Posted on 05/04/2024 4:11:17 AM PDT by RomanSoldier19
Here at Jalopnik, we know there’s nothing wrong with keeping a beloved old beater running for mile after mile, and we regularly celebrate high mileage heroes. Now, it turns out the rest of America is catching onto this way of thinking as the savings of holding onto an old car for longer begin mounting up.
Drivers across the country are increasingly holding onto their cars for longer than ever, with an increasing number hitting more than 100,000 miles in their cars, according to a new report from the Wall Street Journal. The trend comes as drivers realize the savings to be had by simply not replacing their car every five years. As the site explains:
(Excerpt) Read more at jalopnik.com ...
When Cuba is free, a lot of rich folks are going to make a beeline there to scoop up those cars.
In the 1970’s up north, you would see the road through the floorboards due to rust long before a car would actually stop running.
The “rule of thumb” for rebuild projects was to buy your bodies from Southern states and engines from up North.
The motors in the South were often worn out and the bodies from the North were eaten up from rock salt.
The whole point of EVs was to drive the cost of personal transportation to the point where people can't afford it.
In the 1970s you had to trade your car in after five years because it had stopped running.
I had family in all of the “Big Three” manufacturers. Quality tanked during the 70s so a lot of people turned to more reliable imports. Instead of addressing the real problem, domestic manufacturers whined about the “lack of loyalty.”
You could be on to something as I drove a new Mercedes every 2-3 years depending on the lease and the tax payers paid for them until Reagan changed the tax code.
After that, I bought them but still got a new one every 4 years but when I retired, my last one went over a small cliff {totaled} and I got a Toyota which I've kept for 15 years and it still runs like a top.
If this one quits running well, I'll get another one, but it won't be electric and it won't be new.
I drive mine to at least 250k then evaluate.. just do regular oil and transmission service and it’s easy to go allot of years with no payments. At the end i usually give them to a young mechanic kid i know.
No more new cars for us either. Beginning in the mid-90’s most vehicles were good for well over 200,000 miles. All that’s required is to change fluids and filters, keep good rubber on them and wash them once in a while.
The newer the vehicles are the more spy crap that’s on them. Our last new one, a 2018 F150 depreciated $24,000 as soon as we drove it off the lot.
It’s a helluva lot cheaper to fix them as you go.
I drive for Doordash in my 2016 Toyota Camry. The darlin’ just keeps on running and running. I take it in to be maintained frequently...only so far, they say it’s still like a new car and nothing to fix. I had a Prius before the Camry that went to almost 400,000 miles with basic maintenance (oil changes, etc.).
I’m 66 and have owned probably around a hundred cars. Most of them new. I guess I’m addicted to new car smell.
THE ONLY NEW car I ever owned was a 1965 Pontiac wagon. Got it in Feb 1965. Put 100,000 miles on it in 3 years to the week.
Sold it (sometimes wish I hadn’t) in 1995 & it had OVER 444,000++ miles on it-— original engine.
I changed oils & all filters regularly—NEVER had a problem with it. I can still change the oil/filter & other filters. AM 84 & FEMALE.
NOW HAVE:
1979 Buick wagon with 223,000 + miles on it I bought used in 1981 with 55,000 miles. Same routine-—change oils & filters regularly. It could use some cosmetic work, but I have no fear of driving it anywhere I need to go. It towed a 2 horse trailer for 4 months in 1986 until I found a 1 ton truck for that. NO problems. NEW FUEL PUMP??? $22 t Summit Racing Parts & neighbor & I changed in under 50 minutes in my driveway. CHANGE plugs? Under an hour-—in my driveway.
My 1 ton truck==1976 USED (had 90,000 miles) in April of 1986. 4 speed -— dually hauler.
That truck now has OVER 348,000 on the chassis & I put on all those 250,000 miles.===mostly towing 2 horse & 4 horse trailers. Certainly NOT all on pavement, either. A WORKHORSE
Had to replace a fuel switch UNDER the truck bed in 2022 ——ORIGINAL PART—46 year old part at least. Then in fall of 2023, had to replace “The slide” on the steering column-—AGAIN—ORIGINAL PART-—47 or 48 year old part.
FIND ME ANYTHING TODAY THAT HAS PARTS LASTING THAT LONG-—SHOW ME.
