How long should a car last?

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davebo
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How long should a car last?

Post by davebo »

I drive a 2006 Honda Accord with 145K miles on it. My wife drives a 2010 Honda Oddessey with around 125K miles. We had a $500 repair on the Mini 2 weeks ago and then now we probably need the alternator replaced, which could be $700 or so. My wife is really pushing for a new car, but I'm a little hesitant because I think it's a bad time to buy.

This brought up a discussion between us regarding when to throw in the towel. She thinks 10 years/100K is about when is reasonable to get rid of a car. I think that a Honda should be able to reach 150K miles easily without dealing with too many major repairs.

Any thoughts? This is primarily for those that drive cradle to grave.
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RickBoglehead
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Re: How long should a car last?

Post by RickBoglehead »

That is twice what alternator should cost.

10 years is a good timeframe. We have gone 15. Too long. Plastic parts become brittle, stuff fades, rubber rots.
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runner3081
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Re: How long should a car last?

Post by runner3081 »

The last car we got rid of was a 21 year old car, still ran great, but AC went out, coupled with an oil and coolant leak, we decided to sell.

Currently, my car is 16 years old with 141K miles, my wife has a 9 year old car with 70K on it.
onourway
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Re: How long should a car last?

Post by onourway »

Really depends on your larger financial/life situation. Clearly the van will last a lot longer than 10 years - if not for you, then for someone else. However if you are in a similar position to most here (financially rather secure) then IMO it makes sense to replace when maintaining it starts to become a bit of a hassle - in that case I'd agree that's often around the 10 year mark (more important than the mileage). That said, I also agree with you in that right now is not a great time to be looking for a new car - although you'll get top dollar for your current van so it may be a wash if you can find something. Take a look around and see what you can find.
BarbK
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Re: How long should a car last?

Post by BarbK »

We have a 2006 Honda Pilot with 150K miles on it. We did have a $3K repair (AVS/VSA modulator) 2 years ago but only maintenance since.

Although no evidence of wear, it has been 7 years since the timing belt was changed. While getting the oil changed, my husband looked at the new cars on the lot; all had $2-3K+ dealer markups after MSRP and very high destination changes. We will go ahead with getting the timing belt, etc changed out and willing to put $2-3K into the car as that would be the markup on the new car anyway.
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leeks
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Re: How long should a car last?

Post by leeks »

Bad time to buy a car but good time to sell a car so it could work out if what you want to buy is actually available. See what you could get for the old car from someone like Carvana to help you decide if it is time to upgrade.
jlawrence01
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Re: How long should a car last?

Post by jlawrence01 »

How long are you willing to maintain the vehicle in top mechanical condition?

Forty years ago, you felt very good if you could get 100k miles out of a vehicle without a significant replacement of the engine or the transmission. These days, I am driving a 2007 Toyota Corolla with 165k miles. I have had no major issues with the vehicle.

For the past five years, I have been renting cars for long trips as it has been easy to rent vehicles for $150/ week. However, this year, We will be driving our car as it is hard to find rentals for less than $400 per month.

What I find is that once the vehicle hits 100k, MANY drivers stop wanting to spend money on the vehicle. One repair over $500 and people start looking for a new one although the car has been very reliable. Since the car is not being maintained, it starts to wear out.

Every time I think that my car is old, my neighbor's daily drive is a 1988 Toyota Corolla.
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midareff
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Re: How long should a car last?

Post by midareff »

davebo wrote: Tue Jun 15, 2021 9:41 am I drive a 2006 Honda Accord with 145K miles on it. My wife drives a 2010 Honda Oddessey with around 125K miles. We had a $500 repair on the Mini 2 weeks ago and then now we probably need the alternator replaced, which could be $700 or so. My wife is really pushing for a new car, but I'm a little hesitant because I think it's a bad time to buy.

This brought up a discussion between us regarding when to throw in the towel. She thinks 10 years/100K is about when is reasonable to get rid of a car. I think that a Honda should be able to reach 150K miles easily without dealing with too many major repairs.

