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How long do you keep your vehicles?

Erniek

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1997 Ford F-150, have had it for 23 years, odometer stopped working at 230,000 mile. Got the gear to fix it but to lazy

2013 MB GLK 350. Bought it new, 109,000. I will have it forever

2019 civic with 24,000 miles. Sell or trade in for my Maverick

Ford Maverick How long do you keep your vehicles? 2408DBB7-0C31-435D-BAD9-D69BAD81A8D3
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huunvubu

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I've done a lot of research, and basically there is no tipping point. With the exception of a lemon, its always cheaper to repair an older vehicle than to purchase an equivalent new replacement, especially since most vehicles will lose half their value in only 3 years.


Otherwise, a new vehicle with its constant monthly payments is like if you had a $500 part break every single month over and over again for years, which is highly unlikely. As an example, I have a Ram 1500 w/ 150K miles on it in which the water pump recently broke, and it cost me a Saturday and $196.54 for a new water pump, fan clutch, belt, and enough coolant for a complete fresh flush. Total expenditure to date on repairs has been under $1000 in 12 years, which is about two months of car payments. Original purchase price was around $30K + $1K in repairs - $12K residual value looking at similar cars on the market now / 144 months = $132 a month cost so far.
Since 1987 me and my wife have purchased three new cars and a new truck. Two of these were used as trade-ins for the latest two new cars we purchased and are still driving.

I have kept detailed records on all our vehicle purchases so that I know exactly what they have cost per month over the time from purchase until they were traded in.

These records entail the costs of all accessories, fees, gas, insurance, maintenance, repairs, washes and purchase price. In effect every cost of owning a vehicle. We have only paid cash for these purchases and have never had a loan on them.

This is their history:

My Vehicles:

---------------------

1987 Mazda 626 Purchased new in 7/1987 and sold as a trade-in 7/1998.
Lifetime was 11 years or 132 months.
Total costs were $33,688.55 or $255.22 per month

---------------------

1998 Ford Ranger XLT Super Cab Purchased new in 7/1998 and sold as a trade-in 9/2014.
Lifetime was 16 years 2 months or 194 months.
Total costs were $36,177.96 or $186.48 per month

---------------------

2015 Honda Fit EX Purchased new in 9/2014 and are still driving
I will be trading this in for my new Maverick
Current Lifetime is 7 years or 84 months and counting

Total current costs were $30,295.17
Cash offer from an Autonation Honda Dealership is $12,500
Net current costs are $17795.17 or $211.85 per month

---------------------

Wife's Vehicle

2009 Honda CR-V EX Purchased new in 1/2009 and are still driving
Current Lifetime is 12 years and 8 months or 152 months and counting

Total current costs were $44,411.53
Current trade-in value is $5,510.00
Net current costs are $38,901.53 or $255.93 per month

---------------------

From the above you can see that we have never paid more than $256 a month for any of these vehicles and the low of $186.48 per month for the Ford Ranger was the absolute best overall.

Using these vehicles total costs of $126,563.21 and total months of 562 gives a per monthly cost of $225.20.

You are right about "being cheaper to repair an older vehicle than to purchase an equivalent new replacement" the main reason we change is new safety features and other technical improvements along with just being new. As shown above we average 140.5 months per vehicle or 11.7 years so we change about every 12 years.
 

DryHeat

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My target is to keep a car for about 10 years, which usually amounts to 125k-150k miles.

The cars are almost always in good mechanical shape at that age, with some wear and tear on the body and interior. Maintenance costs are usually still pretty low.

My motivation for changing cars is usually for improved comfort, mileage, and safety technology.

My wife, on the other hand, keeps her cars longer. She drives hers around town but we take our trips in my car, so hers is 17 years old with 70k miles on it, while mine is 9 years old with 130k. She's holding out until she sees an EV that she really likes. Probably happen soon.
 

oljackfrost

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They're all sold, waiting for Maverick
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Had some vehicles only a few years, life changes or poor decisions were the reason. Do tend to keep vehicles longer:
1976 Ford Pinto Wagon, 10 years, about 120,000 miles
1989 Ford Taurus sedan, 10 years, about 140,000 miles
2000 Subaru Legacy wagon, 21 years, about 236,000 miles
I'm 72 so I'm hoping the Maverick will last until they take the keys away😜
 

Texchappy

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I always say that I want to keep cars a long time but wanderlust or some other reason gets in the way. In ‘03 I bought a Mercedes planning to see how long I could keep it before I realized what a horrendous, unreliable car it was. The the Subaru Forrester seats were too hard. Should have kept my first MINI convertible but wanted something with nav since I was driving a lot in unfamiliar cities. Have kept MINI #2 7 years now and will keep it longer. It’s one of the last 100 supercharger MINIs.

My wife keeps hers longer. she loves her ‘14 Navigator and has no plans of getting anything else.
 

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Pop2020

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I kept my '86 Tempo for twelve years and my '06 Ridgeline for 13 1/2 (before it's untimely end). I expect to keep my Maverick as long or longer.
 

Shecster

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1997 Ford F-150, have had it for 23 years, odometer stopped working at 230,000 mile. Got the gear to fix it but to lazy

2013 MB GLK 350. Bought it new, 109,000. I will have it forever

2019 civic with 24,000 miles. Sell or trade in for my Maverick

2408DBB7-0C31-435D-BAD9-D69BAD81A8D3.jpeg
Great rig .....
Thank you for your service Chief.
FLY NAVY ( For a good friend Commander - Naval Aviator - E2B “driver” may he Rest In Peace).
 
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Pairof98s

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9-10 years on 2000 Silverado, 2004 Odyssey, and 2010 Wrangler. my garage now has a 2012 QX56, 2014 Ram 1500 and 2020 4Runner. I prefer to buy new, keep garaged and get a long life from them. I did buy the Silverado used with 103k and the Ram with 4K. The only repair I’ve ever had is a catalytic converter on the Infiniti earlier this year.
 

BDennis

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I have always commuted putting on 30,000 miles tear so for me 175,000 to 200,000 miles. After retirement hoping for at least 10 years. After 10 the years rubber component pieces of the suspension start to degrade due to desert heat.
 
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CASD57

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:oops: The Chevy I bought in Dec 2020 under my wife's supervision...Never do that again... LOL I hate the big boat gas hog cowboy Cadillac ....I want small, nimble, and good gas mileage..in come the Maverick
I bought the one before that 2006 Ridgeline w/78,000 never gave me a problem for the 1.5 years I had it...but the age bothered me and the 14mpg bother me also... I would buy a new one but can't afford one..
The Maverick..is my ticket for longevity.
 

BDennis

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bombast

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I've had 4 vehicles. 2 I wrecked, 1 I sold when I joined the Army, and the last I've been driving since 2009 and am only now replacing because it's been getting busted for years but has recently become dangerous.
 

Eagle11

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Clubs
 
Shortest time I've had a vehicle: 9 months.
Longest time I've had a vehicle: 14 years, 10 months (and counting)

But overall, I try to keep a vehicle 5 years at a minimum. If I really like it or it's unique enough, I will keep it longer (hence why I am not giving up the 2 I have now - one is rare enough, the other I enjoy way too much LOL).
I lost a truck on my home from the dealership after picking it up. A lady rear-ended me at 65 MPH she wasn't paying attention on the freeway. I ordered that Truck and it took 8 weeks to get it. The truck was towed (flat bed) back to the dealer 3 hours later... Needless to say, I was the talk of the dealership for a while.
 

STARCOMMTREY1

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Until I get rid of them
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