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When I drove cars I tended to switch whenever something new that was really appealing came out. Now that I've driven trucks and SUVs for the past twenty years (suite my lifestyle much better) I hang on to them until they are too beaten up to really get anything more than utility out of.
I personally would immediately ditch any vehicle with transmission problems or nagging issues that consistently impact drivability and aren't solved after a trip or two to a repair shop. I won't keep something that doesn't consistently run well...consider myself blessed that I am not in a position to have to, and I know many who don't have the luxury of trading once their vehicle starts to significantly decline.
Agree with the others that around the 10 year mark a few things are likely to begin requiring repair regardless of mileage.
Haven't bought a new car since my last one, 63 years ago, and never will.
A "new to me" car? About every 5 years or so, spending between $3,200 and $5,000 each time. My last purchase? I just purchased a 2010 Kia Soul six months ago, 110,000 miles on it in perfect shape for $4,000. The one before that? A 2003 Montana van, had 125,000 on it, now has 190,000 on it, and it cost me less than $1,000 in maintenance AND repairs during that five years. I spent $3,200 for that one. I think I have it sold for $1,200... buyer is suppose to bring the money today.
I see no need for buying new, but am sure glad others do. Where would I find a good selection of used otherwise.
Obviously, I am not afraid of miles on a vehicle, as that is the smallest of considerations when buying a car, for me.
There's no right or wrong answers, I am just curious how people decide when it is time to replace a car.
Usually when the motor blew....Threw the driveline out the back (Rear pole vaulted 3' in the air) Oh what a ride that was! When my friend rolled his...
Just got rid of mine. It was 10 1/2 years old (we bought it new), had about 140K miles. It was still actually running great, but little things were starting to happen - a knocking noise when you turned on the a/c, heated/cooled seats weren't working, etc. Nothing mechanical, but just a PITA. I also wanted to get rid of it BEFORE it needed some major work. We had been lucky in that nothing had every really gone wrong, but it was just a matter of time. Eventually, something was going to wear out.
That would be my answer. It's my choice when I want to get a new car and not anyone else's. Sometimes it's 6 years, sometimes 6 months and and most times somewhere in between.
This is me 100%......
My last four were brand new when I bought them and this is how long I kept them:
truck 180K miles/8 yrs
truck 59K miles/5 yrs
truck 10K miles/ 6 months
Current SUV- 22 months/41K miles and I suspect it will be gone in less than a year.
There's no right or wrong answers, I am just curious how people decide when it is time to replace a car.
I bought a new car last December. My other car had just had an oil change. They gave me the check up. It was eight years old, 160,000 miles. It needed new brakes, new tires, some other tire part that needed to be replaced due to it being bent, some other regular maintenance stuff, some other expensive repair--all totally $3000. Two years prior I spent about $2000 in upkeep, regular maintenance. I thought it was time to replace the car.
I would probably say around 10 years or 150-200k miles. If you don't drive much, then you have to take age into account since time itself will wear out rubber and plastic parts, etc.
Now if you bought one of those Jaguars, Alfa Romeos, etc and after 100k miles you are dropping more than $1000 every year on repairs, maybe you need to change.
I agree with this. My rationale is what I refer to as the "terminal annual cost of the car". If I buy a car for cash for 20K, and I drive it without it requiring major repairs for ten years, it's costing me about 2K/yr to own it. And every year, the property tax and insurance bill on it goes down. So by the end of that decade, when it starts to require any major repairs, it's just not worth it to me to pay for that - and don't even mention the inconvenience of having to take the car to the repair shop, or having the car break down on you, leaving you stranded.
So I save, make sure I have enough money on hand to buy another for cash (unless they have an absolutely fantastic deal on financing), and buy one new for about 20 K every ten years or so.
I sometimes consider buying one sooner, especially if the resale value is very good, but then I think of the sales tax and the property tax on cars which we pay where I live, and I wind up just driving it until it's about ten years old, as long as I don't have trouble with it.
Now I've reached the point when kids are getting old enough to need a hand me down car. So the last one went that way at 5 yrs old and 100K. I still miss that car!
There's no right or wrong answers, I am just curious how people decide when it is time to replace a car.
I used to do 200,000 mile on the odometer on service vehicles.
Personal vehicles I keep them. I really got rid of a few that were just so horrible as far as reliability that I dumped them. They were so unreliable I just traded them in.
Most vehicles I had that I sold in the past were due to not having the room to keep them all or simply not driving it. We had a GMC that literally we drove one week a year. I finally sold it. Nothing wrong with it. It was a 95 with 112,000 miles always garaged immaculate interior and exterior. Ran great. Basically collected dust in the garage. Sold it to a nice family looking for a car for their daughter.
For example right now I’m selling one of my diesel trucks. Not because I need or want to. I really rather keep it because there is nothing wrong with it. It’s a exceptional vehicle well taken care of, never abused, it’s in phenomenal shape. It’s also a rare color, and fully optioned for that year. The ONLY reason I’m selling it is because I simply do not drive it. This year I put less than 300 miles on it.
I put more miles on it last year driving it to work for three months than I did in the last 8 years. I bought a cheap commuter car service moly because it was cheaper to do that than to drive that truck.
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