<p>We have had the same mechanic since 1992. He said that the economy had resulted in people putting off maintenance/minor repairs (waiting until it got “better”) and that was “fatal” to many cars. Now he sees lots of 100,000+ cars in good condition since people are determined to make them last. </p>
<p>We buy them new and drive them until they die. We do have a new car, plus a 2002, a 1999, and a 1997.</p>
<p>Our new one is the third Volvo we have had since 1986. Volvo gives you a little medal for the grill at every 100,000 miles. The first one had two; the second one is approaching 200,000.</p>
<p>I try to keep mine going for a long time. I’ve got one with 130K miles and another with 180K. They both run well, and I have always kept them well-maintained.</p>
<p>We’ve always kept our cars for a long time and maintained them well. Currently we have a 2000 and a 2007 (which replaced a 1992), but both have low mileage as we don’t tend to drive that much: I work from home and H commutes to work on the train.</p>
<p>H passed 100K but didn’t get any medal–probably because we service at private Volvo specialist instead of dealer. We have 3 cars – 1998, 2000 and 2006. We used to have 1992, but S had two accidents that made it not worth repairing. That vehicle was replaced by a 2002 vehicle with only 25K miles on it. Our 2006 also only has 25K miles on it. Our other two vehicles have over 100K miles on them. All of our vehicles run great and are expected to keep going for a long, long time more.</p>
<p>We’re shipping D the 2006, so she can have it to drive in LA because it’s the safest car–Volvo with airbags & smaller to fit into spaces in LA.</p>
<p>We have always kept cars for a very long time–buying them new of close to new and keeping them until they no longer run. Have sold one and donated the rest over the years. Don’t really see much point in buying new cars when the old ones serve well.</p>
<p>We never trade in cars. In November of '10 my mechanic finally gave up on my '96 Escort with 249K on it. The filler valve for the gas tank rusted out and he couldn’t find a replacement.</p>
<p>After I bought my Hyundai he kept looking for a valve and gave the Escort to his assistant, who is still driving it. Meanwhile, since then I’ve put 30K on the Hyundai…</p>
<p>Husband’s Vibe has 175K, daughter’s Chevy Beretta has 156K, and the Buick Century my daughter lost in the accident in May had 178K. Bought the Beretta used, and the Century had been my dad’s.</p>
<p>I have read that the average monthly car payment is now over $400.</p>
<p>If the vehicle is kept after it is paid for and is consistantly well maintianed, it seems to make financial sense. Also, the cost to insure against damage/loss to your own older car does go down. We did not insure this on our S’s first car in HS (1988 Blazer in 2004).</p>
<p>We have a 92 Escort that has been dying for five years. We drive our cars until they die but that one just won’t die. </p>
<p>We don’t trade in and we don’t buy new. We buy used and keep them til they’re dead or stolen. My Vue had over 150k miles on it and was running fine until it was totaled. My parents’ other,last THREE other cars have had over 100k miles on them and were all stolen. One right out of our driveway!</p>
<p>I got my itty bitty Rio over a year ago. Only a 2010 but has well over 50k miles on it already. The only way I’ll trade it in is if I need a bigger one for a family some day.</p>
<p>The last car we bought was $13,500. It was 4 years old & had only 9000 miles on it. It is currently appraised (3 years later) at over $12K by Kelly Blue Book, so it has held its value well. We have serviced it regularly. We expect it to last, but in LA who knows?</p>
<p>We drive them till they die. One from 2000 with just over 100K (mostly sits at the train station) and another from 2006 with 142K. When we bought the 2006 one, it was a dealer loaner so it had about 3K miles on it. Got it for a great price. Friends were shocked that we would buy a “used” car…wouldn’t all those extra miles be a problem when we traded it in??? Trade-in…now that’s funny!</p>
<p>I just bought a 2002 Silverado that had just over 99,000 on it when I took it. I paid $5k for it which is a great deal. I’ve been told by a handful of people that if it doesn’t last 200k then I did something wrong with it. We’ll see how long I end up keeping it. If it runs great and I continue to work close to home, I may keep it for 10 years or more…</p>
<p>I generally drive them till they die, We had 2001 sunfire that literally died on June 22 on my way home to start a weeks holidays. Had to buy a new car to start the holidays with. It had 340K km or 211k miles and our D’s is a 1999 sunfire with 425K km or 265K miles on it. Hers is running perfectly (touch wood) and we hope it last one more year</p>
<p>We traded my car in April…eleven years old w/ 136,000 miles. There was nothing really wrong with it. DH plans to downsize his workload in a couple of years. He’ll be making less money so we figured it would be wise to go ahead and get a new car now so it will be paid for by time DH goes part-time and should be reliable for many years to come.</p>
<p>There’s almost never a mechanical reason to trade at 2 or 3 years. People who do it do so because they want to drive a different model/type, get the newest/latest features (sometimes including safety features), or just something brand new. A 2 or 3 year old car is almost new and generally no less reliable than a brand new car - sometimes they’re even more reliable since it’s past its infant mortality phase.</p>
<p>Cars nowadays can generally go for a long time and I’m talking about the typical everyday car - i.e. it doesn’t have to be a Toyota, Honda, or Volvo (although I don’t Volvos don’t have a great reliability record relatively speaking anecdotes aside). </p>
<p>Even if a car has a few issues it’s generally cheaper to fix it than to head out and buy a new car while taking a bath on the ‘trade-in’ (which is the most expensive way to sell a car in the first place and something I’ve never done). </p>
<p>I remember when one of my uncles would buy a new car every year or two. My parents, never. That rapid trade-in for the newest style seems like ancient history.</p>
<p>My parents love to get new top-of-the-line cars with all the latest bells and whistles. Inevitably, some of the fancy electronic gizmos have problems. Their cars seem to be in the shop more than our 11-year-old Tahoe! We just spent $1,100 on the Tahoe to get it in good shape before we drove round-trip from Maine to Williamsburg. For our family of five, that was cheap compared to buying airline tickets.</p>
<p>Growing up my father got a new luxury car every year or two. H and I leased cars for awhile and traded every 3 years or so. Our current cars are over 100,000 miles and going strong. I have no desire for a new car. My Toyota FJ Cruiser is a 2007 (bought in Aug 2006) and I’m fine with it. I truly don’t know what I would want if it disappeared tomorrow. H has a 2003 Subaru WRX that is bright yellow. He’s perfectly happy with it. This is the longest I have ever had the same car.</p>
That rapid trade-in for the newest style seems like ancient history.</p>