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Amercians keeping their cars longer

2K views 24 replies 23 participants last post by  Jessesbride 
#1 ·
Heard this on the news

Americans keeping their cars longer.

I thought good then they went on to say the all time high was 6 years.

This surprised me because I thought keeping cars 10 years was common.

Maybe I was raised more frugal then I thought.

Hubby and I have a 2001 vehicle (bought it used in 2001) we have done standard maintenance and a few replace or repairs. But we are nowhere near thinking it needs to be replaced. (That is 10 years we have driven it. will be 11 in October since we bought it used)


My father bought a new off the lot vehicle in 1989. He drove it until his death in 2006. So he drove it for 17 years. Then it sat in the driveway at my parents house until recently when my mom got it up and running from the 6 years it sat in the drive. She passed it down to Buddy and it is in great working order. Starts every time and runs well. She also gave it a nice coat of fresh paint so it is pretty as well. We hope that it will still be running well for Buddy when he graduates from college in 9 years. If so it would have been driven for 26 years and sat in the drive at my parents house for another additional 6.

So you can see I was shocked to hear the all time high was keeping new cars for 6 years.

Then I read in this article that used cars are now being kept for 4 years.

U.S. Drivers Keep Their Cars Nearly 6 Years -- A Record High

Yes, I must have been raised more frugal then I thought.
 
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#3 ·
I drive a 2002 F150 that has over 250,000 miles on it. Yep over a quarter of a million miles. It runs great and looks great and I use it around the property to haul things and I even use it with a chain and a rope to pull scotch broom (if you don't know what that is consider yourself lucky). I am hoping to keep it for two more years at least when I should be able to pay cash for a small car. Hoping that the truck will still be in good enough shape to do work around here for many more years.
 
#5 ·
I have a 2000 Plymouth Neon with 117k miles on it. I have had to replace a few things in it lately and as much as I like a new car, I don't want car payments. I have a relatively short commute (drive to train) and I can't convince myself to let go of it.
 
#7 ·
Six years is an average. That means for every one of us who has a car ten years or more, there is someone who trades up after just one year.

Also, as the report points out, they're making cars better these days. They stay in better repair and look nicer than they used to.
 
#8 ·
Wow! That's not long at all!! Goodness!! My '89 just stopped running a couple months ago!

I'm driving our '98, now...she's still running strong!! Got her in early 2000.

We just got a 2011 in early October...we'll drive it until it won't go any more... We're good about regular maintenance and all. I can't imagine only having a car 6 years???
 
#9 ·
I've never owned a new car.
1982-toyota celica (drove it til it stopped- at the time my favorite car and I didn't realize I could get another motor for it- it had well over 120k miles on it and I put about 70+k)1986-volkswagon beetle (didn't keep this one long sold it back to the man I bought it from)
1986 toyota truck, 1989 ford ranger (loved the color but hated this vechicle)1990 Corsica (drove this until 1998-man was it worn out but sold it for $500 LOVED this one), 1999-LEMON I mean dodge stratus (this was in dh's name), 2001- 1979 T-bird (again dh bought this one-), 2004- brother loaned me a 1985 ford topaz -drove it for 4 yrs until it died mid driving down street to house- sold it for scrap $100. currently have a 1992 mercury grand marquis- $1400 have had new transmission($740), belt tentioner($230, window arms (all have been replace now- seems my car fell into the only on this model so instead of a $30 fix for the windows I had $60), dashboard (thanks to a curious mechanic what would have cost $100 to replace the plastic wheels cost me $300-he wanted to see how 'it worked'... that was a few yrs ago the speedometer has stopped working again along with the prndl-). I drive them until they die OR I get scared to drive them (toyota truck, the ranger) I keep regular maintenance going on car cause it has to last me... looking for a vespa with a side car.
 
#10 ·
Well as always national average doesn't include this group. We know we are not typical.
We are always running cars into the ground. Buy 'em used,light repairs,maybe 1 big one and done. Van is 2004 at 99,600 and i have no intention of getting a new/used one this year unless I have to. Car is 2007 at 87,000. Still referred to as the new one.lol
I think most typical consumers are just keeping them because their broke.
 
#11 ·
We have three cars.

My car is an 06 Kia Optima LS that we bought in 07, I think. It has 44K miles (approximately) and we have had very few problems with the car. It has a 100K miles or 10 year warranty. I have a plan in place to pay it off within 5 months. I am keeping it until that darned things falls apart.

Husband's car is an 06 GTO that we bought used in 08. It has maybe 30K miles on it (guessing high) and is paid off.

Hub's winter car is a 1986 Chevy Celebrity rust bucket. It is appalling. But he drives it during the winter to keep his GTO nice.
 
#12 ·
We drive our cars into the ground too, but put a lot of miles on them each year so not sure if they will last 10 years or not. Our van we got new and we will definitely keep it for 10 years- it is 8 now and has lots of life left. We get rid of them once they become money pits. We did get rid of a lemon after just a couple of years- i was an awful car though.
 
