How long are you planning on keeping your car?

[cptacek]

2003 Ford F150 SuperCrew with 178,000 miles on it. Bought it new with 28 miles on it. That's a lot of windshield time! No plans on replacing it. Can it hit 300,000?

[GrimJack]

I bought a 1988 Corolla All-Trac brand new (had 150 miles on it); I justified it by promising myself I would keep it for 10 years. While driving through Texas (DW says were in New Mexico - she's probably correct), my engine froze up and the replacement engine was $3200 so I had to keep it longer. It lasted until 2006 when it got totaled. I really loved that car but did not realize all the safety features I was missing like airbags, ABS, air conditioning (we drove near Death Valley w/no A/C!!). I was given a LeBaron which I will probably drive into the ground - everyone laughs at my mom-car - we call it the plush-mobile, it seats 5 adult comfortable, has A/C, ABS, and will probably run forever so that is how long I will keep it. It did survive a deer attack in Wisconsin but the left front fender looks pretty bad.

[JoshuaHeckathorn]

Something I'm happy I learned from my father at a young age - "Always by used, and then drive 'em into the ground."

I bought my last car used in 2006, but I hope to drive it for at least another 10 years. Who knows, maybe by then we'll all have flying cars like the Jetsons? If so, I don't think I'll be able to resist an upgrade.

[Lori63]

2000 Camry-100,000
2002 Civic-128,000
2004 Sienna-65,000
Plan to keep all 3 until they die. Excellent vehicles.
My son has a 1994 Toyota Corolla that he will sell this summer only because he is moving to Boston and doesn't need it-190,000 miles.

[Like2Plan]

Our planned replacement cycle is 8 years. But, it doesn't always work out the way we planned.

Five years ago, we added another driver into the mix. At that time, I let DS drive my then 7 year old car and I replaced my car a year early. DH had a lot of trouble with his previous vehicle (all sorts of expensive repairs). The vehicle had around 130k miles and another expensive estimate, so we pulled the plug two years early.

Me: 11yr Subaru Forester (85,000 miles) I am swapping vehicles with DS (at least for the winter).
DH: 2 yr old Toyota Sienna (34,000 miles)
DS: 4.5yr old Pontiac Vibe (37,000 miles)

[PetMom]

Years ago I read the book "Drive Your Car Forever" or some such title.

After the 5 year yoke of a $450.00 monthly car payment for a Ford pickup is about to end we will drive it forever and maybe set a record of 400,000 miles. Fortunately Ford (for us) is pretty reliable and this should be doable.

Our other car a Pontiac has very little mileage and is sort of a backup car - although 8 years old and has had to have a lot of work, we are also always getting recall notices on it.

When you drive an older car make sure you profit and stay secure by having a cell phone, triple A (or reliable people that can always come get you), and/or a tow service phone number handy. And always a thousand in a car fund to cover any repairs. And an honest mechanic.

[Merch]

I have a 2001 BMW 530 with just under 100k (might hit 100k this weekend). I bough it used in 2004 with 35k miles. I am hoping to get another 5 years out of it. I love driving my 530, fun car. No rust and I try to keep it well maintained.

I like to buy quality used luxury cars that are about 3 years old that are dealer certified. This way I get a good car that has been maintained with an extended warranty.

[mommyof4]

I bought a Hyundai Elantra brand new in 2005. It currently has 96,000 miles on. I've been religious about servicing the car, and it still runs like new. I've never had any major trouble with the car, and other than a few minor scratches and dings it still looks good. I'm thinking about driving the car as long as it continues to be reliable. On another automotive forum that I belong to I've seen the other members saying that getting 300,000 out of one of these cars is not unrealistic. I think I'm going to see just how far I can push this car. Does anyone else have a high mileage and/or older car that they have no plans on getting rid of?

I just bought a used Hyundai Tucson (2006) this summer, and I love it. I plan on driving that thing into the ground. It has everything I need/want in a vehicle- 4 wheel drive, leather seats, heated seats, handles well, etc. I'm not in any hurry to get rid of this car at all.

[mommyof4]

::sigh:: sore subject for me....

