Top 15 vehicles owned for 15+ years

[jeffmete]

My wife’s last 3 Chrysler minivans were sold with right around 200K miles on them, but didn’t go over ten years as I wanted to keep her in something nice for our road trips. Never had any issues. Now have an 2018 Pacifica with 40k. Sons 2003 Jetta diesel over 350k miles and still alive here in Michigan, which is pretty amazing as rust a huge issue up here. Keeping a car 15 years is more about patience then car quality.

 

[W2R]

My last three cars:

(1) 1990 Plymouth Acclaim, bought used in 1996, sold in 2000. Worst car ever, with erratic, severe electrical problems that could not be diagnosed or fixed since they weren't repeatable. Towed dozens of times. Adam Sandler sang a song about a car like this one, with a song title I shouldn't post. I hated this car with a passion.

(2) 2000 Toyota Camry Solara, bought brand new in 2000. Best car ever. Sold in 2010 after 30K miles, just because it was ten years old, so I thought it was time. It wasn't! I should have kept it.

(3) 2009 Toyota Venza, bought brand new in 2010, still driving it at 32K miles. It's still running well and reliably, but with the market soaring I have thought on and off about replacing it (just because I can). Probably won't, but if I do then a Highlander might be at the top of my list.

 

[hpnutty]

2004 Ford Expedition with 120K. Smack dap between horrible models: Pre-2003 and Post-2004. We were lucky. Seriously thinking about keeping it when I buy a F-150 later this year.

 

[ugeauxgirl]

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.

I owned a VW once. I got to know the guys in the repair department of the dealership by name. I went back to Japanese cars. I just didn't have time (or want to spend the money) for all the maintenance and repairs on that car.

 

[street]

We have a Civic for 13 years and changed a battery and tires. Still runs like a champ 38 to 42 on Hwy.

 

[nobody]

Got my 2005 Tacoma brand new, now at 118k miles. The last 7 months has been rough on me, new tires, had to replace all shocks, upper ball joint failure, replaced both front axles due to CV boot failures and now need new front brakes. She has a been lifted 3" with oversized tires and many miles are from off road trails. Guessing I'm almost ready for my next 100k and 15 years.

 

[2177V]

I am a "car guy" which means I do 100% of the maintenance and repair work myself. I currently drive a 2000 Chevy Astro with close to 250,000 miles. Very unique van because I can park it in a garage, I can tow 5500 lbs and the volume capacity with the 2nd row and 3 row seat removed is huge so I use it like a pickup truck. Minivans can only tow 3500 lbs.

Relatively easy to fix but I may replace it with a Toyota Highlander which can also tow 5000 lbs. My daughter drives a 2009 Lexus RX350 and there is a lot more maintenance work because the V6 engine is mounted transversely so the rear spark plugs are hard to get at and changing the alternative and the water pump are a nightmare.

I tell people to get a Japanese car if they do not have the skills to fix the cars themselves because Japanese cars are more reliable. However, DIY mechanics may prefer good old American cars. Less reliable but easier to fix.

 

[indiajust]

What no Volkswagens? Deeply flawed. I've never gotten LESS than 250k miles or 15 years out of a vehicle. Just put a second suspension into my 98 Jetta at 272k, and shocks into the 94 Mazda truck at 172k.

 

[Bamaman]

1999 F150
1999 Buick Century
2000 Honda Civic

All in the family since new. All have been pretty much issue free. I do a pretty good job keeping up with routine maintenance.

When I saw ER in my future, I took a couple of years and started staging my vehicles out. Didn't see anyway I could cash flow numerous cars at the same time. We've got 2018, 2015 and 2003 vehicles that all look like new.

The starter on my 2003 F250 went out yesterday--in the middle of our moving. And it's 20 degrees this morning. I'm going to check it out later today.

 

[Bamaman]

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.

I too worked for Ford and constantly got new cars--every 2000 miles in some years. That was every 2 weeks for me most of the time.

My regular cars were usually Mercury Cougars, but I had'em all--including Mercur's and Lincolns.

I lost count at 100 new cars. Other than brakes on Taurus', I just about never had any in the shop.

Once I totaled a new TBird when I hit a sheet of ice and spun into a guardrail. I caught a ride with the wrecker driver back to the dealership and was out the door in a new Escort GT in 45 minutes.

 

[ncbill]

I owned a VW once. I got to know the guys in the repair department of the dealership by name. I went back to Japanese cars. I just didn't have time (or want to spend the money) for all the maintenance and repairs on that car.

Close relative is a used car dealer...last couple of VWs he sold self-destructed on his customers (dead turbos) with a few weeks.

So he no longer sells VW off his lot...all taken in trade go directly to auction.

 

[eleighj416]

I own a 2000 Acura TL 3.2 with 215,000 miles. Bought it used in 2004 with 35,000 miles. Other than a new transmission installed under warranty back when Acura had a 100,000 mile warranty on the drive train, no issues other than normal wear and tear. Will be looking for a newer vehicle in the next year or so.

