Driving old cars

[4luv2cdisney]

For those of you that keep your cars "forever", what is the longest you've ever had a vehicle? How long do you keep sinking money into it before you give up?

The oldest vehicle we've ever had was 9 yrs old (my last minivan). That is how old my DH's truck currently is, too. We've been needing to repair it almost constantly the last year or two. Every time we fix something, we think, "Hopefully, this will be it for awhile..." but it never is.

Trying to decide whether or not we cut our losses now or stick it out in hopes that this really is the last repair for awhile. We've put in more than the trucks current value in the last 2 yrs. The first repair set us back the most and we had no idea the hits would just keep coming!

 

[stacielee]

We just started looking for a replacement for DH's 1999 Toyota Corolla which we bought new, so it's over 12 years old. Really the only thing we've done is changed the oil. Probably replaced the tires & brakes, but not much more. It's got over 200k miles on it! But it's starting to leak power steering fluid, the window seals are cracked, the muffler needs to be replaced... hopefully DS who's 21, will be okay with it since he has no car right now.

 

[3_disprincesses]

I drive a mini-van that is 13 years old. I've never really had to do any what I consider major reapirs. If it got to where I was paying more in a year than what it is worth or the repairs are more than I would make on payments for a new to me one in a years time I would start looking for something else. I have used the same mechanic all these years and trust him to tell me when it's time to get another one. Just replaced the headlights ($273) and I'm getting new tires this week...everything else looks good for now!

 

[VAfamily1998]

We bought a '98 Volvo used in 2001. We kept it until January 2010 when it finally "died". We sold it to someone on Craigslist (we fully disclosed all it's problems)--I guess this guy buys Volvos and fixes them up. We never sunk any money into the Volvo beyond routine maintenance (oil changes, tires, etc.)

 

[monarchsfan16]

I got rid of my 1997 Ford Explorer in August. I'd have kept it longer, but the rust had gotten to the point where the car wasn't going to pass inspection. I do NOT blame the car. I blame the fact that I live in New England, and it was my car through college... in other words, taking it through the car wash to rid the car of excess road salt was not my top priority. It had 172,000+ miles on it.

 

[Darcy03231]

We had a Chevy Astro Van that we kept for 18 years and, as I recall, it had 229,000 miles. We bought it new and DH drove it for the first 8 years (he has a one hour commute) and then I took it over and drove it for another 10 years. We always did the routine maintenance on it. There were a couple of large repairs in the last few years (around $1000), but it was cheaper than a new car. Finally, between the rust (we live in New England), the transmission went, and a bunch of other small stuff, to repair it would have been over $5000 so we decided it was time for a trade-in. The dealership gave us $3000 for it on a new van.

 

[Earstou]

My dh drove his 1987 Honda Civic until 3 years ago.

 

[hanutedmansionmomma]

longest? 16 years, until the value was less than the repair costs

current vehicles are 13 and 5 years old.

we only buy "new to us" vehicles.

Anytime we make a repair we rationalize it as a payment. For example...a $600 repair would be equal to 2 $300 monthly payments. Will the car last beyond 2 months after the repair? If yes, we go ahead and do it. UNTIL, like I said above, the costs well exceed the value.

I'd start researching a vehicle now and saving up so when you are in a position to need it you'll know the best price and be ready to buy.

 

[rluey29]

We are driving our 2004 Malibu right now, but we have put about $6000.00 in repairs over the last 3 years. We paid less than that for the car.

 

[willowsnn3]

I have a 2000 Honda Accord that I bought in 2002 with 30,000miles on it. It now has 230,000 miles and until last year the only maintenance I did was oil changes, brakes, a headlight, brake light & windshield wipers. Last year I replaced the water pump, all belts/hoses & some other stuff for about $1400. It's a keeper.

 

[swilshire]

My record was the 1964 Mercedes I bought in 1971 and drove until the mid 80s. It had 350K miles on it and still ran well, but I found a similar one with a better body. Mine was a little beat up when I got it.