I bought a brand spankin' new '07 Civic Si in June 2007 with only 5 miles on it, planning to keep it for at least 10 years. It now has almost 45k miles after multiple cross-country trips. I love this car, but I'm being stationed to Okinawa, Japan this summer. The kicker: they don't allow the import of cars made after 1978 (or something like that)... So now I'm looking at probably having to sell it or put it in storage for at least 2-3 years. I'm not wholly opposed to storage, but every bit of advice I'm getting from friends and parents is to just sell it.

Still haven't made my decision yet, and I have a few months still to do it, but I may find myself selling my car right around the 3-year point (of ownership).

Can someone store it for you?

[Tree0164]

We buy cars that are 2-4 years old and then drive them for about 8-10 more years. Right now I have a 2001 that has 60k on it and a 2005 that has 40k. We bought the 2005 last year with 26k on it

[cashqueen]

We have a 1999 Honda Civic with about 138,000 miles on it. We plan on keeping it until it dies.

Last year we turned in our 1995 Honda Passport that had 225K miles with the cash for clunkers program and I got a CR-V. The Passport was dying and we didn't want to put anymore money into it. We got more for it through that program than we would have otherwise. The CR-V was a splurge for me, but we can afford it and I'll pay it off early. I plan on driving that until either it dies or goes to my son. My son is 5 and I told him he needs to help me take care of it because it will probably be his someday

[am_vanquish]

Where's ScrimpAndSave at? She can post "4 hours" today & then come back tomorrow and post "14 years"!!!

[Thrif-t]

DH has a '01 Chevy Malibu with 187k but now the head gasket is cracked. Put some stop leak gunk in it and we still drive it around town. Before that he had a Olds Cutless Supreme that we got rid of that had 197k miles. So we pretty much drive them into the ground until the repair gets to be major money. We got rid of an 85 conversion van with 77k this fall w/cash for clunkers and got a new 09 Honda Odyssey. We plan to drive that forever. DH now drives my 01 Buick LeSabre and it has 87k, we'll keep that as long as we can too. All cars are paid off.

[wincrasher]

Unfortunately, I'm not one for keeping cars very long. I usually trade or buy every year or two. The most I ever went was 4 years (with 80,000 miles).

I either get bored with them, or my "needs" change and I want something else. I've never, ever bought used and never plan to. I'm a perfectionist and the little nicks, dings and wear drive me crazy.

Right now I have 2 relatively still new cars. Each was around $40k. Currently I love them both for what they are. But I'm looking to add a truck to my fleet. Just struggling with which one to choose. These days I don't trade. I sell my "old" cars privately. Also, no auto loans. If you can't pay cash, you can't afford a new car.

[Ronin]

::sigh:: sore subject for me....

I bought a brand spankin' new '07 Civic Si in June 2007 with only 5 miles on it, planning to keep it for at least 10 years. It now has almost 45k miles after multiple cross-country trips. I love this car, but I'm being stationed to Okinawa, Japan this summer. The kicker: they don't allow the import of cars made after 1978 (or something like that)... So now I'm looking at probably having to sell it or put it in storage for at least 2-3 years. I'm not wholly opposed to storage, but every bit of advice I'm getting from friends and parents is to just sell it.

Still haven't made my decision yet, and I have a few months still to do it, but I may find myself selling my car right around the 3-year point (of ownership).

Since you are getting stationed there by the military, the will pay for the storage costs. Is the car paid off? If so I would keep it so you have a car waiting for you when you get back from the tour, 2-3 years will go fast. I was in Okinawa for four years and it went so fast!

If you still have a payment, I'd probably sell it and buy a junker in Okinawa. Used cars are cheap there on the bases, but often unreliable due to poor maintenance and the salt water conditions. Poor maintenance is the fault of the military owners of the cars, Japanese tend to keep their cars in perfect condition. Then you could save up all your COLA you receive while you're there and buy a new car with cash when you get back.

You'll want to buy a car on base because buying one off base means you have to change the registration from japanese to military and its expensive (I made that mistake).

You'd have to consider that your car will be 6-7 years old already by the time you get back... If you had no payment and insurance on that car while you were in Japan, you could save up enough to get a newer car when you return!