We are a run them into the ground family. DH had trouble finding a buyer for his RAV-4 (and didn’t buy the replacement from a dealer.) I’d been researching new cars when the battery in my 14 year old hybrid died. I traded it in but was pretty hampered in terms of negotiating given the expense of that repair. In retrospect. I wish I had sold it about a year earlier given repairs, etc. Hindsight is 20 20! So at this point, I think I might recommend doing the replacement when the car is in good running condition and has a blue book value of about $5000. It seems-- ime --that at that point, something major can happen that just wipes out that value.
My replacement was an “urban SUV”, which I call a hatchback. It’s not too big, still gives me room to haul slightly larger, awkward cargo if necessary. It’s a hybrid (not plug in), and my mpg since I bought it is about 48! I feel very safe on the highway with it.
We replace cars usually for when we need something specific.
Examples: A large SUV for when I’d be taking a group of high school kids to EC events weekly; a third vehicle with every safety feature known to man for when oldest S was getting drivers permit, and now, what vehicle for me to get that is safe, environmentally conscious but comfy and easy to get in/out of, but also easy to park.
Right now I’m in a quandary bc I have no idea what car to get when we trade in older son’s car. [He left it home when he went to DC for school bc no need for it. And he won’t need one after he graduates next May. I’ve been using it but clearly don’t drive much (it has 20,000 miles and is a 2018 Accord). It’s been great but I want a SUV again. I think.]
Interesting about the smaller engine in the HR-V! I just checked and in the 2025 version the reviews say slow pickup (and smaller - I think- engine). I’m not a fast driver at all but when merging into 75 mph traffic on the highway that pickup is important.
@gardenstategal - can I ask what urban SUV you picked? That sounds like what I might be looking for - SUV height for greater visibility but no need for all that space… (trying to minimalize in all areas, it seems!)
@Jolynne_Smyth , Lexus UX. Really happy with it. The big SUV I’d had before was a bear to park and frankly, just more car than we needed as empty nesters.
I had become accustomed to a number of the “luxury” features in the car that died and wanted those again. Guessing that Toyota makes something equivalent/similar and less expensive if that’s the goal.
I disagree with your partner. We tend to buy older used cars (100k+ miles at purchase) and drive them for the second half of their life (up to and beyond 200k miles). Honestly, we’ve never yet had to deal with unexpected expensive repairs on a Honda or Toyota. We pay for oil changes, filters, new tires. Basic maintenance. Had issues with VW, Subaru and one Mazda way before 200k miles.
That said, our current oldest car only makes local trips and really needs to be replaced. It is our large, road trip car. My feeling is that every month we can squeeze out will be one more month the next car will last us. No long trips until December so here’s hoping it holds on.
Our favorite long commute cars are Toyota Prius or Camry, Honda Accord or HRV. Civic and Corolla are excellent cars but a little less cushy. Electric vehicles don’t make sense for us but hybrids have been good. Loving our HRV with all wheel drive. Glad we went small for our 2nd car.
Toyota makes the Corolla cross, Corolla Hatchback and the Toyota CH-R.
I think the Corolla CH-R is the closest to the HR-V. These all may be worth a look.
We bought our S a used 2014 Corolla in 2018 that only had 11k miles on it. He does an insane amount of driving for his work, now has over 170k miles. It has been great, super reliable (knock on wood!)
Looks like they updated it to a 2L engine in 2023 which should be better than our 2016 which came with a choice of 1.5 and 1.8L and the 1.5L was hopeless. The 1.8L is fine for freeway driving and acceleration isn’t an issue unless you have 4-5 people in the car.
Original plan with (2) adults and children was to buy new (or almost new) every +/- 6 years. That way, we would always have one reliable car, when the other was getting older. Timing changed, as we kept all our cars until they died and replaced as needed. Most were 18-20 years old. We are now down to one car, so need better reliability.
I’ve mentioned before, but I still don’t fully comprehend how used cars are a much better deal, unless over 8 years old. I’m not savvy enough with cars to buy from an individual (unless I know them), or to purchase at a dealer with no warranties. So, we’re now looking at new or certified used that are 2-4 years old. In our case the certified models would save about 15-20%. Yes, that would be nice, but the cars are also 2-4 years older, usually have fewer safety features, and typically only include power-train warranties, not the “bumper-to-bumper” of new cars. They would also likely need to be replaced more often.
