How long do you generally keep a vehicle before thinking about a replacement?

[chopshopcop]

I have a 10 year old VW Passat, over 100,000 miles and paid for. The wifes car is paid for as well, a 6 year old Prius. I don't intend to take on another round of debt for a vehicle, so unless something drastic happens, this is it for me.

 

[GB]

I have owned 3 new vehicles in my life. Until early this Spring, I could stand in my driveway and see all three. Then I sold my 89 F-150 to a guy who needed a work truck (body had 240 thousand but I had replaced the motor at 170). He is a mechanic and bodyman by trade so what repairs it needed were no sweat to him + his wife can't take it away from him - she doesn't know how to drive a standard tranny! Now my old truck is an 06 Titan, just ready to turn 100 grand. I tend to keep mine along time.

 

[jag312]

When the wheels fall off.

 

[The Big D]

Not too long.

I tend to sell/trade a vehicle when it begins to require expensive repairs or simply want a new one.

Oldest in my 'fleet' is a 2014 Jeep Wrangler. 2015 Corvette is my 6th Corvette. Get one of each new Corvette series once the new model dust has settled. (Just one at a time. Don't have six of them now. )

On my 4th Range Rover since 2006. They are expensive to fix! So they get traded every 4-5 years.

Like new technology, too. So sold my 2004 Honda Shadow M/C this spring and bought a new Harley. Though in PERFECT condition with just 4K miles on the clock, new tires, and recent full service, the Honda was still 14 years old and lacking fuel injection, ABS, and some other desirable features.

Be safe.

 

[bushmaster1313]

Drove the Acura 3.2TL till 225K -- About 55 oil changes
I almost wrote a gag letter to Acura telling them that the huge number of oil changes was a real drag

The current Honda Accord and Toyota Camry both have about 115K and are going strong

Stop and go driving interspersed with clear highway so it eats up the brakes

 

[Model 19 6"]

When working I would change every 4 or 5 yrs. A couple of the cars ended up the driveway of one of the kids. After 12 yrs of retirement I am not trading as fast.

 

[JJEH]

It's not always about having a set time or mileage, sometimes it just happens. I didn't want to hijack your thread so I started a new one.

We got a new vehicle... it just happened by chance I promise

Hope this helps a little...

 

[Grayfox]

I drive them until repair costs are too much to justify keeping it.
Just recently my 2003 F-150 developed an extremely rare but expensive engine problem. I thought very seriously about getting rid of it and buying another. However, the thought of having a vehicle note again brought me to my senses. Cost me $1500 to fix and a lot of work, but I'll now drive it another ten years.
I also still have my late wife's 2004 Grand Marquis. She was disabled and didn't drive it much. Its only got 68,000 on it and looks and runs very well. The only thing ever done to it has been routine maintenance and I replaced one coil pack. I do need to get it into the dealer for a recall on the lighting module, but that ain't nothing. Its still got a whole lotta life left in it.

 

[hostler]

We keep ours until I get the feeling I can't continue to keep them reliable anymore. We have a 19 year old Wrangler with 150000 miles. It was on the bubble last year, we either spend some money on it or get rid of it, we decided we could put less than $2000 in it and run it a few more years so that's what we did. A couple of years ago we had a Kia, traded it for a new Honda when it had only 100000 miles because of reoccuring transmission issues (covered by warranty). The Kia was in great shape besides the transmission but the next transmission repair wouldve been out of warranty and I wasn't going to eat that, so the Kia went away when it started to seem unreliable.
My wife generally drives a newish car because I don't want her having issues and breaking down somewhere on the road. I drive the beaters because I'm not so worried about me breaking down on the road.
We don't barrow money for vehicles, car payments are a losing battle. We've bought 3 brand new vehicles and 3 slightly used ones in the last 20 years and paid with a check for them all because we found out dealerships won't take CASH or credit card for a vehicle.

 

[Golddollar]

We don't barrow money for vehicles, car payments are a losing battle. We've bought 3 brand new vehicles and 3 slightly used ones in the last 20 years and paid with a check for them all because we found out dealerships won't take CASH or credit card for a vehicle.

I tried to give a dealership a bunch of Gold(en) Dollars (several hundred dollars worth, but they were wrapped). I thought the poor cashier was going to have a cow. I just wanted to pay as much cash as possible, and I had been saving dollars coins to pay for the car. But she said that even though the coins were in the wrappers she would have to unwrap and count them all. So she asked me to write a check and I did. I did end up giving her 80 Gold(en) Dollar coins as part payment. I could say that I paid for the car with Gold(en) Dollars so I was happy with that.