Any thoughts? This is primarily for those that drive cradle to grave.
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Cheez-It Guy
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Re: How long should a car last?

Post by Cheez-It Guy »

20 years or 300,000 miles are my minimum expectations.
Mr. Rumples
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Re: How long should a car last?

Post by Mr. Rumples »

RickBoglehead wrote: Tue Jun 15, 2021 9:49 am That is twice what alternator should cost.

10 years is a good timeframe. We have gone 15. Too long. Plastic parts become brittle, stuff fades, rubber rots.
Indeed...My "girl" is 20 years old with only 76,000 original miles. This year I needed a new timing belt and a lot of gaskets and plugs and so forth that had started to dry out and leak. Even the hose supplying the fluid to the windshield wipers for cleaning had become brittle and literally shrunk and come apart. I have a friend who is a retired mechanic and he said this was what was going to start to happen. I plan on getting a new vehicle next year - right now there is not much to choose from on the lot which is my preferred shopping method. It would be different if I had a backup vehicle, but with only one, I need one that isn't going to have issues.
Last edited by Mr. Rumples on Tue Jun 15, 2021 10:13 am, edited 3 times in total.
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OldBallCoach
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Re: How long should a car last?

Post by OldBallCoach »

Landcruiser 350K 15 years....most everything else 200K 10 years at least...
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quantAndHold
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Re: How long should a car last?

Post by quantAndHold »

Well, wife and I both have 2005’s, so I might not be the right person to ask. A well maintained Odyssey would probably last another 5-10 years. And right now might not be the best time to buy. But if you can actually find a car she wants, and you have the financial resources, I’d say “happy wife, happy life.” Eleven years is long enough.
Jack FFR1846
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Re: How long should a car last?

Post by Jack FFR1846 »

It depends on what you're willing to put up with and how difficult repairs are. If you have a great mechanic with loaner cars very near to you, you could go 500k miles. But along the way, you need to bring that Odyssey in for a timing belt every 60k miles. I tend to do a major go-through at 100k miles to include all hoses, all suspension bushings, ball joints, tie rod ends, CV axles, brake hoses and the usual filters, trans fluid change, brake fluid change, shocks and such. If you're not doing all this yourself (it is a lot of work), you are looking at probably $3-$4k. Lots of people don't want to put this kind of money into a 10-15 year old car, which is fine. Trade it for something new.

Do you know what old sports cars become at a couple hundred thousand miles? Racecars. And the new owners do everything I just listed and then some. I know guys who started with a 275k mile car 25 years ago and are running it on the track still today. So cars can go nearly forever if you keep rust and accidents at bay. But you need to spend the money to keep them going. Everything is replaceable.

With all that said, for decades, I drove high miles for work and HAD to have a newer car (or lose car plan money, then be terminated), so it was pretty easy to justify dumping a car after 3 years and 100k miles and avoid all the stuff I listed above.
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Kagord
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Re: How long should a car last?

Post by Kagord »

30-35 years, 300-500K miles, you're halfway there. It's truly unfortunate Toyota's last this long, I wish I had a CD player in my oldest Toyota.
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lthenderson
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Re: How long should a car last?

Post by lthenderson »

Do you both need to use the vehicles daily if one needs repair?

Modern vehicles, especially Honda's of which I've owned a couple, should easily last twice as long. If the vehicle is operating fine other than needing an alternator and you don't foresee any immediate future repairs, I would easily pay $700 which will be far less than the depreciation of a new car the first year after it is driven off the lot.

But if you need both vehicles daily and it would be a great inconvenience if one goes to the repair shop for a day and it would make your wife happy, by all means, buy a new vehicle if you can get one that she likes in today's market where computer chips are scarce. It would be the best peace of mind/marital harmony choice but not the best financial choice.
NerdJock
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Re: How long should a car last?

Post by NerdJock »

It is a terrible time to buy a car. Everybody want one and many are in short supply. So you will have to pay more.

It is a wonderful time to sell a car. Everybody wants one and many are in short supply. So you will get more.

I wouldn't trade my car in either.
H-Town
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Re: How long should a car last?

