daughter .She still has it .It has 190,000 miles on it .I drive an eight year old Toyota Solara with 70,000 miles on it and I'm thinking of driving it until it drops .Best car I've ever owned and it has a sunroof !

 

[W2R]

I drive an eight year old Toyota Solara with 70,000 miles on it and I'm thinking of driving it until it drops .Best car I've ever owned and it has a sunroof !

Oh, you lucky!! Mine is a 2000 Toyota Solara, and it is absolutely perfect except that I long for a sunroof. I plan to drive it until 2010, at which point it should have about 46,000 miles on it and I will be retired.

Then, I plan to get one with a sunroof.

 

[happy2bretired]

I have the Honda Civic with the sunroof. So, it looks like I should keep it for quite some time. Most cars that I've had, I trade in at about 30 to 40K miles. I'm always afraid that after so many miles the car will break down and it will leave me stranded someplace and not be able to get help.

I too take a long time to put miles on my cars, averaging about 3000 per year. At that rate, I should own my car until it rusts out....and I know I won't do that.

A girl gotta have a nice car...anyway this girl gotta.

 

[2soon2tell]

Last year I traded my 94 Buick LeSabre with 208,000 miles for a new 07 Camry.

If you maintain your vehicles properly then 200-300,000 miles should be achievable. My problem is that I start getting tired of my cars after ten years or so.

2soon

 

[Lakedog]

I have a 15 year old Toyota pickup (bought new in 1992) which now has just over 250,000 miles on it. This has been a great vehicle with no major issues, just regular maintenance. I recently bought a 2007 Honda Element which I hope lasts as long as the Toyota. I will likely sell the truck soon since my neighbor has offered to buy it for $5k.

 

[samclem]

Yeah, and the $31K only includes the growth for 15 years at 5% interst. Bump that up a couple of percent (assuming that the $$ were invested in equities) and extend the timeline out another 20 years (to a possible retirement date) and we're talking approx $120K. That would produce a monthly stream of $400 (at an annual withdrawal rate of 4%) for the rest of your life. That's a lot of beer, pizza, or even a frugal get away vacation every year.

Oh--assuming inflation stays in check.

 

[Meadbh]

Well, that's nice to know! I have 90K miles on my Honda Accord and recently replaced the battery for the first time. I plan to keep it for another 4 years or so, then replace it pre RE, when I can still claim some of my auto costs as a taxable expense.

Keep in mind that if you drive fewer miles than average, as I do, the variable costs will be lower and so will the savings. But the principle is still valid.

 

[FinanceGeek]

Interesting that the article's list of "good" and "bad" bets are ALL foreign cars!!!

I've got an additional consideration that probably isn't unique, I own a large gas guzzling SUV with 140k miles that isn't worth beans for resale. I pretty much have to keep it until it dies...since it runs great...'cause I cannot sell it to anyone...

 

[bssc]

And I save a lot of money on insurance since they will total the vehicle more quickly than replace it.

My wife's Megacorp replaced their fleet of vehicles after one year. My wife had put about 2500 miles on hers. The cost benefit justification was that there were too many workers comp cases because of the cheap seats. The new vehicles came with adjustable seats.

 

[Gumby]

We got 206,000 miles out of a 1991 Honda Civic over the course of 8 years. We still have a 1993 Accord with 150,000 miles on it and a 1997 Accord with 103,000 miles. I expect we will keep both until they hit 200,000 miles.

 

[Darryl]

1994 Maxima with 170,000 on it. I think I'll be upgrading next spring. I'm a little embarrassed I won't attain the 225,000 mile mark.

 

[ziggy29]

I have a 2005 Toyota Matrix and my better half has a 2006 Honda Civic. With religious regular maintenance we expect to get at least 200,000 miles out of both of them. Hopefully that means we won't need to buy another car for a decade.

The thing is, there is a value to be attached to having a car that's reliable and not likely to break down in the middle of nowhere at night. But by keeping the vehicles very well maintained you can make it far less likely that such a catastrophic failure will occur. But at some point, you're throwing so much money into maintaining a really old car with no real resale value, and the peace of mind factor makes it worth going out and replacing it. But unless you got unlucky, if you treat it well I think most people can get 200,000+ out of Toyotas and Hondas making only repairs that make economic sense.

 

[chinaco]

My car turns 10 next month. I plan to keep it another 2 or 3 years.

 

[Dawg52]

6 years is about as long as I have ever hung on to a car. I plan to keep this one longer but not over 7-8 years. Just get tired of them. Plus, I just don't feel comfortable making a long trip across several states in a car with 150k plus miles.

 

[martyb]

Traded the wife's '90 Honda Accord in July '06 for an '07 Camry. She bought the Honda new, kept it the 16 years and it had just turned 200k mikes when we traded. We have similar plans for the Camry. My '98 F-150 has just about 150k and when it hits 200k, probably in about 3 years, I'll get a new truck that will take me well into retirement.

 

[kowski]

1993 coupe deville 43000 when I bought it $5300 now has 49000 2 yrs later our second car

 

[califdreamer]

My old car was a 1990 Honda Civic that I bought new. Sold it to a college kid in the neighborhood in 2002 when it hit 250,000 miles. My friends used to give me a lot of grief about being such a cheapskate.

 

[TromboneAl]

The thing is, there is a value to be attached to having a car that's reliable and not likely to break down in the middle of nowhere at night.

This is less important than it used to be, assuming you have a cell phone in the car.

 

[brewer12345]

Up to 103k on a 4.5 YO subaru. Just put in an oxygen sensor at $400, which is the first major maintenance item aside from the usual wear parts (brakes, tires, etc.). At this rate, I'll be over 200k in 3 years.

 

[Sheryl]

I buy a new car every 10 years whether I need it or not. I figure I would like to have the variety of owning 7 cars over a lifetime.

Age 16-26: 1976 Vega +/- 80,000 mi
(year borrowing dad's car)
Age 27-37: 1988 Toyota Tercel +/- 65,000
Age 37-46: 1997 Rav4 120,000
Age 47 - ?? 1995 Xterra

I sold the Tercel to a friend, and still see him driving it, sure it's over 200,000 by now.