How long do you plan to keep your car?

[Major Tom]

I have only owned 2 cars in my lifetime - both of them used. For a while, I rode a Vespa, then for 6 1/2 years, a motorcycle. The last car I owned was a 1988 Volvo 240DL wagon, which I sold in February 2002. Since then, my primary transport has been a bicycle, with walking and public transport thrown in for good measure.

When it comes to bicycles, all of them in my adult life, except one, have been purchased used. A couple were lost to theft, and one was sold because of a move. I plan to keep the current bicycle (a $100 purchase from Craigslist) until it either gets really old and rickity, or is stolen, or no longer appeals to me for some other reason.

Clearly, this thread wasn't intended for the likes of me

 

[Lawrencewendall]

I recently was told that a fair amount of wiring harnesses and other parts are now soy- based instead of petroleum-based. Built in shelf life as they decay not to mention that critters like to chew on soy-based stuff. Go green!

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

I also have a mental hurdle of roughly $350/mo...basically, whatever the cost ends up being, I think of how many months I'd have to go for that repair to amortize down to $350/mo. That figure sticks with me, most likely, because the only two car payments I ever had were about that much...$347/mo for a 2000 Intrepid, and $358/mo for a 2012 Ram.

Same here! We started out saving $350/mo. towards a new car. We figured that was about $26K every 5 years, a decent amount for a new car or a really nice slightly used one, and with two cars that would be enough to replace each one every 10 years. (We were actually paying something like $385, but as I always try to do, I put aside about 90% of any "found money" and allow myself 10% just for fun, so that saving feels more rewarding instead of stressful.)

 

[coveredbridge]

My interest in new cars/trucks has been dampened recently by what I believe are gimmicks used by auto makers to pump up fuel mileage to meet standards at the expense of reliability and convenience. When helping DD shop for a car recently, we found that many new cars/trucks have an auto stop/start feature that shuts the engine off at stoppages when the brake pedal is depressed and restarts the engine when brake pedal is released. So what happens when you're in traffic and the engine doesn't restart?


Another trend is to place undersized turbocharged engines in larger cars/trucks, again to game the fuel mileage standards. While many claim turbocharger technology has evolved, I am skeptical and view the turbo as just another expensive item to eventually need fixed as well as overtaxing the motor.

 

[travelover]

......... When helping DD shop for a car recently, we found that many new cars/trucks have an auto stop/start feature that shuts the engine off at stoppages when the brake pedal is depressed and restarts the engine when brake pedal is released. So what happens when you're in traffic and the engine doesn't restart?
...........

Yea, my Highlander has this "feature". It has a button to turn it off, but I installed an electronic after market device to turn it off automatically. On many cars you can also turn it off by driving the automatic transmission in "manual " mode.

 

[Milton]

I've bought a new car every year now for at least the last 10 years. Usually I have two or three daily drivers in the garage so it rare for me to have a daily driver that's more than ~3 years old. I like the latest and greatest "stuff" and performance improvements.... Last car (well Jeep) that I bought was ~100k so I'm trying my best to "blow that dough".

Wow! You're almost certainly in a tiny minority on this board.

While I can't begin to relate to your way of thinking, if the above makes you happy and you have the disposable cash, why not?

 

[Texas Proud]

One of the quickest ways for me to start thinking about a new car is if the current one starts getting unreliable and leaves me stranded on a regular basis, or starts going into the shop frequently...even if the repair costs aren't *too* horrible.


I also have a mental hurdle of roughly $350/mo...basically, whatever the cost ends up being, I think of how many months I'd have to go for that repair to amortize down to $350/mo. That figure sticks with me, most likely, because the only two car payments I ever had were about that much...$347/mo for a 2000 Intrepid, and $358/mo for a 2012 Ram.


