How long do you drive a vehicle, on average, before replacing it?

[disneymagicgirl]

Just out of curiosity? Both of our vehicles are paid off and have been since 12/11. They are both 2007 Hondas. Both purchased used. My odyssey has 110,000 miles. Got it in Jan 2010. DHs accord we got in march 2011 i think. it has over 160000. He travels for work so we wouldn't want to ever get him a NEW car I don't imagine. Currently he gets reimbursed 50cents or whatever the going IRS rate is for mileage from his company. They offered to give him a $500 stipend and pay his gas instead. Seems like a better deal. Thinking of using that $500 towards a new car for me and they will still pay his gas for work related travel. He will drive his accord quite awhile longer since any car he gets he runs the miles up so quick. Sold his last car, a civic, with over 250k miles and it was running great. Only sold because our friend was selling this accord and we got a good price.
I'm just getting the new car itch and wondered how long most folks drive a car. Mine is going on 7 yrs old.

 

[sk!mom]

We drive them until they become unreliable. Currently, I drive a 2002 Camry with no plans to get rid of it any time soon. DH drives a 2005 F150 no plans to get rid of it either. I can think of only one car that we got rid of before it was at least 10 years old and had mileage below 100,000. Prior to buying my Camry, we had a Taurus that was no doubt a lemon. It needed constant repairs including a new transmission prior to 70,000 miles.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

We keep a car for at least 10 yrs. We don't like to have 2 car payments at the same time so we each take turns getting a new car. When I got my minivan in 2006 we had 5 yrs of car payments. By the end of those, dh's truck was 10 yrs old. He was itching for a new truck but really I think he could have waited another few years. He said he was sick of it.
I only drive 2.5 miles to the train station for work so my vehicle doen't rack up a lot of mileage. (My minivan was bought new in 06 and now only has 34000 miles.) I would have kept my last car longer but it needed a new catalytic converter which was est @ $1500. The car (Ford Taurus) wasn't even worth that much. Unfortunately, the "check engine" light was on and my car would fail inspection like that. So about a month before my inspection was due we got the minivan.
We have 3 yrs from Aug til dh's truck is paid off. I'm not sick of my van so I'm in no hurry to run out & buy another one. It would be great to go a couple years with NO car payment.

 

[Colleen27]

220K seems to be the end of the road for us. We've had two vans last until that point, as well as DH's work truck, only to develop very serious/expensive problems all at once. Age is secondary - one of those vans was a 2001, while DH's truck was a 1994. But when it comes to cars I'm a creature of habit so I never really get the "new car itch", in fact I hate change so much that my current van is a younger, lower-mileage version of my last van. Same make, same model, similar option package.

 

[buckirj1]

I drive very little, and manage to keep my cars for several years. The last one, a Chevy Beretta, lasted 12 years. The current car, a Hyundai Sonata, is 6 years and counting. I don't think it's going to last another 6 years, but we'll see. Either way, once cars pass the five year mark I figure I've gotten my money's worth.

 

[tvguy]

I don't drive a whole lot. My family car is a Suburban that is almost 26 years old and has 143,000 miles on it, it has always been an "extra" car driven only on weekends. This is the highest mileage were have ever driven a car. My commute car is a 2003 Focus with 110,000 and DW drives a 2000 Mountaineer with 98,000.

My daughter totaled our 1990 Sable when it was 18 years old and had 140,000 miles on it.
My 1974 Pinto was 16 years old and had 130,000 miles on when I got rid of it
My wifes 1983 Lynx was 15 years old and had 130,000 miles on it when we got rid of it.
My wife's 1970 Maverick was 13 yeard old and had 130,000 miles on it when we got rid of it.

So 130-140,000 miles over about 16 years seems to be the average ownership . That's not including the Suburban, which I may keep forever.

 

[tvguy]

Either way, once cars pass the five year mark I figure I've gotten my money's worth.

I'm a little different, I figure I have to own a car 10 years AFTER it's paid for before I've gotten my money's worth. I also expect a car not to need any non-warranty repairs for the first 10 years of it's life, and even my cheap little Pinto did that. Unfortunately, at 10 years and 100,000 miles the part that failed was the transmission

 

[MEK]

Pay cash and keep it for 6 years. Might keep this one longer. My son has my 2003 Honda Accord with over 200K.

 

[scootch]

We got a new Honda after 9 years... but still kept our old Honda.. it is now 12 years old and runs great!

