Driving old cars

[tar heel]

Honestly, I don't even think of a nine-year-old car as being old.

My DH's 1995 Camry was running great when someone pulled out in front of him last year, so it was 16 years old. It was low mileage for its age, about 160,000.

We donated the 1993 Oldsmobile my 24-year-old son started driving in high school to public radio in January. It was very low mileage for its age b/c its first owner was very old, about 110,000.

We're hoping to sell our 2000 Grand Caravan in the next couple months. It runs great, but the a/c is broken and it has about 230,000 miles on it.

We have a 2005 Camry with 90,000 miles that our mechanic says is just getting broken in. He says they're 300,000-mile cars if they're taken care of.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

You really need to think about how often your vehicle is breaking down or in need of repair and the dependablity of the vehicle. If a vehicle as minor issues and doesn't need repairs too often I would say keep the vehicle. When it becomes and issue that it is breaking down more often or that you are faced with a major repair such as a transmission or engine then you should trade it.
It really depends on its dependabilty as to how long you keep putting money into it. If in say 12 months you spend $800 for repairs and it was only in the shop say 2-3 times it seams bettter paying for the repairs than making 12 months car payments that could cost you thousands of dollars in one year.

 

[sophie832]

Had my first car, a 2000 Toyota Corolla purchased in 1999, for 12 years until I totaled it this past December It had about 180,000 miles on it at the time, and I was fully prepared to keep it until at least 200,000. The engine was still doing great. I had the brakes done a couple of times over the years, but the only other costs were regular maintenance. I kept to the official maintenance schedule, and I'm one of those "crazy" people who always went to the dealer to get maintenance done. I had a regular service guy there who gave me great deals. The driver's side window wouldn't go down anymore, and some of the fabric was peeling off the top interior, but other than that I was happy with the car...and after all those years, the airbag worked and I came out of the crash without any serious injuries.

Now I have a Hyundai Santa Fe that I also intend to keep at least 10 years. Here's hoping!

 

[Sfmarine]

Hondas seem to last forever. My '98 Accord was doing well until the tranny went at 160k.

I can't believe my S2000 is 12 years old. It's a garage queen though..only 40k.

A decent, well maintained car could last you a good 15 years. There always comes a time when it's just not economically feasible to keep dumping money into your car. It's a hard decision but picking up a new car or a "like new" car really avoids any headaches with an older car. You don't have to worry about anything. I picked up two new cars in the past year and it's a blessing to not have to worry about anything except oil changes, brakes, and tires.

My mechanic is a good guy..I haven't seen him in 6 months because I dont need him anymore lol.

 

[Swimalie]

My oldest car was a Geo Prizm (made in the Toyota factory as a Corolla). It was 12 years old when we had to move across the country and it was cheaper to sell it there and buy a new one here than have it moved (we had to pay for the move). It was in great shape at around 200,000 miles. We replaced it with a 2001 Corolla which my husband drives 50 miles a day with.

My 2nd oldest was a Honda CR-V with 130,000 and 11 years old. We sold it last year when we bought our new Subaru Forester. The CR-V was getting to the point where it was going to need repairs so we upgraded before that happened.

The winner in my family is my mom. She had a 22 year old Honda Accord. It was so old it didn't even have cup holders or airbags. She upgraded for a Prius which is now 4 years old.

My husband can fix most issues in cars. Once they get to the point where he can't fix something, then we think about getting rid of it.

 

[java]

We had a Volvo 350*I think it was a 350? from 1994-last year. The odometer broke at around 210,000 and that was in around 2004- DH drove it as a commuter car for the last few years. It was a solid well made car with no major problems- just oil changes, belts and rarely brakes.

When I looked into replacing it with another I researched and found that sadly they are not what they used to be- so no more volvo for us.

 

[dvcgirl]

We got rid of our 1997 4-Runner last November, just shy of having it for 15 years. It had almost 170,000 miles on it. It was riding rough and it needed about $2,000 in repairs (not maintenance)....something with the wheel bearings. It was only worth a few grand, and so that was the sign that it was time.

Got a 2008 4-Runner Limited with 40,000 miles on it for 26K in cash. Saved about 20K in depreciation by buying a used car and it's a sweet ride.

 

[Local_Girl]

DH has a 1995 Honda Accord wagon that he purchased new (so about 16-1/2years old now) with well over 300,000 miles on it now. It is still running great, though showing it's age a bit. It has been an incredibly reliable car. He's looking to replace it within the next year or so with a new Subaru Impreza, which he hopes will hold up equally as well.

I have a 12 year old (2000) Honda Odyssey that we purchased used with 97,000 miles on it. It now has well over 250,000 and is doing okay, though it is on its 3rd transmission.... We're hoping it can hang on for another couple of years without major repairs.

 

[matdamom]

My husband just totaled his 1988 Subaru Justy. Mileage unknown, since it didn't have an odometer that went 6 digits. He loved that car and hated like anything to give it up, but it was completely unrepairable. He didn't buy it new, and only did minor things to it plus maintenance. In 2004 he had to finally get rid of his 1988 Isuzu Trooper because of rust.

I have had only 1 new car in my life. He's never had one. I can't handle the thought of the depreciation on a new car, not to mention car payments.

 

[DawnM]

We still have a 1997 Saturn Station Wagon that we purchased in 1996. It does have some issues.

 

[SC Minnie]

DD drives a 1993 Mercury Topaz. We bought it 2 years ago with 56,000 miles on it from a coworker (it was her grandmothers who had recently passed away). And yes, that is *56* without a 1 in front of it! We've had to do some routine repairs and put on new tires but that's about it. We hope this will get her through college.

