How Many Miles Before a Trade-In?

[LuxLiving]

How many miles on a vehicle before you feel a different car coming on??

[autoxer]

The mileage doesn't really influence my decision. I want to drive it until it won't go any furthur, but my need for more space may send me looking for a station wagon before that happens.

[poundwise]

Based on the question, I would say never. That is, never trade-in. When you decide to replace a vehicle, sell it and then buy another one. (Or vice-versa.)

Another option is to donate your car. In most instances, the vehicle will be sold at auction and the proceeds given to a charity of your choice. You then get the tax write-off in that amount. If you car is in good running order, you can find charities that supply the car directly to a needy family; in that case, you can write-off the actual book value of the vehicle. In both cases, you also get the satisfaction of knowing you've helped someone else.

[poundwise]

Based on the question, I would say never. That is, never trade-in. When you decide to replace a vehicle, sell it and then buy another one. (Or vice-versa.)

Another option is to donate your car. In most instances, the vehicle will be sold at auction and the proceeds given to a charity of your choice. You then get the tax write-off in that amount. If you car is in good running order, you can find charities that supply the car directly to a needy family; in that case, you can write-off the actual book value of the vehicle. In both cases, you also get the satisfaction of knowing you've helped someone else.

[Ima saver]

Usually when something serious goes wrong with the car. In my last car, I had no heat and they could not find the problem. The car before that had 150,000 miles on it and we did not feel comfortable driving it on trips. We gave it to someone that did not have a car.

[LuxLiving]

We don't trade in either poundwise. I'm just trying to get a feel on when folks feel the mileage warrants the selling of one and moving on to another.

it really depends on the car I would think


my s-10 pickup just passed 120,000 miles last year, I'm currently in the process of doing all the routine repairs I feel need to get done to keep it going. when it's all said and done, I'll have spent just shy of a grand keeping it in good shape, that would probably barely cover 4 payments (if even) on a financed replacement. mind you, most of this stuff is preventative, the things I'm fixing haven't broken yet.

some people have this empathic feeling of the car not being safe or reliable at some arbitrary point. the only problem with that is late model cars that break down (happens all the time) and older vehicles that keep running. some brands / models truly are better than others.

I think more often than not the age or mileage is used more as a justification to upgrade than anything else.

there's nothing wrong with that of course, you want another car, go get another car, just be sure of your reasons for doing so (Lux, that's not aimed at you, just a generalization)

[autoxer]

I agree with Rexdart, it that varies widely with the kind of car, it's reliablity record and how well it has been maintained. We didn't dispose of our '85 Honda Accord till it had more than 300,000 miles on it. That was when 5th gear broke & we didn't want to replace the transmission. My sisters Chevy Cavalier on the other hand had barely reached 100,000 miles before it was in a sad state of disrepair.

[LuxLiving]

The Hubster starts to get leary around 130,000 miles. We are no where near that on either of the ones we just bought, but I've always felt that was an arbitrary figure that may have been reliable in the past but with newer engineering, etc., I was wondering what you guys thought.

I'm always for sticking with the one I've already paid for, but he's prone to trading!

[Dido]

For me, mileage itself doesn't make a difference. I'm *still* trying to get a car past 200,000 miles--lost the last one by having it totalled by the insurance company after an accident--the car was still drivable but the passenger's side door was mashed in and the car had 165K on it and was 10 years old and to repair it would have cost more than the car was worth. I got ride of the previous car at 178K when I was told I needed $1000 worth of body work to fix rusted out spots to get it past state inspection. The rust on that car was getting steadily worse, so that was the point at which I decided to trade it in. In general, I drive my cars into the ground as much as possible. I'll trade in when the car's reliability gets low and repair costs mount too high. The goal is to have enough money to pay cash for a new car in place before then. Current car has 95K and is 8 years old, so I figure I have 2-4 years before it gets to that point.

[disneysteve]

It really depends - on the car, my mood, our finances, repair costs, etc. I kept my last car for 127K. My current car is just over 93K so I've probably got at least 2 more years.

