Evaluating my car plan in retirement

[corn18]

When I retired in 2021, I put a placeholder in every 5 years to buy a new/used car. That means replacing a car once it reaches 10 years old. Well, my truck hits that milestone next year and it is in great shape and I don't see a reason to replace it. My wife's car is 5 years old and still looks as good as the day we brought it home. I am evaluating whether I should update my model to reflect keeping our cars longer. We don't place any value in our cars except for safety and utility and both are great for those purposes. I can see my truck serving its limited purpose for another 10 years (we sold our 5th wheel RV, so it is just an occasional hauler right now). It has 130,000 miles and well taken care of. My wife's sport utility has all the safety features we need and is in excellent shape.

So, I would love to hear from other folks what you might plan for with consideration for changing my retirement model.

 

[Kings over Queens]

I can see the value in a new car every 3 to 5 years, and this is a new perspective for me. We tend to drive our cars into the ground.

If the financial end of your plan works with a new car then why not take advantage of the new technology, bells, whistles, etc. Why do without simply because you can do without? I recently sold my 2013 S550 and it still stings when I see one on the road, but the new Palisade my wife and I share is pretty nice, and I'm slowing getting over it.

That's the thing about a plan, you can change it as need be. It's your plan, if on second thought you don't want or feel you need a new car, that's cool too.

 

[Midpack]

If you take care of your cars, most makes/models will go 200K miles these days without crazy expenses. I'd never replace cars based on years, I'd go based on miles. Since we retired our annual miles driven is down by about 1/3rd so we expect to keep cars longer, and we were keeping our cars on average about 7 years, and as long as 11 years while working.

 

[corn18]

I can see the value in a new car every 3 to 5 years, and this is a new perspective for me. We tend to drive our cars into the ground.

If the financial end of your plan works with a new car then why not take advantage of the new technology, bells, whistles, etc. Why do without simply because you can do without? I recently sold my 2013 S550 and it still stings when I see one on the road, but the new Palisade my wife and I share is pretty nice, and I'm slowing getting over it.

That's the thing about a plan, you can change it as need be. It's your plan, if on second thought you don't want or feel you need a new car, that's cool too.

My truck doesn't need any new bells and whistles as it doesn't go anywhere these days. So I can see it maintaining its utility for another 10 years.

My wife's car has all the bells and whistles and there aren't any new bells or whistles available today in a new car. Maybe in another five years there will be something we want in a newer car.

 

[OldShooter]

I replace a vehicles primarily when they get rusty enough that I am embarrassed to drive them -- totally without regard to miles or calendar age. IMO there is almost no repair bill large enough to justify ditching an otherwise-good car.

In Olden Times there were cars that I replaced because something that looked to be more fun showed up on the horizon, but not lately.

 

[Sojourner]

My plan accounts for a new (or "new to me") car purchase every seven years, but I'm already a few months into year 9 on my most recent vehicle. Thinking I'll probably hold onto it at least until next year, to see how the tariff situation settles out and to slowly start thinking about and researching what to replace it with. Still runs great and I love driving it, so not feeling any sense of deprivation at the moment.

 

[harllee]

I drive a Lexus and never replace my car until it has at least 250,000 miles.

 

[pacergal]

We bought two new cars just before retirement. In general, we drive our cars until repair costs just don't make sense anymore, not unusual for us to go 250,000 miles or more.
The ones we have now could be our last, we don't put many miles on them anymore. The only reason to update would be for new safety measures or simply wanting one.

OP-- the nice thing about plans, is they can change! If you don't need/want a new car, then adjust your plan.

 

[Qs Laptop]

My truck doesn't need any new bells and whistles as it doesn't go anywhere these days. So I can see it maintaining its utility for another 10 years.

My wife's car has all the bells and whistles and there aren't any new bells or whistles available today in a new car. Maybe in another five years there will be something we want in a newer car.

Does your wife's car have:

navigation
adaptive cruise control
blind spot vehicle warnings
lane departure alert with steering assist
lane change assist
lane tracing assist
road sign assist
automatic high beams
proactive pre-collision assist with pedestrian detection
cross traffic alert
traffic jam assist
digital key

If not, there are new bells and whistles out there.

I have a 2018 vehicle that does not have any of these things and after renting a 2025 Camry with all of these options (except traffic jam assist and digital key) I really want them. Most of them are safety items but a couple are convenience things.

 

[engineernerd]

I would play it by ear on when to actually replace a vehicle (and what to buy in its place), but there is enough uncertainty about future car prices as well as quality/reliability that I would use fairly conservative assumptions for long-term retirement planning purposes.

