<p>I agree with the other posters. Much depends on how reliable (in general) the car is. Our cars are a 1998 Volvo, a 2000 Toyota van & a 2006 Volvo. (We sent S the 1992 BMW.) They have all been maintained well by us (our mechanic loves us & earns a good living). They are all sound and mainly need regular maintenance of a car of their age & mileage. We plan to keep them until they no longer are reliable or a better car falls into our lap, the way the 2006 did (hubby’s buddy’s wife had 9000 miles on a well-maintained 4 year old Volvo & the lease was expiring so we bought it at a very good price). Of our 4 cars, only the van was purchased new in 1999–all the others were acquired used & have been reliable. </p>
<p>For the future, only plan to buy US or Japanese cars because we prefer mechanic that doesn’t work on European cars–he’s very reasonable & we’ve used him for decades.</p>
<p>For purchasing another car…
My brother just got a used Civic from Hertz. It’s a 2009 with 20K miles on it & they got the extended 5 year, 60K warranty. They gave their older Civic to his MIL because her car is not reliable. My family & friends who have bought used cars from Hertz have been quite happy with the discount off new prices & the extended warranties.</p>
<p>I took my 1989 Nissan to have the tires rotated two weeks ago - they told me the wheels are going to fall off. That was the limit for me. I replaced the engine twice, the transmission once, the clutch uncounted times, other miscellaneous things have been replaced. I kept it going until it wasn’t fun to drive any more. That happened about eight months ago when the steering started going out. And the brakes too. (Skidded through a red light.) I bought a 2010 Toyota Corolla, my plan is to drive it into the ground too. </p>
<p>In California you can turn in a 1992 or older car to the APCD and get $1,000 for it. I call it recycling the car.</p>
<p>Edit: The car had 387,504 miles on it when I took it to the junkyard.</p>
<p>I drive all my cars into the ground. Our van has a rebuilt transmission and it kept going for 5 more years. We thought of buying another car and not put 1K more into the car, but where else can I get a car for 1K in which I know all the maintenance has been done? I don’t think of a Honda with 160K miles as old at all. My Maxima is headed to 175K and needs little maintenance (except for that power steering leak repair last week. Goodby $275). But, in my mind, it’s better than a car payment. Also think about insurance. Older cars are way cheaper to insure. </p>
<p>I’m also the proud owner of 3 Hertz cars. You cannot beat the prices.</p>
<p>I got rid of one car when I started having nightmares in which parts fell off the car as I drove down the highway. These nightmares started after the hood flew open as I drove 60 on one of Boston’s lovely overcrowded highways (that was 1982). Thankfully, I no longer have to drive potentially dangerous cars. (The car was a 1971 Ford Capri.)</p>
<p>At 182,000 our 98 Sienna is looking like a youngster. I have mentioned before my general rule is that when our total mileage on the two cars is greater than 300,000, we need to consider trading in one car.</p>
<p>I’m curious if y’all have done a second timing belt on the Odyssey, or when you intend to do it? We are kind of in the same boat, 2004 Honda Pilot, with about 130,000 and a great car.</p>
hehe … one of my cars … I was OK when the gas tank indicator died which was fine as long as I reset the trip indicator each time I got gas … then the trip indicator died which was also fine as long as the odometer was working … then the light died on the dashboard so none of the controls were usable at night … then it was time to move one to a new car.</p>
<p>I think it depends on whether you replace with new cars or always buy used. I haven’t bought a brand new car in quite awhile so, for me, it’s better to keep the devil I know. I have a 99 Accord with 140K and have no plans to get rid of it until the rust starts to seriously take hold…the body is usually what makes me get rid of my vehicles, otherwise they’re mine until/unless a really major event occurs. I always think that the repairs are worth it unless they involve body work, although my 00 Blazer with 176K sorely tempted me with rolling anti-lock sensor failures. But then, I’m still mourning my old Volvo…a tree fell on her when she was 280K miles young!</p>
<p>Hallelujah for that! For too many years when we were young, we had no choice. Fortunately, we were never involved in an accident with any of those cars. My H pledged never to allow any of his children to drive anything but the safest cars he could afford and that’s what we’ve done. My main concern with an old car wouldn’t be the miles, or repairs, it would be the lack of today’s safety features.</p>
<p>My 2000 Volvo 240 was sold last spring. It became a quality of life issue. I’d be running btween office, hospital, etc, and didn’t know what would happen. It leaked oil on a patient’s driveway , and I spent few weekends cleaning and then repainting my garage floor. Within months I had put several thousand into car. When it began to smoke on me, it was enough.</p>
<p>dudedad,