I drove my 1986 Subaru GL well into this century. It had 239K miles on it and I'm still sorry I let my husband talk me into trading it for another Subaru.

I recently bought my neighbors' 2002 Honda Accord with 94K miles on it. I hope it will last my teenager through college.

I hate to be unpatriotic, but the American made vehicles I've owned have been worthless soon after the 100K mark. We have all Hondas and one Subaru now in the family except for my husband's old Ford pickup. If I were going to buy American, I think it would be a Ford. I've had awful experiences with Chrysler vans and not much better with the GM van I owned.

Sheila

 

[foltzy]

We have a 1996 grand caravan and it's now to the point where it will cost more to fix than it's worth, so we're shopping for something a little newer. I'm sad to see it go but when it can't make even a 30 minute drive anymore it's time.

 

[Keegansmommy]

My 1997 Chevy Cavalier is still trooping along. It has around 110,000 miles on it. We use it as our secondary vehicle now. In the last few years we've had to put about $1,000 into brakes and tires. The car itself isn't worth much and we're looking into purchasing a newer car and use our Equinox as a back-up vehicle instead of the other way around.

 

[DeltaDiamond001]

9 years. 1999 GMC Yukon. It had over 120,000 miles on it, but besides the typical wear and tear, absolutely no problems. We replaced it with a 2008 GMC Acadia which now has almost 60,000 miles. We will be trading it in for a Cadillac Escalade or BMW X3 within the next two years. Of course, that's dependent on whether or not we keep our boat...

I say, as long as the car still runs fine and is safe, keep it until the wheels fall off. The only reason we're considering getting rid of the Acadia is the multitude of issues it's had lately.

 

[mrodgers]

The first thing that many people don't understand is the difference between repair and maintenance.

A non-inclusive list of maintenance items that all cars need done on a routine basis....

Brakes, exhaust, shocks/struts, tires, oil changes, filter replacement, transmission flush and refill, lubed, clutch replacement, timing belt replacement (when applicable, some cars do have timing chains, which don't routinely need replaced as much.), and to a smaller extent, head gasket replacement.

Sometimes you can judge a vehicle by the timing necessary for the replacement of these maintenance items. Example is, I've driven nothing but Japanese exclusively since 1995. Never have I touched brake rotors and I have always replaced brake pads about every 50k miles. Now with the Ford, not only are the pads replaced every 30k miles, but also the rotors.

I've always bought used except for 1992 when Mom talked me into buying a new car and 2007 when I decided to buy new for my wife. Both times I should have bought used and bought better. My list is....

1990-1992 - 1985 Ford Escort - 46,000-86,000 - Junked
1992-1995 - 1992 Geo Storm - 25-60,000 - Traded, was a POS
1995-1996 - 1989 Toyota Pickup - 94,000-135,000 - Totaled in accident
1996-1996 - 1994 Toyota 4Runner - 54,000-62,000 - Owned 6 months, couldn't afford
1996-2002 - 1988 Toyota 4Runner - 105,000-189,000 - Traded up
1997-1998 - 1992 Chevy Corsica - unknown-134,000 - Wife's when we got married
1998-2010 - 1994 Nissan Altima - 48,000-169,000 - Traded up
2002-2007 - 1999 Toyota Tacoma - 52,000-98,000 - Missed Toyota buying back for frame rust, traded
2007-current - 2006 Mazda Tribute - 900-100,500 - bought leftover, still driving. POS
2010-2010 - 1994 Honda Civic - 172,000 - 179,000 - Paid nothing, put a new head gasket in, and sold it.
2010-current - 2003 VW Jetta 1.8T - 74,000-101,500 - Love this car

Of the cars I've owned, The Geo (Chevy import with Chevy parts on it), Ford Escort, and Chevy Corsica I've gotten rid of because of constant mechanical problems. It wasn't until I started buying Toyotas that I never had another repair or unreasonably short life for maintenance. I didn't put a dime into 5 Japanese vehicles for repair. I put a clutch in the 88 4Runner, expected maintenance, and put a head gasket in the Honda because that is how I aquired it (pretty common maintenance for the Honda 1.6 ltr motor.) The highest mileage 3 cars all were traded due to rust problems with the higher miles. I fix the rust, but it eventually gets tiresome fixing it year after year. Around here, you are pretty much looking at rust problems starting any time after 150k miles with the salt on the roads.