One thing that sometimes holds me back, too, is the "startup" costs of a new car. I had always figured that, if the transmission ever went out on my 2003 Regal, that would be the last straw, but I haven't priced them lately. I remember about 7-8 years ago, the local repair shop said a rebuilt transmission for a 2000 Park Ave Ultra would be around $1800. The Regal is similar, just less beefy, so it might be similar. Anyway, here in Maryland, just the sales tax on, say, a $20,000 car, would be $1200. And, $20K isn't much of a car nowadays, at least not on the brand-new front.

If it is a transmission I would look for some company that only rebuilds transmission... I got a new one on my 85 Cougar and the prices they wanted to rebuild mine were high... called a place that sells rebuilt and it was less than half what shops wanted... they installed it cheap... it worked great...

 

[Jerry1]

I’m new to this. One of the perks I gave myself while working was frequent new cars. Now retired, I drive way less. I’m thinking 10 years or about 100K miles. The one exception is that as long as we have two cars and one car is predominantly for local trips, I would keep that car longer. I think my hardest hurdle is my want for a new car versus my need for a new car. I think 10 years is long enough due to technology changes. If I waned to save every penny, I’d literally drive them into the ground. 15 to 20 years and over 200K miles would be no problem as long as the car’s not a lemon from the start and is well maintained.

Well, I have to amend my response. Today I got rid of my Impala, which I had for just over a year. I bought it used with 20K on it, drive it for 18K and wasn’t as happy with it as I had hoped. It was a little less optioned out than previous cars, and it bothered me more than I thought it would.

So, went out today and bought a new Silverado truck. I had a truck prior to this Impala and while I was a bit apprehensive about going back to a truck, they were running some great year end deals so I grabbed one. It’s a 2018, black, crew cab. I’m going to put a cover on the bed so I have a large trunk as was mentioned in another thread. Hopefully I can keep this one for the 10 years 100K miles that I planned to do with the Impala.

Probably should have posted this in the blow that dough thread, but in the interest of full disclosure, I felt I needed to post a retraction in this thread.

 

[W2R]

Well, I have to amend my response. Today I got rid of my Impala, which I had for just over a year. I bought it used with 20K on it, drive it for 18K and wasn’t as happy with it as I had hoped. It was a little less optioned out than previous cars, and it bothered me more than I thought it would.

So, went out today and bought a new Silverado truck. I had a truck prior to this Impala and while I was a bit apprehensive about going back to a truck, they were running some great year end deals so I grabbed one. It’s a 2018, black, crew cab. I’m going to put a cover on the bed so I have a large trunk as was mentioned in another thread. Hopefully I can keep this one for the 10 years 100K miles that I planned to do with the Impala.

Probably should have posted this in the blow that dough thread, but in the interest of full disclosure, I felt I needed to post a retraction in this thread.

Sounds like a terrific truck, Jerry! What fun!

 

[mickeyd]

I have been a Toyota fan for about 20 years because they last so long and treat me so well. Currently I have a 2005 Camry and a 2011 Corolla. I plan on all of my vehicles to last at least 15 years. When I am ready for a new car, I generally donate my oldest car to The Society of St. Vincent DePaul and they turn it into cash.

We are almost ready to convert from a 2 car family to a one car family. I am tired of paying for auto insurance on the cars that are parked in the garage most of the time.

 

[Gumby]

My interest in new cars/trucks has been dampened recently by what I believe are gimmicks used by auto makers to pump up fuel mileage to meet standards at the expense of reliability and convenience. When helping DD shop for a car recently, we found that many new cars/trucks have an auto stop/start feature that shuts the engine off at stoppages when the brake pedal is depressed and restarts the engine when brake pedal is released. So what happens when you're in traffic and the engine doesn't restart?

My 2008 Honda Civic hybrid has that feature, and in 11 years and 290k miles it has never failed to restart.

 

[ProspectiveBum]

My 2008 Honda Civic hybrid has that feature, and in 11 years and 290k miles it has never failed to restart.

I was skeptical of this feature, but in researching it a bit, manufacturers apparently use a separate, heavy-duty starter just for the stop-start feature. I haven’t heard of any major issues, and lots of manufacturers have implemented this feature to improve fuel economy.