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Interesting responses! Lots of people driving cars for a long time. I wonder, in my case, is the car depreciating faster than the amount I am saving by not having a car payment. Lets say my kbb right now is $17000. Lets say I am saving $5000/yr by not having a car payment. Lets also say I am about to spend $1000 on maintenance, to include timing belt and water pump etc. so I am saving a net if $4000 this year by driving my older car vs having a $400/mth payment. But in another 12 mths will the car still be worth kbb of $13000 so I break even for the 12 mths? Who knows. So i just wonder if at some point it is beneficial to sell while the vehicle still has a decent amount of value. Not sure if I am explaining that right

 

[disneymagicgirl]

We got a new Honda after 9 years... but still kept our old Honda.. it is now 12 years old and runs great!

Mileage?

 

[Blessedwithboys]

Until it becomes more expensive than they are worth to repair. I drive a 2007 Jeep and my husband has a 2000 Lumina. Both have lots of years left on them We hope to pay cash for our next vehicle when we need to replace one. Our Jeep has only needed a few very minor repairs it has been a great car!!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

My dad showed me a great lesson waaaay back when I 1st got my driver's license.

Let's say cousins, Bob & Joe, both get new cars at age 20 & both quit driving at age 80. Bob buys a car every 10 years. Over a lifetime he buys 6 cars.

Joe gets a new car as soon as his previous one is paid off, every 4 years. (This was back in the day when a typical car payment was 4 yrs.)
Over a lifetime, this results in 14 cars bought.

Also let's just say each new car always costs 25,000 (which we know due to inflation is not true but just to keep it simple.)

Bob's 6 cars will cost him $150,000.
Joe's 14 cars will cost $350,000.


I can think of a LOT of better things to do with $200,000+.

 

[Pooh2]

My Honda is going on 9 years old and still going strong. Will probably keep it another few years.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

My dad showed me a great lesson waaaay back when I 1st got my driver's license.

Let's say cousins, Bob & Joe, both get new cars at age 20 & both quit driving at age 80. Bob buys a car every 10 years. Over a lifetime he buys 6 cars.

Joe gets a new car as soon as his previous one is paid off, every 4 years. (This was back in the day when a typical car payment was 4 yrs.)
Over a lifetime, this results in 14 cars bought.

Also let's just say each new car always costs 25,000 (which we know due to inflation is not true but just to keep it simple.)

Bob's 6 cars will cost him $150,000.
Joe's 14 cars will cost $350,000.


I can think of a LOT of better things to do with $200,000+.

That IS a good way to look at it. Although, I think you have to account for the fact that Bob's car has no value left when he ditched them while Joe's did. Still, Bob comes out way ahead.

 

[soccerchick]

We try for 10 years minimum, but have kept them until the upkeep/repairs do not make it worth the investment.

Kept our 1993 Nissan Altima for 14 years (paid $14,600 for it - my first "new" car- none of my pricier cars have lasted that long).
2002 Odyssey lasted 10
2 Ford Ranger trucks - one we got rid of when we were pregnant with #1 since it didn't have AC - can't remember if it was 11 or 12 years old; the other lasted 9 years.

 

[superme80]

My cars usually go until they die or need transmission work. I bought a 1992 Honda Accord with 50,000 miles on it. I drove it for 5 years and gave it to a family member. It is still running great and has over 100,000 miles on it.

 

[Lucky'sMom]

We drive our vehicles until the cost of repair outweighs their worth. We buy used when we need more cars, older models for our teens with mid-range miles.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

That IS a good way to look at it. Although, I think you have to account for the fact that Bob's car has no value left when he ditched them while Joe's did. Still, Bob comes out way ahead.

Yes, good point. Then again Joe will always be paying top $ for car insurance too. I still keep full coverage on my minivan but the premium is very reasonable & a lot less than dh's new truck.

FWIW, around here anything with 4WD (truck/SUV) holds its value much longer than an average car so that's another variable too. It depends on what kind of vehicle one buys.

 

[wendow]

I drive a 2001 Honda Odyssey that has 105k miles. I love my van and have hardly ever had to do much more than oil changes and tune-ups. No plans to get rid of it b/c it drives great. We paid it off in less than 6 months after we bought it used in early 2008.

My dh drives a 2005 Honda Civic. He bought it new and we paid it off in about a year. It was cheaper to buy it new b/c it was completely stripped down...no power anything...and all the used ones had far more options so they cost the same or more. It has about 120k miles but also has been an excellent car never needing much more than basic maintenance. No plans to get rid of it either.

I'd love a newer van (not new cause I won't buy new) but I love not having a car payment way more