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How long do you keep your vehicle

I have only ever bought 2 brand new cars, of which one was ran into the ground and the second would have been kept longer but an accident saw the insurance company write it off

Spent some time in a lease car at an old job and since then I have had another 2 cars, both were second-hand. The first of those was a cheap runabout and I got rid of it a couple years ago for the 2015 Mazda3 that I am driving around in now - I got a good deal on it as it was a used car and was 18 months old with only 8,000 miles on the clock

I will keep this for another few years and then decide whether to change or not depending on if anything major goes wrong with it
 
I run them until they can't run no more ! My '03 Dakota had 287,000 miles on it. The only reason I had to get rid of it was due to the core support rusting through at the base.
So the short answer... I get a new vehicle when we need to.
 
Probably every decade we get a new car. We buy used 2-3 year old and just drive it for as long as we can.
 
Duffer Waldorf said:
We drive them as long as it makes financial sense to do so. If the repair is something I can't do myself or just costs too much relatively, then it's time to replace.

I bought a 2003 TrailBlazer brand new in Nov 2002. It now has 306,000 on it, and is still ticking.

The 2 used ones we've bought to make room for all the kids were paid for with cash. Both had over 100,000 on them; got 7 yrs out of the first one and up to 3 years on the current one.

Twelve years now with no truck payment; I'll never buy another new one.
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If you haven't checked it out, look at gmtnation.com, the best GMT360 website out there.
 
I’ll drive this one into the ground. I’ve got a ‘14 Corolla used primarily for work with about 172K on it. I’ll probably buy my wife a new car every few years so she can haul herself (maybe the kids later on). For me, it’s mostly finance based. It makes no sense for me to buy a new a new car when I’m getting the oil changed every 6-8 weeks. Car would never hold its value. When this one d0es die, I’ll probably buy a used car and repeat the process
 
I drive them into the ground. I've bought six Accords from the same sales rep, and he's actually laughed at my "trade-ins" twice. It made me feel good. Things actually got a lot better for us financially when we stopped taking hand-me-downs from my father-in-law and started buying new or late-model used. For one thing, I could stop being careful about where I parked my car on trash pickup day. We buy a combination of new and late-model used cars. Of the last ten cars we've owned (going back to 1994), we still have two, a 2015 at 72k and a 2007 at 101k. We totaled a car at 86k, and we were actually worried that our Taurus wagon was going to break down at 141k before we got to the dealer to trade it. The other six cars all made it past 160k, with one sold at 230 and one traded in at 285. Two of them had to be towed in at the end. Six Accords, a Volvo wagon, a Caprice wagon (nicknamed Spoc, for Sorry Piece Of Crap), a Taurus wagon, and an Explorer. We try to have one car in the driveway with under 100k on the clock.
 
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Usually around 10 years. My last three vehicles were purchased in 1991, 1999, and 2009. I'm currently north of 130,000 miles and will likely be looking in 2020.
 
Have not kept a car for more than 5 years for a variety of reasons. Bought a small sedan, then bought a house and got convinced by my father I needed a truck, so bought a truck.

Moved to California and didn't want to have a truck if i had a lengthy commute, downsized to a VW diesel hatchback. Drove that for 5 years until we found out that VW was not on the up and up with their reporting of performance/emissions. Took the money for the buy out and bought a used Chevy volt. Hoping to keep it for several more years, not have a payment for a while and save up for something in the 2020s.
 
whenever I hit a deer... My last car I had it paid off for 2 months and hit 2 deer and totaled it off, so had 2 months payment free

 
Duffer Waldorf said:
I've learned a lot from their members (there, and at a predecessor site that ran most of them off!).
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I was banned from the old site, as was most of the knowledgeable crew after the mass exodus. I'm an OG on GMT.
 
So, I ran the numbers on my "car" ownership history. All numbers are approximate. I guessed on the month and year on some. They should be close, but maybe off slightly. I simply calculated from the 1st of each month to figure out the days.