 

[travelover]

I was skeptical of this feature, but in researching it a bit, manufacturers apparently use a separate, heavy-duty starter just for the stop-start feature. I haven’t heard of any major issues, and lots of manufacturers have implemented this feature to improve fuel economy.

I had it on my Escape hybrid and it was great because the vehicle was launched by the electric motor well before the engine even started. My Highlander is not a hybrid and this feature sucks, so I've disabled it.

 

[shotgunner]

I am wondering what the current guideline is for using the annual cost of repairs as an indicator or when to buy a new vehicle. Years ago when cars I liked were $12K to $14K $1500 in repairs (not including wear items like tires) was the threshold. Similar vehicles I like are now + or - $30K. How much would you spend on repairs in single year to keep an older vehicle going base on the purchase of a replacement being $30K?


I drive Toyota trucks and ran one 16 years and 183K miles with out having to spend more than $1000 a year on it.


Currently driving a 9 year old Toy with 94K miles. Up to this point I have done almost next to nothing but I could be looking at Tire Pressure Sensors, Serpentine Belt and a clutch kit.

 

[rayvt]

These days, cars are so reliable that once it gets up in milage I would not keep it when it started to require more than $ZERO annual repairs. Excepting, of course, consumables like tires, battery, brakes, probably even serpentine belt.

Once you have 2 or 3 things break in a year it is a sign that EVERYTHING is getting near the end of its lifetime.

Funny we talk about 94K miles. I well remember when anywhere near 100,000 miles the car was completely worn out and ready for the junkyard.

We gave our son our Camry with 125,000 miles on it, and he drove it up to 250,000 miles....and the only thing wrong with it was a broken door handle (thanks to the grandson) and the headliner came unglued and fell down.

 

[freedomatlast]

I was skeptical of this feature, but in researching it a bit, manufacturers apparently use a separate, heavy-duty starter just for the stop-start feature. I haven’t heard of any major issues, and lots of manufacturers have implemented this feature to improve fuel economy.

I have this feature on a newer BMW, but there is a button on the console where you can permanently turn it off. No heavy duty starter involved. Since the car is direct injected, the spark plug just fires on a cylinder that is TDC and off it goes. I permanently defeat the feature since I don't do much stop and go driving, the savings in fuel would be minimal, and since the car has a turbocharger, don't want the oil pressure going to zero at each stop.

 

[RunningBum]

I have this feature on a newer BMW, but there is a button on the console where you can permanently turn it off. No heavy duty starter involved. Since the car is direct injected, the spark plug just fires on a cylinder that is TDC and off it goes. I permanently defeat the feature since I don't do much stop and go driving, the savings in fuel would be minimal, and since the car has a turbocharger, don't want the oil pressure going to zero at each stop.

Ugh, yes, that seems like a bad combination.

I'm a lot more likely to stop at stop signs. How well does that feature work there? Seems like there'd be a lag when pulling out since it'd have to start and then go. Sounds a bit dangerous to me.

 

[freedomatlast]

Ugh, yes, that seems like a bad combination.

I'm a lot more likely to stop at stop signs. How well does that feature work there? Seems like there'd be a lag when pulling out since it'd have to start and then go. Sounds a bit dangerous to me.

It didn't seem to activate for just short stops. More likely to activate for longer stops like stop lights. It's actually very impressive on how well it works. Very seamless. No lag at all. The instant the brake pedal is released, it's running again.

On the other hand, I rented an automatic transmission equipped Ford Focus with this feature one time (it was the only car they had available), and it was obvious that it was very poorly engineered. If you stopped on a hill and the engine had shut off, in the amount of time it took to get your foot from the brake to the gas and the vehicle started again, you would drift back a significant amount. I rented that car for a week and drove with two feet the entire time to prevent the drift back occurrence when stopping uphill. I have never been a Ford fan, but what a POS!

 

[scrabbler1]

I wouldn't want to have this auto-shutoff feature if the car had just been jump-started due to a problem with its battery. You need to drive the car around for a while to recharge the battery after a jump-start, and if the auto-shutoff ever kicked in, you could be stranded again and in need of another jump-start.