We got a new timing belt at 105,000 miles, which was the standard replacement timeframe. Our transmission was replaced at 75k due to a recall and before we had any problems – yeah, it was free! – so we hope we don’t have to fork out for that in the next couple of years. Biggest issue with the Odyssey right now is that one of the sliding doors needs a new handle/opening mechanism. That’s several hundred $$ and we have the manual doors!!</p>
<p>Thanks CD. No recalls for either the Pilot or the 99 Camry with about 118,000. Gotta love Honda and Toyota. Looks like you’ll be doing the timing belt again at 210,000…</p>
<p>I recently donated my 1995 Camry to a non-profit radio station. It was just south of 200K miles. Sadly, the air bags deflated and it just wasn’t worth the $$ to repair. For the life of the car, it only had usual maintenance with the exception of a few new clutches and brake pads. Oh, there was also the time the air filter was clogged with ants (but that is another story)</p>
<p>I then realized my ‘new’ car is a 2003 Subaru WRX and I’ve had it for 7 years and it has 135K+ miles on it. So far (knock on wood) this car has also been trouble free</p>
<p>What a great thread. We just had a transmission rebuilt on our 1999 Chevy Tahoe with 160,000 miles. Our mechanic said the engine in it was good, he had a transmission place that would guarantee the transmission for 3 years; and we decided we couldn’t get another used 4wd for cheaper. I was dubious. But I’m driving a 1992 Honda Accord, so who was I to argue?</p>
<p>Driving a 2001 Toyota Avalon w/ 121,000 miles. Have not had to do any huge repairs.
Still like the car and hope it goes another 100,000…at least.</p>
<p>You guys are making my day. Count us in the “gee our cars are OLD” group. We have three and the oldest has the least miles (“only” 109,000…a 2000 minivan). Then there is my Volvo with 130,000, and the Accord with 150,000. Every week we have the same discussion…what to do? What to do? So far, we’ve done nothing but fix these cars. The problem is…we like them. My Volvo is an old style one and I can’t get it anymore (S-70SE). My van isn’t made anymore (it’s a SMALL minivan)…and we like our Accord.</p>
<p>And so it goes. I probably will eventually trade the Volvo and the van in for a new or slightly used Forester…or CRV…but really, cars are such money pits…I’m not eager to do so.</p>
<p>We held onto a Toyota Pickup way after the odometer ‘went’ at 250K. My first decent car was a used '76 Corolla that traveled well over 120K until I traded it for an antique sofa which I still have. </p>
<p>We have owned other brands but Toyota always seems to come back into our lives sooner or later. Somehow both our current Toyotas were not recalled nor have had any problems…except the auto door lock in the front on the Prius went wonky so we replaced it. I will probably hand that car to my daughter when she needs a car and get myself either a Camry (again) or an Avalon. </p>
<p>About 20 years ago, my husband bought me an Camry for Christmas. I called my father long distance and said, “He bought me a Camry!” Dad said, “You’ll be able to take lots of nice pictures with that.”</p>
Not just those two manufacturers, but most cars today fit that category.</p>
<p>My 1998 Dodge Durango is still going fine after 184,000 miles - still no engine or tranny problems.</p>
<p>My 1966 Mustang has at least a few hundred K miles on it ('m not certain because back then the odo only went to 99,999 but it’s wrapped some). </p>
<p>As long as the car’s maintained it’ll keep running. I’ll do work to my Mustang every now and then, for example I might decide to replace the front suspension/steering components and consider that done for at least 100K miles just to renew the wear items like the bushings and just knock it all out at once, but it’s very reliable. Fortunately, I really like driving it, especially with the top down, and it actually increases in value every year.</p>
<p>To answer your question, unless you consider your car to be very unreliable with things continually breaking due to poor design, like having to fix the tranny/engine or certain other items multiple times each, usually the only reason to get rid of it is because you’re just tired of it and want something else. That’s when most people get another car rather than maintain the one they have.</p>
<p>Regarding having a mechanic ‘look over the car’ - you can do this and might get some value from it but a mechanic looking over the car usually can’t tell if there’s going to be an issue in the tranny, in the engine (unless there’s a major compression issue or something else obvious), the rear end (unless there’s an obvious leak or noise), and these are the more expensive items to repair - most other things aren’t that expensive relatively speaking (cheaper for me because I do most of the repairs myself). </p>
<p>You can do a lot of maintenance for the cost of montly payments (or equivalent), increased insurance, increased taxes, for a newer vehicle.</p>
<p>If you just feel like getting something else then go ahead and do it. If you’re still happy enough with your car then just keep driving it and having it repaired as necessary.</p>
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