Post by H-Town »

davebo wrote: Tue Jun 15, 2021 9:41 am I drive a 2006 Honda Accord with 145K miles on it. My wife drives a 2010 Honda Oddessey with around 125K miles. We had a $500 repair on the Mini 2 weeks ago and then now we probably need the alternator replaced, which could be $700 or so. My wife is really pushing for a new car, but I'm a little hesitant because I think it's a bad time to buy.

This brought up a discussion between us regarding when to throw in the towel. She thinks 10 years/100K is about when is reasonable to get rid of a car. I think that a Honda should be able to reach 150K miles easily without dealing with too many major repairs.

Any thoughts? This is primarily for those that drive cradle to grave.
yeah it's typical maintenance/replacement expenses when a car reaches 125-150k miles mark. You should be able to drive them another 100-150k miles or so.

But your wife may want a new car... just because.
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Kenny
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Re: How long should a car last?

Post by Kenny »

My '05 Accord V6 has 395k miles. Have only had to do routine maintenance.
fishmonger
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Re: How long should a car last?

Post by fishmonger »

My absolute minimum is 12 years. I would say 15, but living in NH with snow/sand/salt, some vehicles just don't make it that far due to corrosion
namajones
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Re: How long should a car last?

Post by namajones »

davebo wrote: Tue Jun 15, 2021 9:41 am This brought up a discussion between us regarding when to throw in the towel. She thinks 10 years/100K is about when is reasonable to get rid of a car. I think that a Honda should be able to reach 150K miles easily without dealing with too many major repairs.

Any thoughts? This is primarily for those that drive cradle to grave.
To me, cars are like the market. I don't predict how long they'll last or "should" last. I just drive 'em till they're dead. I tend to stick with brands that last a long time.

My Camry is 16 years old (2005). Runs great. Fewer than 100K miles.
Last edited by namajones on Tue Jun 15, 2021 10:42 am, edited 1 time in total.
namajones
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Re: How long should a car last?

Post by namajones »

Kagord wrote: Tue Jun 15, 2021 10:14 am 30-35 years, 300-500K miles, you're halfway there. It's truly unfortunate Toyota's last this long, I wish I had a CD player in my oldest Toyota.
:happy

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THY4373
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Re: How long should a car last?

Post by THY4373 »

RickBoglehead wrote: Tue Jun 15, 2021 9:49 am 10 years is a good timeframe. We have gone 15. Too long. Plastic parts become brittle, stuff fades, rubber rots.
This is probably highly variable depending on where you live (how much sun) and whether the car is garaged. My current car is 11 years old and nothing is faded or brittle. I bought it about six years ago used so don't know what happened in its first five years of life other than is was in southern CA and Florida but it has been garaged since I have owned it.
THY4373
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Re: How long should a car last?

Post by THY4373 »

Cars can go a really long time depending on how you maintain them, whether they are garaged and to a lesser extent their underlying quality. I have tended to buy used domestic sedans at 3-5 years and kept them until they were 15-18 years old with just under 200k miles on them. Most of the time I am getting rid of them because it is truly time for an upgrade.
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bligh
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Re: How long should a car last?

Post by bligh »

davebo wrote: Tue Jun 15, 2021 9:41 am I drive a 2006 Honda Accord with 145K miles on it. My wife drives a 2010 Honda Oddessey with around 125K miles. We had a $500 repair on the Mini 2 weeks ago and then now we probably need the alternator replaced, which could be $700 or so. My wife is really pushing for a new car, but I'm a little hesitant because I think it's a bad time to buy.

This brought up a discussion between us regarding when to throw in the towel. She thinks 10 years/100K is about when is reasonable to get rid of a car. I think that a Honda should be able to reach 150K miles easily without dealing with too many major repairs.

Any thoughts? This is primarily for those that drive cradle to grave.
I was in a similar boat. Was wondering if I should upgrade my Mini Van which is now 10 years old and has about 96K miles on it rather than doing a timing belt replacement on it. (To be honest, I was getting tempted by the redesigns of a couple of SUVs for the 2022 model year.. figured I would rather apply the costs towards the purchase of a new car). But, when I started to check the resale value of the car online, I saw most of the cars for sale had well over 140K miles on them!

