Driving Your Car Until The Wheels Fall Off (insurance, vehicles, auto)

[Slytrix]

We've all said it or at least heard the phrase but is that really the smart thing to do?

I have some friends who drove their 2007 Mercedes SUV until the engine blew up (stopped working), at which point they sold it to a junker for $500. It had 150-160,000 miles on the car so was getting old but what if they had sold it the year before. They would have probably got $10-12,000 for it that they could have used to help purchase their next car.

How do you figure out when to sell your car? Is driving it until the wheels fall off really the best choice?

[Hemlock140]

That’s not many miles, I wonder if it was maintained or they just drove it. I recently got $8,400 for a 2007 Ranger in trade, that Mercedes was probably worth more (when it was running). I don’t usually go more than about 120,000 or even less. The new features coming out every year, more power yet better mpg, and the smell of a new car are all motivation for me.

[SVTLightning]

Im planning on doing that with my X5M. I will keep it on the road but I'm not worried about little things that stop working as long as the motor is strong. If a repair comes along that would be money spent better as a down payment thats when I'll drop it.

I absolutely love this thing and hate the new ones so Its drive it until I cant lol

[vinnyfl]

I was leasing cars before non businesses were leasing because my wife worked for one of the first car leasing companies. We get a new car every 3 years so we have not had to bring a car in for repairs for a few decades. Before that we bought one new car for my wife one year and one for the next and then sold the wife's and bought her a new one. So basically we each had our car for two years and never once been to a repair station other than for a recall.

We like leasing and when we look at the numbers, buying a car versus leasing it is not a heck of a lot of difference unless you keep your car 8+ years. With all of the new electronic advances such as cameras and auto slowing down to prevent accidents and keeping the car from going into the adjacent lane, it does not make sense to buy a car and then keep it for 10 years as was the norm in my younger days among my dad and his family. Too many new advances to keep driving a dinosaur. Plus I like new and shiny things. I cannot bring myself to buy a used car or anything used. Just a quirk of mine.

[dmarie123]

Vinny, I too lease. I know it's not the most financially sound thing for some people, but the benefits outweigh the costs to me.

[eddiehaskell]

Frugally speaking, I think buying a car and keeping it 10-15 years saves A LOT of money. Pay cash for a car and never have a payment or pay it off in 4-5 years and go 5-10 years with no payments.

People also overlook insurance rates and property tax. My insurance went down a good bit ($300/year I believe) when I dropped collision on my 7 year old car. My property tax is about $100/year vs $300/year on a new car.

Now consider the oppurtunity cost of the money that went toward a constant payment for new cars, higher insurance and higher property tax. The person paying their car off in 5 years and driving it another 10 comes out WAY ahead.

Yeah, safety features improve, but it’s not like a car that was rated “safe” in 2005 is suddenly a death trap in 2018.

[eddiehaskell]

Btw - trying to run some numbers in my head...let’s say you repeat this one car process every 13-14 years - I believe you could come out around $120k+ ahead (3-4% rate of return on the money not spent on cars). Could this mean paying off your house 10 years earlier? Could no car or house payment then mean retiring from work 5-10 years earlier? I’d certainly trade in the joy of new cars for an extra 10 years of freedom.

[NJ2MDdude]

In my case, I'm driving my SUV, a 2003 Toyota with 267,000 miles, until corrosion and rust make it unsuitable for driving. For safety reasons, I'm pretty vigilant about maintenance, especially preventive maintenance. So my wheels aren't going to fall off.

[Larry Caldwell]

I've never heard of a modern engine dying at 160,000. They must have terribly abused it. I easily get 250,000 out of an engine, and if I give it a valve job it just keeps running. I have one in the driveway now with 320,000 on it that still runs and sounds fine. Keeping the running gear going is more expensive. It's a Jeep. It has had two front differentials and a (used) transfer case, plus the valve job. The guy who owns the shop I use has a Ford Explorer with over 500,000 on the original engine.

[StealthRabbit]

3 million miles on my fleet, never have had a wheel fall off (yet), I expect the fleet to last through my demise (and beyond).

I am planning to 'update' a few vehicles (mostly trucks) by regressing back to a 50's body on a newer chassis, but Diesel power (Of Course). FREE fuel has been nice for the last 40 yrs, so the next 40 should be similar or better. (hoping for Grow-your-own-Algae-fuel within 10 yrs)

I should have saved my 1959 Anglia to mount on a Golf Country Turbo Diesel Chassis / running gear.

The only way to get an ideal car is to import a Non-USA offering in pieces and rebuild as a kit car. There are several companies offering that. (Or you can do your own MUCH cheaper). (Buy a disassembled Euro car and have the sea container dropped off at your home / shop) DOCUMENT the re-assembly, some states are miserable to get them registered. (some impossible... then your car needs to live (be registered) in "Boarding School!")