Americans Keeping Cars Longer than Ever Before

[tvguy]

My daughter has one of the VW buy back deal Audi diesels. Do you think that would be a collector?

It's a neat little car and I like it but she's barely driving it because apparently mileage matters in the buy back.

I have already suggested she just take the compensation option and keep the car.

Tough to say. If VW buys them back and destroys them, they will be a rare car. But rare isn't always collectible. But a 40 year old VW like the last old buy convertible is worth some money today, so there is a chance.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I drive a 2006 Honda Accord. My engine died last year at 116K miles and instead of buying I new car I replaced the engine. My uncle is a mechanic and got a gently used engine (45K) and did all of the work for $1700 total. That was 22 months ago. MUCH MUCH cheaper than a car payment.

I love my car. I bought it brand new. I got it top of the line with leather, heated seats, sun roof, etc. I really enjoy driving it.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

We keep our cars until they either have something major and expensive wrong or just plain quit working. Currently we have a 2013 Honda CRV which I hate but it's my husbands and he loves it.

A 2008 Toyota Highlander which is mine and I just love it.
And my son is driving the 2006 Honda Accord. It's going through oxygen sensors like crazy (one every 3 months) though and that's pretty dang annoying but he drives it at college and we wanted to keep the car until he's done with college and maybe buy him a newer used vehicle as his college graduation gift.

Our Daughter should be getting her Driver's License early next year and we'll be looking at a used car for her close to summer. She doesn't like small cars and hates the Honda Accord - I don't blame her, I hated that car when my husband came home with it - so uncomfortable and hard to see out of for shorter folks.

 

[Shughart]

With the sharp depreciation once you drive a brand new car off the lot is it that surprising? We're rocking a 1998 Dodge in Intrepid (no payment) and a 2005 Dodge Caravan we got in 2013. We have less than 4 months of payments left and then we'll have no car payments. Knocking on wood, because the Caravan is sitting in my Mom's' driveway after puking up all the anti freeze in it last night when we got there for Thanksgiving. Thankfully still under warranty but we didn't want to pay upcharge for towing on Thanksgiving. We drive our cars into the ground, and don't stop till we start having to put serious money into them. I anticipate we'll have to replace my husband's car in the next year or two but they've been good to us otherwise.

 

[Sagginit]

I have been driving now on a regular basis for about a decade (didn't have a car until out of college). Both cars were used Hondas. The first one was a 1992 that I got in 06 and kept until 12. I sold it for the same amount I paid for it, so I only spent money on repairs and insurance in the time I owned it. I sold it as my brother and his wife were going to trade in her 03 Honda Civic which was in great shape for almost half of blue book value so I agreed to take it off their hands . With my first car I drove it daily to work but didn't have a long commute. With my current car I don't use it often as I commute into NYC by bus 5 days a week, but we have taken it on a few road trips so that balances the wear.

My husband lived in NYC so he has never had a car. He is itching for something fancier so I think the compromise is in 1-2 years when we are better settled in with the baby and finances we will shop around for a Honda sport. By then I think there will be more used ones to choose from, I refuse to buy new and when we do trade up I will only buy cash. I can't stand the idea of paying interest on a car payment, the only debt I will take on is a mortgage. I paid $1000 for one car and $5000 for the other so when I hear of people paying $20-$30K I can't wrap my head around it. That is a lot of trips to WDW lol.

 

[jodifla]

We tend to keep our cars 15 to 20 years. But we always try to have a newer one -- under 10 years -- so we feel comfortable driving it long distances and late at night. Our jobs occasionally require us to work until midnight or later, and we don't want to be stuck on the highway then.

 

[Disneyland_emily]

My car is an 06 Corolla with 140,000 miles and we recently traded in my husbands HHR with 120,000 miles for a 14 Corolla with 31000 miles as his was an expensive ticking time bomb maintenance wise. Every time it went in it was at least 1-2 grand (I think I've dropped a grand on mine in total ever!) plus with a baby on the way wanted something more reliable- goal is to pay it off within the year

 

[BLAZEY]

I drive a 2002 Acura, of 14yr old car. My husband got a new Nissan Titan in 2014 to replace his dying 2003 Dodge Dakota. We got a great deal on the Titan, better than buying used! Not buying a North American car/truck again. The dodge was always needing something fixed on it. Currently saving for when I do need to replace the Acura.

 

[superme80]

My current car is a 2008 Rogue. I am dying for a bigger vehicle, but a car payment is not in the budget. I guess I will just have to put dividers between the kids.

 

[tvguy]

My current car is a 2008 Rogue. I am dying for a bigger vehicle, but a car payment is not in the budget. I guess I will just have to put dividers between the kids.

That's why I got rid of my 1974 Pinto in 1990. Just not big enough with a 3 year old, and another baby on the way. But it was a great car for 16 years and 130,000 miles.