Because of needing maintenance in 4 times quicker period of time, the Mazda Tribute (Same as a Ford Escape) has cost me in 100,000 miles, more money than the previous 6 Japanese cars I've owned with combined 406,975 miles on them.

Mileage doesn't matter, age doesn't matter. What matters the most I have found when trying to determine how long to keep a car is, what car is it and who is the manufacture?

 

[gillenkl]

Our current vehicles are 13 and 12 years old - we have no plans to replace them anytime soon. We are loyal to Chevy.

 

[Disneypeach]

I kept my first car for 11years, Mazda bought new. I got a new Camry when the rotary engine on the mazda developed an expensive oil leak. Kept the Camry 19 years...maint costs only. I still have my third car M-B slk bought new almost 14 years ago...maint costs only. Bought new because I always plan to keep the cars until the wheels fall off.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Well, my "first car" was a 29-year-old pickup truck, so I've had my share of "old stuff", although that one was restored. I've had cars that were on their 3rd engine by 100,000 miles and one that was well over 200,000 with hardly any work done to it ever. My most unreliable vehicle ever was one everyone swears is flawless. And my most reliable one was one everyone swore would fall apart within its first 2 or 3 years of use. One car was deadly reliable for 12 years & over 150,000 miles only to suddenly require a repair that was more expensive than the car was valued.

There's really no way to know when or if that next repair is coming unless you're getting "signs" of things like a weak engine or transmission, or other parts that are obviously going bad. I draw the line at when I feel nervous about relying on the vehicle for transportation or when the repairs outpace a new payment

 

[Sagginit]

oh tricky one. i just did this debate a few months ago. i had a 92 honda with about 130,000 on it. i had done a bunch of repairs/maintenance last year. while i liked the car i often drive on the highway and it just did not handle that well and i felt a bit unsafe. also i had the car for 5.5 years and knew i would have to start thinking about things like getting the breaks checked out, new tires, etc so it was not worth it to keep it much longer. i sold it to someone who needed it as a secondary car for around town.

i just bought my brothers 2003 honda to replace it. the car was kept in amazing condition and they sold it to me for 1/3 off the blue book price so it was totally worth swapping. i will have the loan paid off in the next month and then will be free of a car payment again (hopefully for another 5 years at least).

i think you need to weigh the costs of repair/maintenance, the reliability/safety of the vehicle with the cost of the new car (or newer car). in my case it just made no sense to try to push the 92 b/c if something major went i would have to junk it and get almost nothing for it. i was able to sell it for the same cost i paid 5.5 years ago so the whole time i owned it the only cost was the repairs/maintenance.

 

[4luv2cdisney]

I am starting to feel like we just have the worst luck with cars! We get our oil changed and regular scheduled maintenance. I just don't know how they all end up being total POS. Over the years, we have given away 2 of our cars to friends/family who really needed them (they had very little resale value anyway) and our 9 year old minivan had maybe 80K miles on it and we junked it (cash for clunkers) because it was worthless. Long story there....needed major mechanical repairs and had been recently rear ended by an uninsured driver.

I hate vehicle expenses! We spend sooo much money on vehicles and gas. About as much, if not more than, our mortgage. And, yes, we have paid cash for many of our vehicles, but I am always saving for the next one.

As of right now, DH has to disconnect the battery every time he turns off his truck. Otherwise, the battery completely drains and the truck will not restart. Apparently there is an electrical problem of some sort.