At this point I thought to myself, well so what if I need to do a timing belt replacement and a few other fixes here and there. This car easily has another 50K miles left in it, probably much more... So the new plan is that I am going to keep it and reconsider in another 4-5 years or so.

In short, I realized that the 10 year or so rule of a car getting old was just something I had in my head, and the lifespan of more recent cars is much longer. They are far better built. In the end though it isn't some hard date at which it makes sense to replace the vehicle. It is a sliding scale, and over time as the vehicle ages, it makes more and more sense to replace it.

Lastly, if it is at all a consideration for you, replacing a few hoses and spending an odd grand here or there to keep an old car running is also much better for the environment.
Afty
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Re: How long should a car last?

Post by Afty »

I also think 10 years is a good timeframe for a car. A reliable car can last much longer, but you do start running into more problems and repair and maintenance needed, and it's perfectly reasonable to replace a car at this point even for a Boglehead.
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Re: How long should a car last?

Post by LittleMaggieMae »

I'm a low mileage "City Driver" (about 7K to 9K per year) - my rule of thumb is that my vehicles last between 10 and 12 years (I've only gotten one vehicle to 100K). My current vehicle is 9 years old with 71K miles. It's starting to wear out from "time". And I'm not talking about routine things that get replaced - tires, shocks, belts, and such... I'm talking literally wear and tear on the vehicle.

As has been noted - plastic gets brittle, gaskets wear out, various (non critical) parts of the vehicle just wear out or stop working.

I've had relatives (or car buffs) who have kept 20 year old vehicle going - but it's their hobby to fix the weird things that wear out or to replace parts that have faded from the sun or spend Saturday morning "greasing" all the parts that need greasing or replacing fluids you have never heard of or replacing some part that literally wore out.

I'm expecting my current vehicle to make it to 12 years old - maybe even more. (it's a Scion (toyota)). I assume/expect that I will have to replace it between 2024 and 2026. My long term spending plan (budget) accounts for this.
carloslando
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Re: How long should a car last?

Post by carloslando »

We have run our cars from 75K to 150K miles and from 10 to 15 years so far.
The criteria to switch to a new one has not just been repair costs, but reliability. ie. repair frequency. Especially with small kids to take around, a breakdown and waiting by the side of the road for a tow-truck is quite painful.

Age as some have mentioned is sometimes more important than just mileage on the car: parts get brittle, hoses start to leak etc. When our 14 year old Nissan broke down, and the family was stuck by the side of the road, a second time within a few months, we knew it had to go, even though it had just ~75K miles on it at that point. Our Honda SUV ran mostly trouble-free to 150K+ miles before the repairs started getting expensive.
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iamlucky13
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Re: How long should a car last?

Post by iamlucky13 »

davebo wrote: Tue Jun 15, 2021 9:41 am I drive a 2006 Honda Accord with 145K miles on it. My wife drives a 2010 Honda Oddessey with around 125K miles. We had a $500 repair on the Mini 2 weeks ago and then now we probably need the alternator replaced, which could be $700 or so. My wife is really pushing for a new car, but I'm a little hesitant because I think it's a bad time to buy.

This brought up a discussion between us regarding when to throw in the towel. She thinks 10 years/100K is about when is reasonable to get rid of a car. I think that a Honda should be able to reach 150K miles easily without dealing with too many major repairs.

Any thoughts? This is primarily for those that drive cradle to grave.
There's two different considerations mentioned here.

1) When is it reasonable to replace a car?

This is largely a matter of personal preference and individual finances. I would say 10 years / 100,000 miles is very reasonable for most people buying new and seeking to get a good value out of the purchase, while avoiding much major maintenance. It will still have meaningful value on the 2nd hand market at this time.

2) How long should a car last?

For cars built in the last 15-20 years and driven typical amounts (10-20K per year), I generally treat 150,000 miles as the minimum acceptable life for a properly maintained car. It's not guaranteed, but the majority should last at least that long. Experiences to the contrary would negatively affect my trust in the manufacturer.