#14 ·
6 yrs isn't long at all...My parents trade in for new every year(2 vehicles a yr) and pay the rest oweing in cash(multi millionaires).

Our 2008 GMC Envoy has 30,000 miles on it, but plan to drive it into the ground...hoping it lasts another 6+ yrs and then we'll turn around and buy a new USED car with the money we sock away now(we budget $300/Mo towards a car purchase).
 
#15 ·
My first post and on a topic I love :) I have a 1998 Buick Century that has about 125K on it. Knock on wood, of course, but it is one tough cookie of a car. It's been in an accident and has no fender and a badly damaged bumper, but it still drives beautifully (and is safe). Cars are a necessary evil for me, and I'm still hoping to find a job within biking or walking distance of my home (or in an area with good mass transit) so I can shelf the car for as long as possible.
 
#16 ·
Yep, I'm driving a 1991 Toyota Camry. Looking to upgrade to a Prius later this year, however. DH drives a 2001 F150, DS drives a 1969 Chevy pickup.
 
#17 ·
We have a 2000 Subaru Forrester - bought used in 2001, has a little over 80,000 miles on it - still a swett little vehicle. Our 2005 Ford Freestyle has about 90,000 miles on it and is easier to get in and out of due to my arthritis. My DMIL has a 1992 Toyota Camry that just turned 40,000 miles!! Love that little car. Even though she does not drive anymore, it is our Kauai car......thank goodness!!

DH loves new cars and went through a phase of leasing them - ugh. Finally got that straightened out!!
 
#18 ·
Car leases are anywhere from 36 - 84 months (3-7 yrs) and once people are done with their lease commitments, they want a new car. The ideology of driving a car into the ground or having a car that will last that long is the oddity vs the norm like it used to be. Think about it, parents handing down the 7 yr old family van to their newly licensed teen driver isn't gonna fly "But MOOOOM, I wanted the BMW!!" (you know what I mean) vs being excited that they're even getting a car to use for themselves.

I agree with fw - us fugalites are an entirely different breed.
 
#20 ·
Looking at the local high school parking lot, it appears the students are driving the old family car/truck or bought a used car/truck that was an old family car. No mini vans though. Guess mom is still driving that.
 
#19 ·
Still driving my 2002 Pontiac Grand Prix with just under 80,000 miles. Bought new in 2001 and has since been paid off. Still looking good. Sparkling black, with shiny wheels. Not dents, No scratches. Black leather interior. A PIECE OF JUNK UNDERNEATH THE HOOD !!!!!!
I've got all kinds of warning lights blinking ! Suspension problem ! Heater A/C fans only work on high ! May have to have manifold gaskets replaced ! Don't have the money to get ANY of this fixed, or get another car ! :dis:

Still runs good, though !, LOL. Just venting !
 
#21 ·
Funny thing is the first generation wealthy people who earned their own living are conservative and drive something for quite a while. Some do think the car payment-instead-of-a-huge-repair-bill is acceptable and will keep something until the warranty runs out.

Their children are lazy bumbs. They drive the sleek sports cars. Some just have an empty office held for them and get a paycheck. They stay on their parent's meal ticket as long as they can without even lifting a finger and sometimes even get a job at the company where 'they don't work' and just have a title.

Some people are just outright fake. These have the sleekest or grandest cars and are mortgaged to the eyeballs for their lives. You bet they are almost always raised this way or think 'easy come, easy go'.

I've seen this play out a lot of times. The rest of us drive something until it's just too expensive to repair it (transmission or engine trouble) as it's more of an expense than the car is worth.
 
#22 ·
We got a 2004 minivan in 2006, still only has 75K miles on it. Starting to show a little rust but hoping to keep it till it dies. Before that, we had VW diesels (Rabbit and Golf) - they lasted forever. The first one we got, a 1982, only died when it was rear-ended by an 18-wheeler on the highway, with 311,000 miles on it. And yes, we both walked away from the accident.
 
#24 ·
We keep ours till they conk out. We do have regular maintenance and we always keep our vehicles clean and neat.They just keep on ticking!
 
#25 ·
WOW!!! Yeah, I'm thinking 10+ years too!

We tend to drive them til they're basically dead.... if my lil cavalier was still kicking we wouldn't have bought the new van 3 yrs ago & kept it despite the issues with it (overheating.. ugh).... but we bought our van new (1st time ever BUT we got the van we wanted & paid CASH for it).

Now it's my husband's turn. We are buying a (yes, new :ache:) Prius V 5 but it's for him to get back & forth to work & for when we go on trips & church & such. Which will help us not put so many miles on the van (over 60k in less than 3 yrs) & help with gas. 40+ mpg ... drive about 450 miles on 1 10 gallon (or so) tank... Told him it's his til he dies... LOL... but we still have his 20020 Ford F150 that he bought used from a guy going thru a divorce & it is still in great condition. The 15 yr old will either be driving it or be trading it in for something more gas friendly lol.. but again... drive it til it dies... & then he'll have to buy the next one... not us...:chug:
 
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