Aside: Does anyone else NOT like moon roofs? Any car we’ve tried with moon roofs have considerably shorter interior head room, especially in the rear. This was especially noticeable in the HRV, but also the CRV, and the Subaru. We once had a car with a moon roof, and rarely used it. If sunny, it was too bright. If rainy or dark, it doesn’t have much value. Plus who is looking out the top of the car ?
High on our current list is a Subaru Forester, primarily for the better visibility. But the only Forester without the moonroof is the base model with far fewer choices including some safety features.
Raises hand! I do not like them. Useless option IMO, not worth the extra $$.
We are debating whether to replace our junky 24 year old truck with a new one. This one needs a timing belt work… so close to $2k. We only use it to go to the hardware store or to the city dump… The prospect of spending $45k plus on a new truck doesn’t sound really appealing. Plus the full size trucks are so HUGE nowadays!!
It depends on many factors. If you had all the numbers, you’d compare the long term cash stream with the new car vs long term cash stream with old car, then decide if the delta is worth the additional personal or safety benefits.
However, in reality, only a small handful of the numbers are known. Many are only crude guesses. For example, it’s often unclear whether your car is going to run well for years or have severe mechanical failure in a few months.
I had a RX-7 several years ago that showed some signs of major engine problems on the horizon. It didn’t have a large number of miles, ran well, and had reasonable retail value; so I sold it before the major mechanical problems occurred. I was able to sell for more than my original purchase price, several years earlier.
However, my current Acura has far less resale value. It’s 17 years old and has both cosmetic and mechanical issues, including ones a potential buyer would notice. For example, there is a loud sound from the timing belt area if not driven slowly during the first few minutes before warmed up. I suspect timing belt tensioner, but it’s hard to diagnose since the sound is only made for a few minutes after cold start while driving (not while idling with hood open). After the first few minutes of warm up, it drives well without sounds. A mechanic would probably recommend fixing a half dozen other things as well, which would exceed the low value of the car. However, none of these are what I consider critical issues. If I sell as is without fixing anything, I expect I’d only get $2k to $3k. I like this car and enjoy driving it, in spite of the imperfections. The personal value to me is more than the resale value, so I am no rush to sell. If I happen to see a new (to me) car that I’d like and is a good deal, I may replace it. Or I may keep driving for a few more years.
One of the contributing factors to why I am in no rush to sell is generally not being a fan of newer cars. I’ve gone on some test drives, which have never gone well. It feels too much like the computer is driving for me, and there are new features I don’t like such as turning off at traffic lights for fuel efficiency, small/soft/low torque engines for fuel efficiency, soft handling, moving in the direction of smaller navigation/audio screens with less touch features (I guess people prefer using phone to in-car navigation), less external visibility, etc.
How about sun roofs? My last four cars have had them. Both cars we own now…have them. I have NEVER used them. Not one single time. When one of our first volvos reached age 14, the sun roof started to leak when it rained. DH taped around the edges with duct tape. Problem solved. And yes, it looked awful.
I don’t use it a ton but sometimes it’s a better choice when driving around townas opposed to having windows open o a beautiful 70 degree day - less noise but still fresh air and light!
We have a moon roof on our Honda Pilot we never use. They can be problematic, especially if you lose them a lot, the seals can give and it can cause problems IME.
I am a big fan of not buying a new car, you are getting killed by depreciation for one thing. Back in the ‘good old days’ (not so good), when cars reaching 100k was considered amazing, it may have made less sense.
But these days, when the duty cycle on engine and powertrain is like 250k miles, and cars don’t rust, a used car can be a bargain. We got lucky with the Pilot, it was coming off a lease and had only 15k miles on it, and we saved on that model like 15k (we were paying cash, I told them I wanted it to be X with all the fees and so forth, they agreed).
Most maintenance on a car you know, things like brakes can be expensive (if they have to replace the rotors especially), big one is the timing belt (I curse the day they went to them, Saturn was smart, they used a timing chain), but timing belt is like once every 70k miles.