 

[neihn]

I had a 1995 Ford Windstar van, it seems to be an okay van back then, very stylist. I had it for a little more than 36 months, and it got some electronics issue (I think it is very minor). Eventhough I bought extended warranty at the time I bought the car, the dealer just didn't want to fix it under warranty and wanted a measly $300 to fix it. I traded it in the next day for a Subaru Outback. That was the last American car that I owned.

I did write a complain to Ford company, but there were no reply. Oh well, they just lost a customer for life.

 

[foxfirev5]

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

We've got a 15 year old Lexus with no plans to get rid of it. Same as a Toyota. My DW picked it out and laughed when I agreed under the condition we keep it for at least ten years. None of our domestic cars lasted that long without major repairs.

 

[EdL3]

Great experiences with Honda, Toyota/Lexus.
1992 Honda Accord 17 years
1994 Honda Civic 19 years
2006 Lexus GS300 12 years

 

[ProspectiveBum]

We have an ‘05 Odyssey minivan with 192K miles. Still runs and drives fine, and has had relatively few issues. Best overall vehicle we’ve ever owned. DW is getting tired of driving a “mom-mobile”, and is eyeing something smaller and more fun for her next vehicle.

We also have an ‘00 Nissan Xterra 4x4 with 156K miles. It’s my daily driver and desert exploration vehicle. That one has had plenty of issues, but it was still cheaper to fix than to replace. Its next major repair will probably mean the end of the line, but I’m hoping my kid, who turns 16 in a few months, gets a couple years of use out of it.

I think most any vehicle will last 15+ years if you’re willing to maintain/fix it. Of the vehicles I’ve owned, Honda has been the most trouble-free for the longest (also had a great experience with our Mazda Miata, but didn’t own it long enough to weigh in on durability).

 

[mickeyd]

Not surprised that 10/15 are Toyota cars. I have been driving various Toyota vehicles for the last 30+ years. Nuf said.

 

[pacergal]

Best cars we've ever had have been toyotas,
2 corollas, small pickup, sienna, now a camry hybrid and avalon.

worst cars: vw jetta, mazda, nissan--all crapped out early, were in the shop constantly, and became more expensive to fix. But were inexpensive to buy used at the time.

 

[GravitySucks]

Yes, I should have said American designed and UAW made. It’s sad.

Pretty sure UAW members didn't decide to install that known bad tranny in the Ford's or figured that the GM ignition switch recall would be cheaper if less than a couple hundred customers died every year.

 

[HFWR]

Pretty sure UAW members didn't decide to install that known bad tranny in the Ford's or figured that the GM ignition switch recall would be cheaper if less than a couple hundred customers died every year.

+1

I spent about 18 months at a parts supplier factory in the door/window frame department. After the final welding machine was a “gauge”, which one might assume was for QC, i.e. sample frequently to insure the product was in spec.

What really happened was the line was run as fast as possible, and if the parts didn’t fit the gauge properly, the poor sot doing QC was expected to bend and beat on the parts until they fit. Generally they were so far behind that many parts just got moved from incoming to outgoing with no inspection/tweaking at all.

We were a union shop, but the union had no say...

 

[travelover]

Pretty sure UAW members didn't decide to install that known bad tranny in the Ford's or figured that the GM ignition switch recall would be cheaper if less than a couple hundred customers died every year.

That's true. If you saw my earlier post, in US car companies the program managers and upper management make these bad decisions, often against the recommendation of engineers and others with first hand experience. The politics are such that people are rotated often enough so no one ever takes the blame. At Toyota, there is more continuity and therefore more realization of what the market segment wants and also more responsibility for and learning from mistakes.

 

[harley]

There is a very good reason why the Highlander is at the top of this list:

 

[GravitySucks]

^^^
HA!
If there can only be one, you gotta keep it running forever.

 

[retiringby50]

My first car was a 1984 Ford Tempo... Went back to the dealer numerous times (I was only 17 and had to take public transportation in a different county to make it back to high school from the dealership )

My next car was a 1987 Acura Integra, which I drove until my husband thought I should drive a safer car (we had a kid) and we bought a 2001 Acura TL. I eventually went back to driving the Integra but sold it back to the state approx. 2008 (21 years). The TL was sold in 2017 (16 years) when I bought a Subaru WRX, my midlife crisis car apparently.

 

[skipro33]

I have a 2006 Dodge ram diesel truck and a 1991 Suzuki Samurai in that range of 15 years. close enough anyways.
The truck runs as good as the day I bought it with zero major repairs. The Sami I fully restored to all factory and is quite the highway queen. I enter it in classic car shows and win in the 'all original 4 wheel drive' divisions.

I main car is a Subaru up traded every 4 years. This year is a 2020 Subaru Ascent.