And every bell and whistle is to my mind a future maintenance headache, if not also a horrifying privacy invader. Remember those videos (from inside the vehicle) of the guy whose Cybertruck blew up outside a Trump property in Las Vegas? We used to go camping out of rental cars on vacation, and would think nothing of changing in the car...now I'd forever be wondering how much of what I do in that rental car is being recorded on camera for someone somewhere to snicker over...

 

[corn18]

Does your wife's car have:

navigation
adaptive cruise control
blind spot vehicle warnings
lane departure alert with steering assist
lane change assist
lane tracing assist
road sign assist
automatic high beams
proactive pre-collision assist with pedestrian detection
cross traffic alert
traffic jam assist
digital key

If not, there are new bells and whistles out there.

I have a 2018 vehicle that does not have any of these things and after renting a 2025 Camry with all of these options (except traffic jam assist and digital key) I really want them. Most of them are safety items but a couple are convenience things.

My wife's car is a loaded 2020 BMW X3 M40i. It has everything except a digital key.

 

[skyking1]

My truck doesn't need any new bells and whistles as it doesn't go anywhere these days. So I can see it maintaining its utility for another 10 years.

My wife's car has all the bells and whistles and there aren't any new bells or whistles available today in a new car. Maybe in another five years there will be something we want in a newer car.

having the placeholder and throwing down are two different things. Roll that money into something else when you arrive at your car date, if it makes you happier. I have a one track mind and would roll it right into travel, but that is me.
EDIT: We have a 2019 Tiguan SEL Premium with all the bells and whistles mentioned above by @Qs Laptop and for the most part we love them too. Sometimes the lane assist will have some moments, we drive through them just fine. It works as designed. The car seems much safer than our first gen Honda Pilot, which was a solid reliable car.

 

[marko]

We lease our cars so we're kind of forced into a new car every 3 years, like it or not.

But as I've gotten older, I really, really appreciate all the new collision avoidance, self parking, lane departure, blind spot etc etc. The "overhead view" feature is invaluable as I can't twist around to back up anymore. Almost hit a deer last month were it not for the automatic braking. The thing came out of nowhere.

 

[GravitySucks]

I also budget for a new car every 5 years until age 75 and still do even though my last car was 11 years old when I replaced it.

Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

 

[jollystomper]

There is nothing wrong with changing your plan based on current information. I have done that with certain aspects of my retirement plan from my initial plan.

I am also in the camp of "if you are happy with the cars, keep them until they completely fall apart . We did not set any special timing, but our initial plan was to add a 3rd car, an SUV, to our existing compact and mid side sedans. We did that a year into my retirement. Of course surprises happen, DW totaled her car two years later (fortunately not injured), which had been in great shape. So we went back to two cars. I waited until the new car market settled down a bit before adding a 3rd car this year.

Our oldest car (2011 Toyota Camry) has $150K miles on it. Barring accidents or a major unexpected repair I may replace that maybe next year. At the rate we use it, it will not hit $200K miles for 8-9 years. The replacement, again barring accident or major repair, will be more driven by the desire for newer bells and whistles.

 

[mrfeh]

When I retired in 2021, I put a placeholder in every 5 years to buy a new/used car. That means replacing a car once it reaches 10 years old. Well, my truck hits that milestone next year and it is in great shape and I don't see a reason to replace it. My wife's car is 5 years old and still looks as good as the day we brought it home. I am evaluating whether I should update my model to reflect keeping our cars longer. We don't place any value in our cars except for safety and utility and both are great for those purposes. I can see my truck serving its limited purpose for another 10 years (we sold our 5th wheel RV, so it is just an occasional hauler right now). It has 130,000 miles and well taken care of. My wife's sport utility has all the safety features we need and is in excellent shape.

So, I would love to hear from other folks what you might plan for with consideration for changing my retirement model.

Pretty funny - my plan was exactly the same (have 2 cars, replace every 10 years).

And I've come to realize, as you have, that without commuting to work, you just don't put many miles on them. Take care of them, and I think any decent vehicle should last at least 15 years.

 

[Closet_Gamer]

I wouldn’t update the plan, but there is nothing wrong with just holding on year by year. Don’t memorialize it so you fell like you now have to this by this new more frugal approach … just take it year by year.

 

[Ronstar]

^I agree. Part of the planning process is evaluating a plan on occasion , and modifying the plan as need be. So I see nothing wrong with holding off buying something new when the current situation doesn’t warrant a new vehicle.