WHEN I went on the PONY EXPRESS TRAIL Ride in 2001, I had 3 horses, hay cubes on rack on trailer roof, 150 gallons of water in 3 barrels and ALOT of other gear. WAS FULLY LOADED. Trailer was about 10,400#. Had another 90 gallons of water in custom tank in truck bed, with camper shell. CRAWLED UP I-80 eastward on Donner Pass at about 35 MPH—with the semi trucks. Total rig==just under 40’.
Ride was 8 weeks long, ST Joseph, Mo to Virginia City, Nv. Home was N Calif. 3 ++ day trip to start line-—sleep in truck-— unload & TIE horses to trailer at night in truck stops. NO problems. Got new load of 1400# of cubes every 2 weeks. Paid for them in advance & STAGED them at intervals. USED the HOIST the welding shop made me when they made the hay rack to lift all those 28 bags to the top on the trailer. Horses tied to trailer every night for all 8 weeks. ONLY ONE configuration would work—they were picky.
The truck could also use some cosmetic work-—but I would LOAD the horse trailer & take it anywhere without worry. That trailer is now 23 years old & I also take care of it.
Today’s vehicles are NOT more dependable. TOO many electronic gadgets. SEAT HEATERS ??? REALLY??? STEERING WHEEL HEATER??? REALLY??? CAR PARKS ITSELF? REALLY??
I was raised in So Wisconsin-—It was /is plenty cold there. Never needed such stuff. Worried more about the headbolt heater doing it’s job & the vehicle starting all winter.
Have driven OVER 1 MILLION MILES-—NO accidents.
NOT GIVING UP MY VEHICLES—NOTHING OUT THERE IS WORTH IT.
THERE IS NOT A SINGLE CAR OR TRUCK OUT THERE TODAY I WOULD HAVE-—EVEN FOR FREE.
IF I HAVE TO SEEK ANOTHER-—I WILL LOOK IN HEMMINGS MOTOR NEWS.
STOPPING THAT TRAILER would be my biggest concern.
I have always done that. I got over 300k on a 1992 Toyota Corolla and a 2002 Dodge Caravan (which I was assured would be dead by 75k). My current “low-mileage” car is a 2009 Mercury Grand Marquis with 110k. It was my father’s car that I got when he died. And I hope it gets me through my remaining driving years.
“A Toyota is just starting to get broken in at 100K. “
Seriously. I’ve been looking at older, 90s & early 2000s, Toyota Tacomas and 4Runners. I see 200+ miles on many of them. I also see prices range from $5k to $30k! Obviously, there’s a big market for these older vehicles.
One thing I’ve noticed...that kind of scares me off. Older Tacomas have rusted frame problems. A new frame will set you back $7k (before labor).
He said Chrysler Aspen, a 2007-2009 SUV.
I know what you’re saying though. I had a 1978 Aspen and a 1986 Aries. Neither lasted 10 years.
I recently bought four new tires for my 2005 Mazda Tribute that just turned 100,000 miles. I wouldn’t say the vehicle is just broken in, but I do expect to get another few years out of it.
209,000 Toyota Tundra 2004 going strong. Plan on 300,000. Put $4,500 into it this year to replace everything that could be replaced. Smooth ....
I bought one of the last Tundras with the big V8. I drive it around 10-12,000 miles a year. I expect to die before it does. Then one of my kids can figure out what to do with it.
That assumes Biden loses and we aren’t rationed on gas to force us all into electrics!
More than 100k? That’s just a half its life.
Today’s cars cost as much as a house did when I was a kid.
There’s NO way I could ever afford to buy a new house every 3 years..
100,000 miles? My current car has 163,000 (1997 Toyota Corolla), the prior car had 220,000 (2000 Chevrolet Lumina 4-door sedan), and the car before that had 293,000 (1992 Pontiac Grand Am). How am I doing?:-)
“A new transmission is always cheaper than a new car if you think about it”
A lot cheaper. I replaced my ‘09 Camry’s transmission with a junkyard find. No problem so far (20,000 miles on it now).
My other car, a 2000 Suburban, is like new. Had a noisy differential rebuilt somewhere along the way.
I’d like to have cars with backup cameras but it’s not worth the cost.
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