 

[Peak53]

Til the wheels fall off? I can't resist the story. This actually happened in my ill informed, but not ill-spent youth. Had a dynamite 1961 F-100 Heavy Duty. This was one STOUT truck with 292 V8, 4 spd stick (very low granny gear), posi-traction rear end, split rims, 10 lugs, glass paks, and a very convenient space in the door well between the door and the floor boards that could be packed with snow and beer. But, I digress. I could write a book about adventures in this particular truck.

Anyway, one day while driving home from a construction site (stone mason) I noticed an unusual high pitched whine coming from the front end. What the heck, it's only about 20 miles home and I'm not doing over 65 mph on the back roads. I'll make it. Well...I sort of did. When I turned off the street into my driveway, the front wheel fell off . I mean actually fell OFF. Turns out the frozen wheel bearing got a bit hot and melted the end of the axle. Age about 22. I began to pay more attention to things after that

 

[johngalt]

I got a 2015 GLK 2 years ago, when my Tahoe was 19. I still have the Tahoe though. My motivation was to get one of the last decent cars before the latest round of engine downsizing. I hope it lasts until electric cars are perfected.

My decision isn't based on simply age, but if there is a new car that is sufficiently interesting to warrant writing a big check. That doesn't happen very often. I only buy cars I like, so I am rarely tempted to get a different one.

 

[moralem]

I used to keep them a long time then I realized it was more convenient to keep them only as long as the warranty lasted.....36 months in most cases now as I realize I have less time in front of me then I do in the rear view mirror so I might as well enjoy what I drive with no headaches or worries.

 

[perryhd]

I keep thinking about trading my 2000 Ford Ranger but the bottom line on that paper in the window of the new ones changes my mind.

 

[NYlakesider]

When I was working I had to go to where the work sites were in about 7 counties of upstate NY. At that time I would get a new loaded 4X4 Chev pick up truck at every 2 - 3 model years.

My wife also got a new ride on about the same schedule. Seems like every year we were at the dealers and if fact worked up a good relationship with one sales guy at a decent Chevy store. That cut thought a lot of BS and made the trades go easy & decent.

Doing that kept both of us in new vechicles and I got a decent trade in and the new vechicles prices had not risen much. Yes I had a check to write every month but put very little money into repairs for the most part (Not counting normal maintenance)

Now both retired and I'm holding on to both my Vette and 4x4 daily driver much longer, same with the wife. We also moved away from the dealership we bought most of our vechicles for 40 years.

The dealerships we now use are about 20 miles away, they realy do not know us and I have to be on my toes dealing with sales guys and service adviser. I have been a gear head since I was 13 and know how to play the game with both sales guys and the service department!

 

[Donn]

As long as they're dependable. GMC pickup's 14 years old, Chevy Astro van's 16. Both start on the first turn of the key, (summer or winter), accessories all work and the bodies have held up. So far, so good. And like someone else said, the prices of new vehicles make my knees buckle.

 

[2152hq]

I used to keep them a long time then I realized it was more convenient to keep them only as long as the warranty lasted.....36 months in most cases now as I realize I have less time in front of me then I do in the rear view mirror so I might as well enjoy what I drive with no headaches or worries.

This is where I'm at.
No more repairing, fixing, ect. Can't do much with the new stuff anyway.
I drive a new truck for the 3 yrs and turn it in and start driving another one.
Old age?, I might as well enjoy it.
I don't want to spend one minute more than necessary in a repair shop, dealership, tire shop, ect than necessary.
This way I make one visit a year for the inspection, oil change and tire rotation and that's it. ,,and I'm otta there.

 

[bigwheelzip]

How long to keep a vehicle is a question similar to "which gun should I get". What do you use it for, and how mechanically inclined are you? If you only travel locally and are a good mechanic, keep the vehicle until your tired of it.

I short-term lease my vehicles.

 

[Lee in Quartzsite]

I had a '95 Honda Civic that I drove for 10 years, traded it in with 275,000 miles on it, still getting 38 mpg. I kept my '97 Silverado with 198,800 miles for 10 years and traded it in on my present '07 Tundra. The Tundra is now 11 years old with 130,000 miles and still runs like brand new, so I plan on keeping it. Frankly, it's the best truck I have ever owned and has been trouble free.

I have casually looked at the new Fords, Rams, and Chevys, but their new fuel economy technologies like Advanced Fuel management, Stop/Start, Flex Fuel, Eco Boost, etc. make me appreciate the truck I have. Why buy a V-8 when the computer thinks I should be driving a V-4 and shuts off half of the cylinders?? Makes no sense to me. Claiming a V-6 has as much or more power than a V-8 also makes no sense to me. I use my trucks as a truck and tow some pretty heavy loads, so I expect a V-8 to run like a V-8 ALL the time.

 

[df06]

I trade pick ups every 80-90,000 miles.
I’m due this fall.