Keeping your cars long term

**ua_guy** · 2025-08-13T09:27:44-05:00

I don't have a history of keeping vehicles long term. That said, if you have the cash to replace them, then it's all about choice and that's the best spot to be in. Replace one when you want to, or if/when it gets to become a problem you'd rather not deal with.

**disneysteve** · 2025-08-13T10:50:14-05:00

We typically buy a couple of years old and keep for 10-12 years.

Current cars:
Me: 2018 Toyota Camry purchased in September 2020, 67,000 miles
Wife: 2019 Subaru Forester purchased in November 2022, 18,000 miles I think

So we're set for a while unless something unforeseen occurs. We've gotten well over 100K on every car we've had so I've got another 4 years on mine at least and who knows how long on my wife's as she doesn't use it that much. I tend to drive when we go anywhere. Sometimes we take her car just to get it out and let it run for a while.

**MonkeyMama** · 2025-08-13T11:00:53-05:00

We keep our cars long term. Rather spend our money on other things. We currently have two 2017s (both with 90K miles) that I consider to be babies. I wouldn't consider replacing them until my kids are done with college (a few more years). But we would happily keep these cars another 10 years, they both feel 'like new'.

The max we ever kept a car is 200K miles/20 years. The exception is my kids are driving an older car right now. I prefer they upgrade to something newer/safer, but they love the car and it has many years left in it.

**QuarterMillionMan** · 2025-08-13T13:49:16-05:00

My mindset is to sell everything (ie, cars, laptops, ebikes, sporting goods, etc) while it is still good rather than waiting until the wheels falls off. Also, I buy new rather than used and buying someone else's problems. In 2007 I bought new a 2007 Dodge Dakota for $13,999. In 2018, I bought new a 2018 Dodge Journey for $16,999. The same night I listed my 2007 Dakota in Craigslist and a guy came and bought the 2007 Dakota for $1500 cash. In 2024, I bought new a 2024 Chevy Trailblazer for $22,000 and trade in the 2018 Journey for $1500. In 2022 that 2018 Journey put of an OBD code where both the Dodge dealer and Pepboys diagnosed it wrong saying I needed a new catalytic convers, $5000 at the dealer or $4000 at Pepboys for an OEM catalytic converter. I chose to go with an approved after market one for new $1000 + $500 labor. In 2023 the code came back so I bought another new after market exact same model. The muffler shop told me that that model was no longer approved. I chose to install it anyway. After the install the mechanic said my exhaust manifold had a crack which was leaking exhaust which caused the OBD code. Thus it was not the catalytic converter, it was the cracked exhaust manifold which I ordered for $300 on Rock Auto and paid Pepboys $300 for the install. In California new cars are subject to smog tests at the 7 year mark where mine's would be due in June 2025 which is why I bought the new 2024 Chevy in Nov 2024 and trade in the 2018 Journey to let the dealer deal with my problem. When the wheels falls off they fall off fast, hence why I sell when I can while the item is still good.

Edited a typo.

**Fishindude77** · 2025-08-13T15:57:35-05:00

We've not had a habit of keeping our stuff too long, had 140k on my last pickup when traded and that was about as long as I've held on to one. Wasn't really anything wrong with it. My spouse just gets the itch and wants a new vehicle more frequently than me, probably trades around the 75-90k mileage point typically.

If you're a bit handy and meticulous about maintenance there is no reason you can't run a vehicle 300k miles or more. Sure, you'll have a few things go wrong but the expenses are unlikely to be nearly as high as the cash outlay for a new car or making car payments.
We typically ran our well maintained fleet of business pickups to about 250k miles each and they still looked good and were in pretty good shape. In 30+ years of running a fleet like that we only had a handful of major breakdowns such as an engine or transmission replacement. Modern vehicles are pretty reliable.

A guy I fish with has over $300k on his Chevy pickup and it's still going and looks decent. He says at this point he wants to see just how long it will go.

**disneysteve** · 2025-08-13T19:47:28-05:00

Originally posted by Fishindude77 View Post

Modern vehicles are pretty reliable.

So many people don't grasp this. Sure, things were made "better" years ago in the sense that they were made out of good quality metal where now they use thinner metal or plastic to save weight and cost but as far as dependability goes, today's cars are way better. I've often noticed that I very rarely see a car broken down on the side of the road anymore. Years ago, I would see them all the time. Heck, I had my share of breakdowns when I was younger driving 1970s and 1980s cars. Today, there's absolutely no reason why you shouldn't be getting a bare minimum of 100K miles out of a vehicle. We usually replace ours in the 140-150K range just because things start wearing out, like the interior components, not the mechanical ones.

**kork13** · 2025-08-14T05:21:20-05:00

Alternating overseas assignments throughout my career in the military, has made it very difficult to own a given car for as long as I'd like. The best I've done was a 2017 VW Golf that I bought new, brought with me from Alaska to Idaho, then sold to my FIL after 6 years & ~90k miles (2 assignments). The rest have only been kept for 3-5 years. Once we're more stable & not moving so frequently, it'll be alot easier to keep a car for 7-10+ yrs.

Our current cars are old beaters from 2010, no idea the kilometers on them but it's generally low because they've mostly just stayed local driving around the rural town were in. But we only paid $5k total for them & only need them to last the next 2 years. At that point, we'll probably be able to sell them for at least $4k.

Keeping your cars long term