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

[rwsmith]

When the wheels come off....

By the time we are ready for a new, used car the old one's ready to be donated to the kidney foundation. The last one went to a needy friend for about 1 cent.

 

[TomkinsSP]

I seem to be in Mr. Magorium's shoes, sedan wise. St. Thomas is gone, and has been for nine, ten years. I like what I like and don't plan on replacing them.

 

[Muss Muggins]

Wife gets the new one, I drive the old one. Last two of mine quit in the driveway after close to 200K. That's when we buy a new one . . .

 

[OLDSTER]

Wife gets the new one, I drive the old one. Last two of mine quit in the driveway after close to 200K. That's when we buy a new one . . .

Same here I've driven the last two "hand-me-downs" from my wife. 2004 Jeep (118000 miles) and 2008 Nissan Murano ( approaching 100000 miles).

 

[Targets Guy]

two to three years.

except for my '66 Mustang. It is a keeper.

 

[LVSteve]

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

4k mile oil changes? Why would you do that?

 

[LVSteve]

My current SUV is 13 years old but has less than 60k on the clock, so I'll probably keep it a while longer.

I would like to get another car, but after two Jags there is very little out there (that I can afford!) that "moves me" to reach for my checkbook. There are plenty of "nice" and "good" cars out there, but most have the sex appeal of a kitchen appliance, and I'm not blowing $30k or more on a four wheel fridge.

 

[llowry61]

I generally buy and drive them a good while. I like to alternate my wifes and my purchases, so we buy one pay it off in 48 then buy one for me so on and so forth. So, we drive each one about 8 years then trade it in on the next round. We usually have around 125 K on them. Seems to work, keeps maintenance expenses low ( no major repairs ). Usually a set of breaks, tires and a tune up each during the lifetime as well as standard wipers, oil changes headlights etc. It keeps us with decent vehicles and minimum cost per mile. We have had 3 Jeep grand Cherokees which have held their value extremely well and I am getting ready to trade my Tacoma next year once her Jeep is paid off.

 

[mtgianni]

I wait for issues. Traded off a perfectly good outback after a deer encounter. It was mechanically sound but after the body shop it could not be kept quit enough. I won't own anything I wouldn't drive 3500 miles round trip with more than tires and an oil change beforehand. We travel enough that dependability is a necessity. Like most in MT we think little of a two hour round trip to the grocery store. A car/truck has to work but it doesn't get moved because of scratches or that you are tired of looking at it.

 

[johngalt]

My current SUV is 13 years old but has less than 60k on the clock, so I'll probably keep it a while longer.

I would like to get another car, but after two Jags there is very little out there (that I can afford!) that "moves me" to reach for my checkbook. There are plenty of "nice" and "good" cars out there, but most have the sex appeal of a kitchen appliance, and I'm not blowing $30k or more on a four wheel fridge.

I completely understand that sentiment. I see nothing new that would be an improvement over what I have now. The dealer keeps sending me 'special deals' trying to entice me to trade my GLK for a GLC. No thanks, I already chose the GLK over the GLC.

Very few cars have any style or appeal nowdays. Jag and some of the Italian companies like Alfa Romeo and Maserati are about it. But they all want big bucks for a better engine.

 

[ameridaddy]

I've only owned one brand new vehicle in my life, and at just one month old, it was stolen and totalled. I took such a beating from the insurance company, I've never since wanted to risk that huge depreciation incurred by driving a car or truck off a lot.
I typically have looked for a car I like at about three years old and low mileage, which has gotten easier with the internet and the ability to shop from home at any distance I'm willing to fly to to get what I want.
I had a 94 Isuzu Trooper for 18 years, loved it, kept it looking and driving like new, then after production stopped in 2002, started having trouble finding parts and service for things beyond brakes, batteries and tires, which actually was seldom, as it was very reliable. The last straw came when the gas tank rusted out from driving on the beach to fish two or three times a year since I got it. I had to have a gas tanked shipped from a junkyard near Seattle to Virginia. I sold my old friend.
If I find a vehicle I really like, I try to keep it going, but the one thing I won't put up with is rust, because that's a futile battle once it starts.
My current daily driver is an eighteen year old BMW 740il. I've had it fifteen years and I love it - plenty of power, quiet, roomy, simple dash, loads of luxury features with PUSH BUTTONS, no *&^%$%^touch screen. Driving to Florida, it gets 27 mpg. I'm at about 125K miles, and this will be my forever car, Lord willing and some fool doesn't t-bone me. I would like to have, and can afford, a new all wheel drive mid size SUV to go back on the beach to fish, but it seems like they're all an over gadgeted, jewelry box/video arcade, instead of a tough, utilitarian vehicle I wouldn't mind taking off-road, capable of pulling a medium sized trailer or bass boat and getting dirty now and then. They're all styled Corporate Average Fuel Economy compliant jelly beans or else a madman trying for the "Dune" look styled them with the the back of a shovel and a hatchet. They might be more fodder for the soccer moms to sit up a bit high and peer over the steering wheel while not having a clue where the four corners of the vehicle are, but their gadgetry, smashed roof lines that only a midget can climb in and out of easily and bunker-like side windows aren't for me. I'll probably shop for something ten years old or thereabouts to find a utilitarian four wheel drive.