There are only 3 times I have shut off the car while on the road. One is at a railroad crossing where traffic is stopped for several minutes. Two, similar to one, is if all lanes on a road I am on are blocked due to an accident. Three, if the car was close to overheating, although running its heater is sometimes a better way to cool down a car's engine (I had to do that once many years ago).

 

[braumeister]

My car (like many newer ones) has the auto-stop "feature" and typically it will activate at longer traffic lights. But since it's a PHEV, when I press the accelerator the electric motor gets it moving instantly and the whole thing is completely seamless. I'm told that in strictly ICE vehicles there is a slight but noticeable lag which many find annoying.

 

[ERD50]

I wouldn't want to have this auto-shutoff feature if the car had just been jump-started due to a problem with its battery. You need to drive the car around for a while to recharge the battery after a jump-start, and if the auto-shutoff ever kicked in, you could be stranded again and in need of another jump-start. ...

As you can see below, the designs are very good these days. They are 'smart', they don't use the feature on a cold engine, and I'm sure they monitor the battery as well.

In fact, as you can see below (the note about direct injection and a piston at TDC), they may not rely on a starter motor at all. I've read that they can actually stop the engine with one of the pistons at TDC of the power stroke, so it is always ready to just fire.

And with the stronger hybrids, you take off on battery/motor power. No lag, no issues. I think some of these have an electric oil pump, to avoid that first few seconds of low pressure.

.... No heavy duty starter involved. Since the car is direct injected, the spark plug just fires on a cylinder that is TDC and off it goes. ....

.... It's actually very impressive on how well it works. Very seamless. No lag at all. The instant the brake pedal is released, it's running again. ...

My car (like many newer ones) has the auto-stop "feature" and typically it will activate at longer traffic lights. But since it's a PHEV, when I press the accelerator the electric motor gets it moving instantly and the whole thing is completely seamless. I'm told that in strictly ICE vehicles there is a slight but noticeable lag which many find annoying.

And the counter...

.... On the other hand, I rented an automatic transmission equipped Ford Focus with this feature one time (it was the only car they had available), and it was obvious that it was very poorly engineered. If you stopped on a hill and the engine had shut off, in the amount of time it took to get your foot from the brake to the gas and the vehicle started again, you would drift back a significant amount. I rented that car for a week and drove with two feet the entire time to prevent the drift back occurrence when stopping uphill. I have never been a Ford fan, but what a POS!

I think most new cars have an "hill hold" feature, so this sounds like an old problem that probably does not exist any more? Or maybe Ford just made a design mistake?

-ERD50

 

[travelover]

I wouldn't want to have this auto-shutoff feature if the car had just been jump-started due to a problem with its battery. You need to drive the car around for a while to recharge the battery after a jump-start, and if the auto-shutoff ever kicked in, you could be stranded again and in need of another jump-start..........

My Highlander has a number of variables that over ride the auto stop. One is battery condition. Others are :

Below is a list of situations in which the Stop & Start System won’t stop the engine: When MAX A/C is selected
You’re on a very steep incline**
Either power mode or snow mode is active
You’re turning the steering wheel or it is currently turned away from center
You’re repeatedly stopping the vehicle — such as when inching forward in stop-and-go traffic***
Your battery has low charge, has been recently replaced, or is disconnected
The brake booster has low vacuum
Your vehicle is in a high altitude area
The engine coolant, transmission fluid, or battery fluid have reached severe temperatures


And here is a list of situations that may interrupt the Stop & Start Engine System: When air conditioning or defrost is activated The driver side door is opened
The driver seat belt is unbuckled
The engine experiences input from the brake (strong pumping), accelerator, or steering wheel.

 

[Bir48die]

Wife's 2017 has 30k so long term keep. Mine has 92k and does a lot of in city driving because it has most the car dings. Truck has 102k and only drive 3-5k per year. Don't see making any moves onto we consolidate all the toys or maybe another ten years