And yes, it depends on how much the car is worth to you. My beloved Subaru wagon went to its grave because it needed a new exhaust system and a new AC compressor, and given I had another car I could use as my station car (an odyssey van), made no sense. The odyssey went at 245k miles because some mutants literally cut the catalytic converters off at the parking lot and it wasn’t worth the money to get a new exhaust system.
If you start getting a lot of items failing, it is time to replace the car versus normal wearables. Spark plus these days are not cheap, but they also get replaced at 100k intervals.
I’m a wimpy driver, don’t really pass other cars much. But I too definitely want decent pickup at the on-ramps.
One thing we’ve done when car shopping is to rent the same model. Have not done it from rental companies (though you could). Lucked out with local opportunities at dealers. The first time the car salesman gave a a great deal for 3 day rental of 1997 Montana Transport minivan. We did a ski trip to Winter Park with our 2 kids and my Dad. It was fabulous proof-of-concept, loved the traction control. The second time years later we found an Audi dealer in Denver who would rent a new A4 for $35/day…. drove up to Dillon (in the mountains for a daytrip). Repeated the exercise the next Saturday with an A6 (4cyl, turbo). Liked the A4, loved the A6.
We mainly buy new. I’ve never found the savings on a newer used car to be enough to pursue me. We replace when the repairs start getting to be more frequent and expensive. I grew up with memories of being in a broken down car on the freeway with my Mom and siblings. It scarred me and once I can’t depend on a car it’s time to replace.
My daughter is driving a 23 year old Toyota that used to belong to my husband. She has put little money beyond maintenance into that car. The mechanic says it still has more life to it.
My other daughter had a Honda HRV. It was a great commute car for her. She sold it during the pandemic with 80,000 miles on it to a dealer when used cars were in short supply. She used the money to buy an older Tahoe. She wanted the space for a baby, plus two large dogs for making long drives. It was her choice but I think the HRV was a great car and would have lasted.
A thread close to my heart. We don’t have enough car knowledge so we buy new and drive until the repairs are more than the value of the car.
The aha moment in this thread is the advice of selling a car slightly earlier before the real repairs start to show up. Unfortunately, we had a lot of driving due to sports so my current car is a small vehicle with not a ton of bells and whistles that I love. It is giving up the ghost after eight years and over 153K miles. It needs an expensive repair, I just don’t know what and have to research this week reputable repair shops because I’ll have to pay about $200 just to get a diagnosis of what is wrong. Sigh!
Great insights, thanks! All the different perspectives are super helpful.
No moon roof for me - I’m always avoiding the sun so would never use if I had it!
Love the car rental idea. Might do that as part of my research-for-later purchase.
Glad to know the HR-V engine is better than prior (although review websites still seem to mention lack of ‘oomph’…not sure how to quantify that!).
I’m looking at some of the used cars - one or two years old- and wondering how much mileage is worth a few thousand dollars of savings? For instance saw a used HR-V with about 8k miles for $22k. That seems like a pretty good deal when new ones are about $28-30k total.
Just not sure if there’s some general ‘equation’ to assess age/mileage/cost?
I think of four situations as to when I would replace a vehicle, not all of which we have actually acted upon:
When the car starts needing frequent repairs. This happened to me with a 9-year old Oldsmobile 88 that had less than 60k miles on it and with my spouse’s 7-year old Pontiac Grand Prix.
When a repair comes up that is worth more than the car itself. This is what is planned for our 9-year old Toyota Sienna and I intended to do with my 15-year old Toyota Corolla, except…
When someone is gifting you a virtually brand new car (my grandmother had to stop driving shortly after having gotten a Toyota Corolla 15 years newer than the one I was driving).
When you’re bored with your current ride and you have sufficient disposable income/savings to get something that you find more interesting. (I’ve driven a Corolla for more than 20 years, and I occasionally get an itch for something different, but it’s too solid and reliable of a vehicle that I just wait and know that the sensation will pass.)
One thing that helps is that you continue to make a monthly car payment to yourself (even if there’s no car note) so that way you can buy your next car in cash, especially if multiple cars in the family are getting up there in years.
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