I have owned 26 vehicles since I started driving... ~27 years ago. The longest I've owned a vehicle is 2,253 days. The shortest is 31 days. My average comes out to right at 22.75 months. All 3 of my current vehicles are past that mark. I think it's time for something new (to me).
 
in an effort to maintain only one car payment and two reliable cars, I usually buy brand new up to 5 years old and under 60k miles. I finance a 4 year loan and try to pay it off early.

When one loan is paid off, we replace the older vehicle. We put alot of miles on our vehicles so usually by that time, the older unit has 150k+
 
OGputtnfool said:
So, I ran the numbers on my "car" ownership history. All numbers are approximate. I guessed on the month and year on some. They should be close, but maybe off slightly. I simply calculated from the 1st of each month to figure out the days.

I have owned 26 vehicles since I started driving... ~27 years ago. The longest I've owned a vehicle is 2,253 days. The shortest is 31 days. My average comes out to right at 22.75 months. All 3 of my current vehicles are past that mark. I think it's time for something new (to me).
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I like your style! Ive been driving for 20 years and am on my 16th car and 4th motorcycle. Ive only totaled 2 cars plus one other wreck
 
Lately I have cycled thru cars every 2-3 yrs, but don't usually like to start "shopping" til I have a good amount of equity built up against my current vehicle loan. My current vehicle I will probably keep for at least 4-5 yrs before I decided to look again.
 
When my wife and I buy we run it into the ground. Her last car was a 2005 SLK that it finally crapped out last year. She now has a new SLC 43. Me on the other hand lease and get a new one every 3 years. I lease since I don’t drive anywhere and it is pretty reasonable.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Right now Im on year 8 with the Tahoe, gonna keep it rollin as long as I can. I thought i wanted a new car until i realized what I wanted would not be cohesive with any form of a budget.
 
chefkritter said:
Right now Im on year 8 with the Tahoe, gonna keep it rollin as long as I can. I thought i wanted a new car until i realized what I wanted would not be cohesive with any form of a budget.
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Ha, I am in the exact same position, except not with a Tahoe. New cars is pricey.
 
This one has changed for me in the last ten years, cash for clunkers killed the market. I used to buy a car 2 year old with 20-30k miles on it for 50% of new. Still had a little factory warranty (when they were all 3y36k) in case something major was wrong with it. Basically lease turn ins.

Last time I bought a new car they had one that was 3 years old and had 60k on it for 3 grand less than the new one. Same features, roughly. Factor in 1.9% financing for 60 months on the new versus 6-7% on the used and the new one actually cost less unless I paid it off early.

So now I either go clunker or new. No in between. My current only vehicle (paid off my last new one 2 years ago and totaled it on 09/17 damn near dying in the process) is a 2004 Trailblazer 4x4. This sucker is loaded by 2004 standards and will get through anything 3ft of snow or less. I paid $400 for it and bought it strictly as a “I have to get from point A to B in the winter” vehicle knowing it needed some work. The owner was going to junk it and I gave him what the junkyard was offering him. Engine and transmission are strong. I just spent about 1k on it fixing everything major wrong with it, mainly power steering and back brakes and rotors with the family mechanic. Had a dealership done everything he did it would cost me 3k.

When I go into buy a used car I don’t care what the sticker says, I offer $500 more than median trade in value knowing that the dealership didn’t pay median, not around here anyways. It’s a take it or leave it offer. When I bought my last car that’s what I did. I offered them $500 more than median trade in, which they were good with. My trade in was a very clean vehicle and all I asked for was median trade in. They offered me $500 less. I guess they figured they had to make a grand out of the deal instead of $500, although mine could have been classed as a “clean” trade in worth another $600 or so.

I’m not there to make friends or have them send me Xmas cards. If they wanna make $500 than we’ll deal. If they can’t settle for that (me knowing they’ll make way more than that off my trade in) I’m walking. So when they stood firm on $500 less than median value on my trade in I told them I was walking and they wouldn’t see me again as I’d find someone that would make a deal with me knowing they’d make that and a little more on the other end.

