Get a reliable car you can hold on to more than 10 or 20 years and it’ll save you a fortune
The lowest mileage any of our cars have gone before we replaced them is 147,000 miles. A couple of them have gone over a quarter million miles. The secret? Be gentle accelerating, turning, and braking, change the oil before it’s due, and run them at freeway speeds for extended periods of time every once in a while.
My hubbie has his 1994 extended cab F150 - restored paint , added new a/c and cleaned up interior last year…looks great. Also has 2006 Eddie Bauer Ford Explorer….runs great. Getting ready to spruce up some interior items such as satellite radio and repair headliner. I drive 2017 Ford explorer and it looks and runs showroom new. We care for our vehicles and they keep running well for us.
At our age, our current car will probably be the last one we will have to buy. We use it around town and rent cars for vacations.
Bingo. When I was younger, I traded my car in as often as every couple of years. At that age, your focus (especially as a single male) is more on trying to keep up with your friends and projecting an image (especially to single females) than it is on practicing financial common sense. Now that I’m older and retired, my vehicle priorities are reliability, longevity, and operating cost. I am still driving an 18-year old 2005 Acura TL that has been as dependable as a tank, has 211,000 miles on it, and runs like it’s brand new. Cosmetically, on the other hand, it’s seen better days as the paint is peeling, vinyl cladding on the trim is peeling, and it was unfortunately dented pretty badly in a hailstorm last summer.
I’ve been diligent about maintaining the car throughout its life, which is paying off now in how well it still runs. Maintenance has gotten more expensive as it has aged, but it’s still far less expensive than a new car. I’ve thought a few times about replacing it, but it wouldn’t make sense since it runs fine and I hardly drive it now that I’m retired, and since we bought a new CR-V for my wife who does more driving. I’m also hanging onto it because it has a V6, produces 270 hp, and yet still averages 24 to 26 mpg. The VTEC engines were amazing. All you can get in most cars now is a 4 cylinder (thanks to Obama). I’m keenly aware of the difference every time I jump into my TL and feel the torque and horsepower it has.
Next is looking at getting it repainted and deciding what to do about the hail dents. Insurance is no help because they will just total it and give me a pittance in return. It’s funny, right now with the peeling paint and dents all over, and given the explosion in crime recently by the usual suspects, I consider this car to kind of have ghetto camouflage, making it less likely to draw the attention of gibmedats. There’s special value just in that.
Bingo. When I was younger, I traded my car in as often as every couple of years. At that age, your focus (especially as a single male) is more on trying to keep up with your friends and projecting an image (especially to single females) than it is on practicing financial common sense. Now that I’m older and retired, my vehicle priorities are reliability, longevity, and operating cost. I am still driving an 18-year old 2005 Acura TL that has been as dependable as a tank, has 211,000 miles on it, and runs like it’s brand new. Cosmetically, on the other hand, it’s seen better days as the paint is peeling, vinyl cladding on the trim is peeling, and it was unfortunately dented pretty badly in a hailstorm last summer.
I’ve been diligent about maintaining the car throughout its life, which is paying off now in how well it still runs. Maintenance has gotten more expensive as it has aged, but it’s still far less expensive than a new car. I’ve thought a few times about replacing it, but it wouldn’t make sense since it runs fine and I hardly drive it now that I’m retired, and since we bought a new CR-V for my wife who does more driving. I’m also hanging onto it because it has a V6, produces 270 hp, and yet still averages 24 to 26 mpg. The VTEC engines were amazing. All you can get in most cars now is a 4 cylinder (thanks to Obama). I’m keenly aware of the difference every time I jump into my TL and feel the torque and horsepower it has.
Next is looking at getting it repainted and deciding what to do about the hail dents. Insurance is no help because they will just total it and give me a pittance in return. It’s funny, right now with the peeling paint and dents all over, and given the explosion in crime recently by the usual suspects, I consider this car to kind of have ghetto camouflage, making it less likely to draw the attention of gibmedats. There’s special value just in that.
I have a 2000 Camry with 189K miles. A week doesn’t go buy that someone doesn’t approach me wanting to buy lt. Everything works on it except one rear window.
This. Exactly this.
I don't buy a car or truck to turn around and sell it. I bought my truck to use around the property and around town. I intend to drive it until it's irreparable. Unfortunately in modern vehicles that comes sooner rather than later due to the overwhelming number of computer components, but I will keep it going as long as I can.
This just feeds into the disposable materialistic society we've come to know.
Have a 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee bought in 2010 for $3000 been coast to coast and back, gone over the rocky mountains twice, runs like a charm, no problems except sun burned paint job on the roof and one fender and replaced radiator both caused from living 10 years at the beach. It will be the last car I own.
I just bought a gorgeous ‘03 Chrysler 300M. 90k miles for $6k. Still driving my 2000 Intrepid.