How often do you replace a car?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DH and I typically buy a new car every 5 years, and keep each of our cars about 10. We figure after 10 years and about 100k miles we want something more reliable to haul around the kids. I am curious what other DCUMers do...we see some who lease and replace every 2-3 years, some replace a main car every 4 years while keeping a secondary car for 10-15. It's not a money issue for us - we typically pay all cash and don't buy anything flashy. Should we be keeping our cars longer? I am amazed that we can still typically get 40% or so of the car's original price as a trade-in 10 years later.

With proper maintenance cars last much longer today then years ago. There are far fewer mechanical parts today and major advances in the fluids you put into your car. The average life of a car continues to increase each year and is about 12 years now.

[Anonymous]

...except everything is now computerized and costs a damn fortune for even the tiniest repairs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In my family its almost a contest to see who can keep a car running the longest. My mom basically had one car my entire childhood (had an 82 corolla) and my dad one for 14 years (89 volvo). My mom still has her "replacement" corolla ( 98) and my dad has an 03 accord..both still running strong. Our household consists of a 00 camry and a 12 pruis. We will replace the camry the second we have to put money in it over normal maintenance. My mom always had this theory that cars should last about how long dogs last.

You sound like you have a low HHI.

[Anonymous]

Keep it going as long as possible, some major repairs/replacements, but probably up to 200K.

[Anonymous]

My car has almost 99,000 miles at about 11 years old, and it's a great car, so I'm keeping it as long as I can. If it starts to get unreliable, I'll trade it in. We live a block from the bus and I take metro to work anyway, so I do have other options if I have a few days without a working car. I don't care much if I get much on trade-in - I'd rather have another couple/few years without a car payment.

[Anonymous]

About every 10 years

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In my family its almost a contest to see who can keep a car running the longest. My mom basically had one car my entire childhood (had an 82 corolla) and my dad one for 14 years (89 volvo). My mom still has her "replacement" corolla ( 98) and my dad has an 03 accord..both still running strong. Our household consists of a 00 camry and a 12 pruis. We will replace the camry the second we have to put money in it over normal maintenance. My mom always had this theory that cars should last about how long dogs last.

You sound like you have a low HHI.

Ya we do (comparatively speaking to most DCUM) at 180k but my parents who I referenced in this post have had an HHI above 300k since the mid 90s. Sometimes fancy cars don't equal more money people!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In my family its almost a contest to see who can keep a car running the longest. My mom basically had one car my entire childhood (had an 82 corolla) and my dad one for 14 years (89 volvo). My mom still has her "replacement" corolla ( 98) and my dad has an 03 accord..both still running strong. Our household consists of a 00 camry and a 12 pruis. We will replace the camry the second we have to put money in it over normal maintenance. My mom always had this theory that cars should last about how long dogs last.

You sound like you have a low HHI.

Ya we do (comparatively speaking to most DCUM) at 180k but my parents who I referenced in this post have had an HHI above 300k since the mid 90s. Sometimes fancy cars don't equal more money people!

I agree but the peasant like attitude seems trashy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In my family its almost a contest to see who can keep a car running the longest. My mom basically had one car my entire childhood (had an 82 corolla) and my dad one for 14 years (89 volvo). My mom still has her "replacement" corolla ( 98) and my dad has an 03 accord..both still running strong. Our household consists of a 00 camry and a 12 pruis. We will replace the camry the second we have to put money in it over normal maintenance. My mom always had this theory that cars should last about how long dogs last.

You sound like you have a low HHI.

Ya we do (comparatively speaking to most DCUM) at 180k but my parents who I referenced in this post have had an HHI above 300k since the mid 90s. Sometimes fancy cars don't equal more money people!

I agree but the peasant like attitude seems trashy.

New poster here but I can tell you keeping a car till it dies is actually a habit of A LOT of millionaire next door types.

Signed, A CPA who prepares a lot of 1 million dollar + tax returns on people who drive to my office in 12 year old hondas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In my family its almost a contest to see who can keep a car running the longest. My mom basically had one car my entire childhood (had an 82 corolla) and my dad one for 14 years (89 volvo). My mom still has her "replacement" corolla ( 98) and my dad has an 03 accord..both still running strong. Our household consists of a 00 camry and a 12 pruis. We will replace the camry the second we have to put money in it over normal maintenance. My mom always had this theory that cars should last about how long dogs last.

You sound like you have a low HHI.

. And so what if PP does? Not EVERYTHING is about HHI people! Enjoy your 600 dollar a month lease payment!

[Anonymous]

Depends on the car, but typically around 10 years. We trade in around the time a major repair or expensive part replacement is looming. I expect to keep our honda about 12 years unless we decide we need to trade up in size.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In my family its almost a contest to see who can keep a car running the longest. My mom basically had one car my entire childhood (had an 82 corolla) and my dad one for 14 years (89 volvo). My mom still has her "replacement" corolla ( 98) and my dad has an 03 accord..both still running strong. Our household consists of a 00 camry and a 12 pruis. We will replace the camry the second we have to put money in it over normal maintenance. My mom always had this theory that cars should last about how long dogs last.

You sound like you have a low HHI.

Ya we do (comparatively speaking to most DCUM) at 180k but my parents who I referenced in this post have had an HHI above 300k since the mid 90s. Sometimes fancy cars don't equal more money people!

I agree but the peasant like attitude seems trashy.

New poster here but I can tell you keeping a car till it dies is actually a habit of A LOT of millionaire next door types.

Signed, A CPA who prepares a lot of 1 million dollar + tax returns on people who drive to my office in 12 year old hondas.

+1 DH and I just really don't care about vehicles. I want something that's safe, relatively hassle-free, and comfortable to drive. And I'll keep it a really, really long time. I kept my last car 12 years, current car is on year 4. DH had last car for 15 years, current one is now 7 years old. We both drive Hondas. Our HHI is over $300K. We'd rather spend disposable income on other things.

[Anonymous]

We drive our cars into the ground. My husband has a 9 year old truck with over 100k miles on it. I have a newer car. We will replace the truck when it starts costing us money not on any set schedule.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We drive our cars into the ground. My husband has a 9 year old truck with over 100k miles on it. I have a newer car. We will replace the truck when it starts costing us money not on any set schedule.

Ditto here. My truck has 150K on it.

[Anonymous]

Four car family. Newest is 2009 corolla bought used. Oldest is 2000 suburban. Drive till they die.