I left, went to another place and found a new car that was reasonable. It was basic transportation, but brand new, highly safety rated, and got good gas mileage. They offered me $200 less than median trade in and by that point I was getting irratated at me wasting a day on this so I told them I wanted $200 more than median (again, a very clean vehicle-I could have asked for highest trade in but I’m only an asshole if you’ve met me:)) and I told them I’d just walked from dealer xyz because they didn’t give me what I wanted. They came back with an “ok, let’s proceed”. I made the deal, got all the new car/special financing crap, etc. Went home with a new car that day. Got $200 more on my trade so it wasn’t a wasted day.

A couple days later dealer “xyz” called me and said they spoke with the boss of the boss of the bosses boss and they were willing to give me the $500 extra on the trade I wanted. I told them that when I walked, I walked. I found a dealer that would deal that day as I told them and I didn’t care for their tactics and that I wouldn’t be back, lol.

It’s cutthroat out there in the car market. Know going in what you have is worth and what they’re selling is worth. I’d have rather have had the first car, but I wasn’t going to be screwed on my trade in. I knew EXACTLY how much it was worth and even giving them the benefit of the median doubt, they weren’t willing to come up. I remember their sales manager asking me if I was really going to walk over $500 dollars and I turned around and asked him if he was going to let me walk over $500? Momma Smiter did raise a dumb child and I’ll admit it was me. But those guys (and gals) at car dealerships are so cutthroat they damn sure ain’t claiming me as a victim. It’s pretty easy to know what you have is worth and to have searched a dealerships inventory to know what they have is worth. I’ll let them make $500 off of me, more if they can make it up on the resale of my trade in. But I’m not paying more than median trade in value plus $500 on anything.

This is getting long (don’t block me @mancest !) and tedious but one more quick story. I bought a car once that because of my philosophy I drove for 2 years and 20k miles (it was a sports car and not an all the time driver, stored winters) that I actually got more in trade in than I did paying for it, new. Beautiful black ‘97 Trans Am with Ram Air. Found a steal on it for about 18k new. Traded in 2 years later with 20k miles on it for 19k. Note to dealers: don’t make that deal with a 20 year old with the car being offsite. There wasn’t much left in the way of tires by the time they actually took delivery, lol. I drove it like a rental for 2 hours before they got it. They’d have been smarter to just have sent someone to my house to pick it up after I sold it to them.
 
My last one....9 years.
 
campilobaxter said:
Ha, I am in the exact same position, except not with a Tahoe. New cars is pricey.
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I crashed my “new” car (2014 but paid off) and now only have my winter vehicle. Used some of the insurance money to fix up an old 2004 Trailblazer 4x4. It’ll flip over backwards before getting stuck but it’s a rust bucket I now hope to get 1-2 years out of. To top it off my “new” car was supposed to be the car for the kids to drive as I now have a 16 y/o licensed driver.

I told my oldest I’ll make him the same deal my parents made me. He gets a job and proves he can make the payments, I’ll sign for exactly one car for him. When he turns 18 he becomes a co-signer. From then on it’s up to him to maintain his credit and finance crap on his own. I’ll also make him save up 20% to put down so he’s vested in it and if he even thinks of being late on the payment (outside of extenuating circumstances such as medical emergency) it’s being sold as it’ll be in my name. Bottom line, be responsible and I will help you. Don’t be, and I’ll have no issues repo’ing my own car.

I paid $300 for my first car so didn’t take advantage of their offer until I was already 18. Pretty rough to find even a decent clunker anymore though.
 
I drive a lot and usually buy a 2-3 year old vehicle targeting something with around 30k miles and drive it to about 150k miles. Sometimes longer if there are no real issues with it. I am in a 2014 Audi A6 right now with 90k miles on it. I figure 2 or 3 more years. I try to pay them off pretty quickly unless the money is pretty much free. I love my car right now the only thing I wish it had is Apple CarPlay.
 
Every time I buy a car, I say "I'm gonna drive this into the ground"

Then I sell it a few years later and repeat the cycle.

But I have managed to keep my 14 Cherokee for 5 years.

I fo have a 78 280Z that isn't going anywhere however
 
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