 

[2disneyboys]

DH & I have a 1999 Nissan Altima w/ approx $140,000 miles on it and a 2002 Kia Sedona with 157,000 mileson it (can you tell the one we drive the most lol!?) We dont' count basic maintenance, as that's just one of of the costs of owning a vehicle. When major things start happening we look @ the repair costs and older vehicle value and compare it to the price of a newer car.. We plan to drive both of these until we no longer trust them!

With that said, we "pay" a car payment to ourselves each month. We put $300-500 a month into a seperate savings account. This account is only for vehicle use. So if we have a repair or new tires etc, we use this money. If we get to the point we need a "newer" car, we either (a) have the $ to buy it outright, or (b) are at least used to a car payment of sorts so our budget does not get blown out of wack.

 

[daughtersrus]

We have a 1996 Ford conversion van with almost 200,000 miles on it now that we bought new in Feb '97. DH just replaced the ball joints this weekend. There is no rust at all and the only thing wrong inside is one of the cords on the back side shade broke so it won't stay up.

I've got the best mechanic around.

DH has been a tech at a Lincoln dealership for 27 years so our only cost is parts.

 

[swilshire]

If I could convince my whole family to drive manual transmission vehicles like I do, we'd save a ton on maintenance costs. I've replaced too many automatic transmissions in Chrysler and GM products to count. In all the manual transmissions my son and I have driven, only two clutches total, which are not all that expensive.

The brakes last much longer in the manuals also.

Sheila

 

[Belle5]

DH bought a Camry in 97. Drove it for 500,000 miles. Bought my Expedition in 2000 and it has about 230,000 miles on it and going strong. I don't care how OLD your car is...it's the mileage that will impress me. Let's say your vehicle is 20 years old...if it only has 100,000 miles on it that's really not saying too much. My parents have cars like that. They don't drive them the way we do. At 100,000 miles---they SHOULD be going strong!

 

[bearzabout]

The car I drive everyday is a 1992 Acura Legend. It looks and runs like new. I have put very little in it except for scheduled maintenance, preventative maintenance, worn part replacement (brakes) and some rust repair. I love it and am very proud of it.

I hope is lasts forever. I really got lucky buying such a well built car.

The keys to keeping a car a long time is:

1. Buy the best quality you can that has reasonable repair / parts costs and good parts availability (or almost never needs repair)

2. Run the best synthetic fluids in it as possible (including transmission fluid, oil, etc). Buy the best quality oil filter available and change the oil yourself every year or 3000 miles, whichever comes first.

3. Take really good care of it yourself or find a good independent mechanic. If we take our older cars into dealerships, they often get returned damaged. They are trying to get us to trade it in by creating problems (an Acura dealership broke our rear view mirror on our last visit - it cost us $100 to repair - we will never take it to a dealership again).

4. Realize that you may have to buy parts from junk yards since they may not be made anymore. We haven't had to do this yet since so little goes wrong with the car, but we know that we may have to do this in the future.

5. As a previous poster mentioned, don't drive it much. Mine only has 160,000 miles on it, but not driving it much can create problems too. We drive it to Florida every year to give it a good workout.

 

[Eeyore98]

We keep cars until either the transmission or engine needs to be replaced. I am leery of these repairs because they are expensive and quite tricky to do *well*. My mom had an engine repaired and it was done so badly they eventually replaced the entire engine for free...the new one STILL had problems but at least was manageable.

Aside from the above, our general rule of thumb would be that we'd get rid of a car once the repairs start costing us about what a car payment would...so far, this has never happened before the engine or transmission crapped out. We'd have an $800 repair on something, but then the car would be fine for another year.

Our oldest car was actually my DH's first car, and that one he only got rid of because his parents made him. (He was going away to college, and apparently they felt better about him having NO car while there than driving around an older car. ) It was an '83 Mustang, and he sold it in 2000, running perfectly. We got rid of our other cars at 14 years old (93 Olds Cutlass in 2007) and 12 years old (99 Chevy Lumina in 2011), both due to serious engine problems.

 

[Handbag Lady]

The longest I had a car was 15 years. I tend to keep them up and hang on to them. I hate car payments.

I bought my Pontiac Grand Am in 1995 brand new. I did regular oil changes, followed the manual for upkeep and I only got rid of it when I just got tired of not having new fancy bells and whistles on it. The radiator was just about shot so I decided to just get another car. That, and I was dying for a convertible.

I hope to keep my current car as long if not longer.

 

[Promomx2]

Dh is driving 1999 cavalier (he sold his truck on his own) and ds-17 drives a 1979 z28 camaro. So every week I ask what do we need this week from the auto parts store. Best vehicle we ever had was a 1988 blazer that had over 200,000 miles on it when we sold it. I have a 2006 expedition, hoping to get something new this summer. I would like something smaller but I have to wait and see if my dd and her family with 2 little ones will be moving back near us.

 

[StuckInKS]

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.

Well, we just recently got a 2000 Ford Expedition and that, to us, is a new car. We did own another 2000 in 06-07 and a 2001 in 2010 (both minivans), but we have never had anything newer than that. That said, when one goes, we get another. We never pay much for them, so if we get a year or two out of them we are happy. We don't want any kind of debt, even car and home loans, and even recently purchased a great 4br home with cash. But, I wouldn't sink too much money into an old vehicle, because you never know what may go wrong next.