 

[TomkinsSP]

I drove a car until the wheel fell off.

It was a 1955 MG TF-1500. Cute, but complete junk mechanically.

While braking for a stop light, the right front wheel exited the vehicle and went rolling down the street without the car attached. I stopped abruptly, chased the wheel, reinstalled the wheel, and went on my merry way.

Another time, in that same car, the steering wheel came off in my hands as I was driving the car, just like in old Saturday morning cartoons. Upon hitting the curb and stopping abruptly, I reinstalled the steering wheel and went upon my merry way.

Many, many years ago my sister in law had a Triumph. It had a bumper sticker...

"The parts falling off of this car are of the highest British craftsmanship."

Eventually it just decomposed behind my in-laws garage.

 

[kenv1950]

I keep them till all the nuts and bolts are rounded off.

 

[ladder13]

After about a year or two or three, I’m looking for something else.

 

[Buford57]

Just replaced my wife's '95 Marquis this weekend. It had 143K, which I consider low mileage, but the body and exhaust were getting nasty. I expect 225-250k out of a Marquis and generally get it. Replaced it with an '01 with 84K. Should last her 10 years. My '01 has 102k, but I run it for work almost daily. I expect to replace it when I retire. Then I will buy a low-mileage '08 and drive it until the hearse collects me.

 

[Golddollar]

Just replaced my wife's '95 Marquis this weekend. It had 143K, which I consider low mileage, but the body and exhaust were getting nasty. I expect 225-250k out of a Marquis and generally get it. Replaced it with an '01 with 84K. Should last her 10 years. My '01 has 102k, but I run it for work almost daily. I expect to replace it when I retire. Then I will buy a low-mileage '08 and drive it until the hearse collects me.

A man after my own heart.

 

[TNDixieGirl]

My husband currently drives our '03 Accord with 317,000 miles and it's still going strong. To get that one, we had traded in a '95 Accord that had 265,000 on it. I'm currently driving a '14 Accord with 100,000 on it. I reckon we're in the drive it until the transmission falls out category.

 

[CustomChevyGuy]

I don't have a miles limit but rather a financial limit. When it becomes more expensive to fix the things broken on it than A) it's worth or b) what would be a good down towards a new one, that's when I start looking.
I had a 94 Buick LeSabre, that began to require coil packs about every other year. It wasn't a car I wanted to keep, but I ended up getting rid of it with ~190k miles on it, if I recall correctly. This is when I found my truck.
I've had my truck now for about 12 years, and am getting to this point with my truck. It now has 243k miles on the clock, and the only reason I'm considering getting rid of it is because of random electrical issues, after getting struck by lightning about 4 years back..Other than that I'd be keeping it.

 

[venomballistics]

It depends on the car really ... 2011 Buick Regal ... I'm almost looking forward to sending it on. Its a bit of a drama queen of a machine, demanding what I feel has been untimely and undue repair for its age.
2000 Buick Century ... This was honestly a good car, but after 300K on the odometer, the subframe was returning to the dust from which God created the cosmos and the engine oil was iridescent with all the loose tired iron. It was worth keeping till the bitter end.
87 Mustang .... there was no metal left for the suspension to hold onto, but the engine and trans was still nearly all there.
I miss her like deceased family or a first love.
83 Plymoth Turismo ... It was fun when it worked .. but Lee Iacoca still owes me a pair of walking shoes ... should have been replaced before the loan agreement was signed

 

[31FordA]

I've never owned a new car, and I doubt I ever will as they don't build the Vic and Grand Marquis anymore. My only new car experience was getting a brand new Explorer for my gov't car, after years of hand me down gov't cars. That one is now almost seven years old, and I'm told it will be replaced next year. It still runs great, but with over 150,000 miles it's become eligible for retirement.

I'm happy to see all the Grand Marquis fans in this thread. Nothing beats a body on frame, rear drive, V8. At present I have a 2003 LSE (only 3,089 made, it's the almost Marauder), and a 1989 LS, plus a 2001 Vic P71 SAP. My Mom has a 2001 Vic LX. I'm looking to get a low mileage 2009 or 2010 Grand Marquis LS in the next year or so, probably to replace the P71. I'd really like a '03/'04 Marauder, but well kept one's are getting pretty steep.