 

[disneychrista]

I miss my 2000 Toyota Echo, bought new and kept for 14 years. I wish now that I had put the money into it vs buying a new car (2014 Ford Fiesta). I am not happy with my new car, I do plan to get a new one in the next few years but plan to drive that one "forever."

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

I am a naive Californian, but I thought rust was a thing of the past with modern rust proofing, or at least Ziebart. My FIL lived on the gulf coast and had his new cars Ziebarted. If they rusted, Ziebart fixed it for free.

Rust is definitely still a thing. We live on an island in FL...no matter how well we take care of the cars, they rust here. That said, we are able to keep them 10 years or so at least.

 

[tcufrog]

I'm driving a 2013 Honda Odyssey. It's not old but already had almost 70k miles on it. I put at least 50 miles on it on school days which is why I've racked up that many. I haven't decided how long I plan to keep it. I think it will depend on how well it holds up. It's great with the kids but it doesn't handle that great in bad weather even though it has antilock brakes and it's a PITA to park even though it has a backup camera. The size is good for camping though and I can fit my mil and both kids in the second row. My dh leases his cars and right now he's leasing an Audi Q3 Quattro. It handles much better in bad weather than mine does. We rarely get snow but when it freezes we often get treacherous black ice. We have a steep driveway and live in a hilly area plus our son's school is atop a hill that's the highest point in the city. It's a beautiful view but difficult to get to in bad weather.

A few years ago we had a horrible snowstorm that came a day early. The city's road crew was caught unawares so the freeways hadn't been sanded. We received an emergency call to pick up our older son at school at 10:30 am due to the weather. My car barely made it to my dh's office which is midway between home and school. Several times I was afraid my minivan would spin out or get into a dangerous accident so I stopped at my dh's office. We switched to his car. A trip that would usually take 15-20 minutes took hours. Several times our car almost got stuck and many times we almost got hit by less capable cars. We did get him and picked up his brother on the way home before nightfall. I swore after that experience that we'd always have at least one 4WD car. We rarely need the capability but when we need it we really need it.

 

[tvguy]

Rust is definitely still a thing. We live on an island in FL...no matter how well we take care of the cars, they rust here. That said, we are able to keep them 10 years or so at least.

I guess not many people use Ziebart. If it rusts, they fix it for free.

 

[tcufrog]

It's a good thing that rust isn't an issue with cars around here because there isn't a Zeibart within 100 miles of my home. Our big worry around here is hail damage.

 

[kathy884]

I used to plan to keep a car till it hit 100,000 miles. Now we usually plan to keep the cars till they hit 200,000. We just replaced ours two years ago. I'm right now saving $500 a month ($250 per car) in a car replacement fund. Always have bought cars for cash and usually drive them for eight to ten years, not nearly as many years as many on this forum do, but it's not frequent trading either. So I guess the way I do it, it's sort of like I have a car payments, but they are for our next cars, not the ones we are currently driving with monies going into savings.

 

[Sagginit]

I have been driving now on a regular basis for about a decade (didn't have a car until out of college). Both cars were used Hondas. The first one was a 1992 that I got in 06 and kept until 12. I sold it for the same amount I paid for it, so I only spent money on repairs and insurance in the time I owned it. I sold it as my brother and his wife were going to trade in her 03 Honda Civic which was in great shape for almost half of blue book value so I agreed to take it off their hands . With my first car I drove it daily to work but didn't have a long commute. With my current car I don't use it often as I commute into NYC by bus 5 days a week, but we have taken it on a few road trips so that balances the wear.

My husband lived in NYC so he has never had a car. He is itching for something fancier so I think the compromise is in 1-2 years when we are better settled in with the baby and finances we will shop around for a Honda sport. By then I think there will be more used ones to choose from, I refuse to buy new and when we do trade up I will only buy cash. I can't stand the idea of paying interest on a car payment, the only debt I will take on is a mortgage. I paid $1000 for one car and $5000 for the other so when I hear of people paying $20-$30K I can't wrap my head around it. That is a lot of trips to WDW lol.

Update, ironically my husband backed into a cement curb/barrier yesterday while driving. Left a nice yellow smear/scrape from the back wheel towards the bumper on one side of the car. I told him not to worry, its why I don't drive a great car. Years of parking in malls when I worked in retail taught me that accidents will happen. He said he wants to hold off on upgrading for a little while Another perk of not having a fancy new car.

 

[manning]

Garmin. Can get wireless backup camera (BC 30)

https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/on-the-road/automotive/garmin-driveassist-50lmt/prod524703.html

 

[manning]

Have my car going onto 24 years come June. Only 204,000 miles.

 

[runwad]

Have my car going onto 24 years come June. Only 204,000 miles.

What kind is it??