When it starts either generating big repair bills or a bunch of little ones or starts spending more time in the shop than on the road, it's time. Or if I just start to feel it isn't dependable and wouldn't want to take it on a long trip. We travel a lot by car so that is important. For example, we drive to Florida annually, over 1000 miles each way. I'm not taking a junker on that trip.

Once I've gotten 100K from a car I feel I've gotten my money's worth. Anything over that is gravy.

[Fillanzea]

My hand-me-down car is at 171,000 and aside from a not-always-functional AC system there's not much wrong with it yet. Hope to get it to 200,000, because I've barely saved anything for a replacement.

[Homebody]

When I was younger and commuting or hauling kids around 100,000 was when I started to freak a bit.

However my last vehicle an van, we bought brand new in 1994 and it has close to 180,000 miles on it (original transmission, don't ask me how we lucked out!). The kids are grown and I work at home so I don't mind driving it even though it looks like hell. We also have an older 1989 Chevy truck we put a lot of work into in the past year, but we paid $9000.00 cash for it in 1995 or so. I am going to drive it when my van dies.

We like to keep one decent car for travel. We also have a 2005 Chevy truck. I have not decided what to do after that, hopefully it won't come for a few years...

[cschin4]

I know I have spent too much on cars over the years and traded in perfectly good cars. Live and learn. And, I haven't driven one much over the 100K mark. I find I just start getting "bored" with the car around 75-80K. That seems to be when I start seeing the new cars on the road and think "wouldn't it be nice". But, hopefully I am wiser now. We did purchase new Toyotas last year. I don't plan to ever trade those in. If anything, I plan to pass them on to my kids when they go to college/start driving, etc. Then, I will just look for something newer for us when the time comes. As for trading cars in, you get so little for them I would almost rather just give the car away.

[Snoopy2645]

Well my van has 125k & it runs great I actually bought it from my brother & it had about 117 k on it & my taurus has about 110k btw that one is on its way out I am trying to sale that one dh's truck has just hit 20k & he wants to trade it for a new one I have tried hard this week to talk him out of it so we will see!!

[catlinye_maker]

We trade in when the repairs start to equal or exceed a year's payments. I still have a great Altima with 252000 miles, but my MIL's van went at about 130000 if I recall correctly. We place a high priority on reliability, needless to say. I feel that 75000 miles is just getting broken in good.

The family joke is that we bring the old car to the dealer and tell him that for $1000 off the price of a new one we won't leave him stuck with the old one!

The rust on that car was getting steadily worse, so that was the point at which I decided to trade it in. 1st need to sell car then buy a new car.

[MonkeyMama]

Depends.

250k+ miles if possible. & I would sell before trade, though both have been more lucrative in different scenarios. My last car I paid whopping $1k for and traded-in for $500 4 years later. Figure it wasn't worth the hassle to sell. Old car with lots of miles.

I had an old/lo mile Mustang convertible before that, that a dealer would not take for more than $500 or so. I sold it for $3k on one day on Craigslist. Was definitely worth it.

These last 2 cars had to be sold due to life transitions though. My first car I ran into the ground at 250k+ mile (toyota). I will do the same with my current minivan. I want this van to last until my babies are in college.

One reason I like buying used, you can see how different models hold up over time. This one has good odds of making 200k+ miles.

[scrava]

I also drive mine into the ground. Except my Jeep. I sold that at 180k miles.
I started to drive dh's old truck b/c he got a new one. Since my jeep had no a/c and it would have cost a bundle to repair I decided to drive the "old" truck and have a/c.
I'm thinking about a new car now. I think I want a Volvo CC Wagon. A girl can dream ;-)

[Bookie]

Reminds me of a story: When I was shopping for my present car, I was wavering between two vehicles. One was an incredible deal on a vehicle I'd never found attractive; the other was a decent deal on something I found much more appealing. The price difference was a significant amount of money.

A friend, eager to be helpful, offered the following thought-provoking insight.

"You ought to buy the one you really like. After all, it may be the last car you'll ever buy."

I've put 30 thousand miles on my Avalon in the last 5 years. He may have been right.