This is the one to find...
Posted on 08/31/2007 10:27:15 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
By keeping your car for 15 years, or 225,000 miles of driving, you could save nearly $31,000, according to Consumer Reports magazine. That's compared to the cost of buying an identical model every five years, which is roughly the rate at which most car owners trade in their vehicles.
In its annual national auto survey, the magazine found 6,769 readers who had logged more than 200,000 miles on their cars. Their cars included a 1990 Lexus LS400 with 332,000 miles and a 1994 Ford Ranger pick-up that had gone 488,000 miles.
Consumer Reports calls the Honda Civic a "Good bet" to make it to 200,000 miles.
Calculating the costs involved in buying a new Honda Civic EX every five years for 15 years - including depreciation, taxes, fees and insurance - the magazine estimated it would cost $20,500 more than it would have cost to simply maintain one car for the same period.
Added to that, the magazine factored in $10,300 in interest that could have been earned on that money, assuming a five percent interest rate and a three percent inflation rate, over that time.
The magazine found similar savings with other models.
To have much hope of making it to 200,000 miles, a car has to be well maintained, of course. The magazine recommends several steps to help your car see it through.
Follow the maintenance guide in your owner's manual and make needed repairs promptly.
Use only the recommended types of fluids, including oil and transmission fluids.
Check under the hood regularly. Listen for strange sounds, sniff for odd smells and look for fraying or bulges in pipes or belts. Also, get a vehicle service manual. They're available at most auto parts stores or your dealership.
(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...
My Saturn that had 460,000+ miles on it had 17 engine oil changes and two transaxle oil changes.
It still got 2 to 4 more MPG than Saturn said it should (40 to 42 MPG)
I changed the engine oil about every 35,000 miles and the filter about 1/2 way through each oil change.
Oh yes... ALL my oil and filters were made in the USA!
See my tagline for why.
Here’s one reason. I bought a “certified used” ‘97 Windstar with 47,000 miles on it. By 83,000 miles, I had put the 4th replacement tranny in it. I got rid of it after that. I spoke with many Windstar owners while I had mine, and I really don’t remember one who hadn’t had a tranny replaced after 40,000 miles. I was told the tranny parts for that year were made of a “high grade” plastic or something like that, and the parts warped frequently. Tell me about it.
I (and my family)had owned Fords my whole life, with no problems. Now I have a Honda Odyssey and a Hyundai Santa Fe. No problems at all.
This is the one to find...
That was an E28 model? 87 or 88? Shame you lost it, those are damn nice if you can find one that has been maintained...
I am always looking around at spare parts for my M5. The only difference between the E28 535is and the E28 M5 is the second cam. The transmission, block, differential and body are the same... You had the leather sport interior?
LOL
Yep! I’ve been doing that my whole life. Two requirements: Change the oil every 3,000 miles and buy a good solid American car.
Lifetime -
1.25 million miles in 7 GM vehicles
Average life - 13.7 years
(Not counting my new ‘07 Pontiac GP GXP.)
Semper Fi! Dad
My Accord has 196,500 miles on the odometer and drives like new. It has had one tune-up and two replacement timing belts, tires and two brake jobs. It gets new oil on time too. We still get 26 MPG too. The dealer expects me to drive it 250 K and then suggests I think about replacing it. Even then, I’ll buy a used, later model Accord or Civic and let that be it as our definitive auto.
The Mrs. Honda CR-V cost nothing and runs great at 90,000 mi. But the ‘00 is a little weak on the HP. Would def. buy a 2002-2005 model
Saw it as a bumper sticker once, and almost died laughing.
You had BETTER get the timing belt replaced. The Acura engine design is one in which, if the timing belt breaks, the valves will hit the piston heads and destroy your engine. I agree with you on the rest of your post.
I can't agree. Most of the "new features" are simply frills, or actually interfere with the way I want to drive a vehicle. Run'em 'til they die.
It's still running fine, but at this point so many things started needing replacement, so often, it's not worth it for anyone who can't or doesn't enjoy fixing cars himself.
But it's a great buy for someone who enjoys working on cars, and that's exactly the kind of guy I sold it to. So far, he's been loving it. Makes me happy it's in a good home.
Traction control, side curtain airbags, continuously variable transmissions, and on-demand AWD systems are hardly frills.
Plus, some of the frills are kind of nice, too. I don't think I could do without automatic climate control and the MP3 hookup now that I've got them.
I consider'em frills. I like standard transmissions. And air bags are themselves frills. If you've got (and use) your seatbelts (which I do), you don't need'em.
Nice.........
1996 Jeep Cherokee still going strong, paid for, $50/month insurance, and no plans for a new vehicle.
“”Refrigerators no longer belong on that list, microwaves are questionable and practically all of the flashlights are pretty much disposable.””
Old Professor, I have no idea what possessed you to post that.
My 3 year old refrigerator is magnificent compared to anything I owned in the past, with it’s perfect zone coverage (I spent 4 days testing different areas of it’s interior, and freezer with a remote digital thermometer, it has a light in the freezer as well, with a knock out ice maker, and it supplies filtered cold water, with the filter located in the front. As a plumber I was glad to see the addition of that homeowner changeable filter, it saves my potential customers about $130.00 dollars from having me do it the old way.
Flashlights disposable? I don’t see my $48.00 LOD CE single AAA that I carry on my key chain as disposable, or the $70.00 single AA Photon Proton that I carry on my belt as disposable. That single AAA key chain light for instance gives the equivalent light of your old two D flashlight, and it does it in a waterproof, non switch failing body. The Proton can give 55 lumens of light, or it can be dimmed to save the battery, or it can even use only a red LED that will give light for 250 hours.
The tiny single AAA key light that I sent my son in New York is the Fenix E0, it is electronically regulated so that it gives the same exact brightness for the first 11 hours of battery life, with a gradually dimming brightness over the next 10 hours or so, again waterproof.
These flashlights I mentioned do not include the larger, more capable versions available for other uses, such as the home, work, or for your weapons.
The newer flashlights don’t even have bulbs that burn out, they use bright LEDs that are basically a lifetime bulb that doesn’t break, and draws very little juice.
So do I, but a modern CVT will give you better mileage and, unless you've got the skills of a professional racer, better acceleration. I'd hardly call that a frill.
I still like a manual despite all that, simply because it's more fun to drive, but that would seem to make the manual a frill, no?
And air bags are themselves frills. If you've got (and use) your seatbelts (which I do), you don't need'em.
I was talking about side curtain bags. They can save your life. Seat belts won't do a thing for you if you're hit from the side.
Don't forget traction control. In the snow, it's a Godsend. Of course, under normal conditions, I turn mine off, but it's worth having for those snow days, especially in a town like Seattle where they don't salt the roads.
Finally, if you think an on-demand AWD system like Haldex is a frill, you really need to go test drive a car with one (preferably with the sport package upgrade that tends to give the car a little oversteer). Go take it on a curvy dirt road, and you'll see it's no frill.
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