We are in the same situation. I originally planned on getting new vehicles every 8 years. But I’ve been putting off replacing DW’s 2012 car because it looks good and has little mileage. Same thing with my 2017 truck. My 2021 jeep purchase wasn’t part of my original plan, but it changed the plan going forward.

 

[SnowballCamper]

I buy a car planning to keep it forever (or until repairs cost more than a few new car payments). That plan has been disrupted at least three times, by DW and the VW diesel buyback.

 

[shortstop14]

I've never replaced a vehicle until it became unreliable or too expensive to maintain. I can easily afford to replace them now, but still don't see a reason to do it. My 2008 Toyota Tacoma is a solid small truck, my daily driver and used for occasional hauling. Just replaced the clutch, at 145,000 miles, and it might last me through the rest of my driving years (since I'm 69 now). The 2017 Prius Prime only has 46,000 miles, and should last for a lot longer since it's almost always used for short trips, using the electric engine.

No longer commuting really keeps the mileage down. Longer trips are in our 2019 Ford F250 with a popup camper on the back, and it's also low mileage. Once we get past the camping years, that one will get sold. Vehicles to me have a utilitarian purpose, so reliability is all I care about.

 

[COcheesehead]

I value our cars at the beginning of the year. My goal is to have a relatively new car with all the safety features and more importantly confidence in that we won’t have issues on road trips. I also want to trade when I can write a comfortable check for the difference. For us that is about $30,000 or less. So with those parameters we end up getting a new car about every 3-4 years. We alternate so we don’t have two purchases in a single year. It works for us.

 

[Masquernom]

I'm pondering buying a new vehicle also. I drive a 2016 Acura MDX. It's in good shape with only 76,000 miles. I think it was actually built in late 2015, so almost 10 years old now. I'm pretty sure it would last me another five years easily. The new vehicles have better technology. That's tempting. But I'd really like to have a hybrid with better gas mileage. So I'm trying to decide whether to buy now and ignore the gas mileage, or wait two or three more years till there are better hybrid models with better battery and motor technology.

 

[Stormy Kromer]

I bought my last pickup in 2012. I will buy another one in 2028. Brand new with new tires and battery. I drive about 6,000 miles a year. It should easily last me 20 years, I'll be 82. If I need another truck then, I'll buy another one on a long term loan and hope I outlive it!

 

[rk911]

When we were working and commuting we took turns buying new cars every 7-8 years. Since retiring we're keeping our cars longer. We sold our '03 Wrangler in 2023 and replaced that with a 2-door 2023 Wrangler (my toy!). Our 2010 Jeep Liberty brokedown last month. The needed part is no longer available. We're likely replacing it with a new Grand Cherokee. We plan to keep both for a long time. We're 74 and 73 so the GC might be the last new car we buy.

 

[flyoverstate]

Does your wife's car have:

navigation
adaptive cruise control
blind spot vehicle warnings
lane departure alert with steering assist
lane change assist
lane tracing assist
road sign assist
automatic high beams
proactive pre-collision assist with pedestrian detection
cross traffic alert
traffic jam assist
digital key

If not, there are new bells and whistles out there.

I have a 2018 vehicle that does not have any of these things and after renting a 2025 Camry with all of these options (except traffic jam assist and digital key) I really want them. Most of them are safety items but a couple are convenience things.

I have driven over one million miles, and my wife around 250,000. Not a single at fault accident for either of us. Serious mountain driving in all weather. We started driving in dangerous cars, because we were poor. The first six cars I owned went from my ownership to a junkyard. Now we have 4WD/AWD, fabulous snow tires, brakes that work, etc.

navigation - Google Maps
adaptive cruise control - turn it off if you are coming up on someone going slower
blind spot vehicle warnings - No blind spots if you look carefully and use mirrors correctly
lane departure alert with steering assist - Both eyes on the road at all times
lane change assist - see above
lane tracing assist - see above
road sign assist - see above
automatic high beams - why?
proactive pre-collision assist with pedestrian detection - slow down and look
cross traffic alert - slow down and look
traffic jam assist - what even is this?
digital key - put the key in the ignition, turn key, car starts


I LMAO when I hear about Tesla's "Full Self Driving" that will be here real soon now. I dare anyone to drive in a Colorado canyon in a snowstorm with that garbage. I wouldn't trust it for a second. I've rented cars with lane keep assist and all of that other stuff. I immediately figure out how to turn it off. I had stability control put me into a ditch on a switchback in a snowstorm in one car we owned, I pulled the fuse after that. We had a Subaru in the early 2000's that had anti-lock brakes so terrifying on downhill snow that we disabled that, too. I think they had a class action on that.

People need to put their phones down and drive, period.