Cars lasting 150-200,000 miles meet my expectations. I treat 200,000+ miles without major, unplanned repairs (not specified in the manual, and not a wear item like brakes or shocks) as a bonus.

Those late in life repairs could potentially be economical viable, depending on what exactly it is, but of course, individual tolerance for dealing with the hassle varies. I was willing to put ~$1500 into my 235,000 mile Civic recently to address several developing issues, given the apparent overall condition of the rest of the car. My wife vetoed me (in part because I wanted to do some of the work myself, and she insisted that was not a good use of time), so now I'm driving a new car. To be sure, I was not disinterested in a new car, but the change in driving experience going from a 19 year old car to a brand new one was hardly a major leap forward - many little improvements, a couple moderate ones, but nothing that stood out as a must have, and also a few drawbacks.

The timing is indeed poor to buy right now for most models. I was fortunate in my timing - the prices had just started going up when I pulled the trigger. I shopped for a while, so I know that only 1-2 months earlier would have saved me probably around $1,000. 2 months later would have cost me probably $2-3,000 more.
Last edited by iamlucky13 on Tue Jun 15, 2021 11:52 am, edited 1 time in total.
Afty
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Re: How long should a car last?

Post by Afty »

iamlucky13 wrote: Tue Jun 15, 2021 10:57 am The timing is indeed poor to buy right now for most models. I was fortunate in my timing - the prices had just started going up when I pulled the trigger. I shopped for a while, so I know that only 1-2 months earlier would have saved me probably around $1,000. 2 months later would have cost me probably $2-3,000 more.
Timing is poor to buy right now, but good to sell. We have a 2012 Kia Sorento, and Carmax et al. are willing to pay $4k more for it than they were a year ago. So the higher purchase price may even out with a higher trade in value.
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Kenkat
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Re: How long should a car last?

Post by Kenkat »

My experience:

Most cars are pretty trouble free for the first 10 years, 100,000 miles.

In years 11-15 (100-150k), you will likely have to start putting a little money towards repairs, but these repairs are typically far less than the monthly cost of a new car.

In years 15+, 150k plus, you run the risk (not the certainty) of a major repair like a transmission, major engine problem, etc. You can continue to drive them but may be forced into a new car purchase at short notice. Or may not.

After 20 years, you are probably living on borrowed time. Still possible if you feel lucky.
squirm
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Re: How long should a car last?

Post by squirm »

About 160k or so is when I give up on the car, I replace it and the new car gets the garage, the old one will sit outside and bake. The old one will get loaded with horse feed, garden manure, HD stuff etc. I no longer polish it and change the oil when I get to it. Generally Hondas keep chugging right alongb though.
Slacker
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Re: How long should a car last?

Post by Slacker »

Considering new cars:
I expect cars to last 10yrs /150k without major repairs.

I try to keep my own for 15yrs / 200k.

My wife would be expecting a new car right at the 10yr mark, regardless of the vehicle performance (and if we didn't meet in the middle on it, she'd want to change to a brand new car around the 5yr mark; doesn't help that her siblings and parents change cars every 2-4 yrs).
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Re: How long should a car last?

Post by bottlecap »

Cheez-It Guy wrote: Tue Jun 15, 2021 10:06 am 20 years or 300,000 miles are my minimum expectations.
Mine, too. I've gotten more that out of a Ford, easy. I'll be there in a few years with a Chevy.

I expect our Odyssey will at least do that. Although by that time, we won't need to be hauling kids. It should still have some resale value, though.

JT
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Re: How long should a car last?

Post by chuckb84 »

We have a pair of 2003 honda pilots (same color even, but that wasn't planned!). The "new" one that we bought 2 years ago has 120,000 miles, the one we've owned for 18 years has 206,000. The high mileage one uses a little oil, one of the leather seats is torn, but otherwise runs fine. I just had to spend $1200 on the AC compressor on the new one, but no other extraordinary repairs on either car.

We were planning to replace the high mileage one soon, but in this market, better to wait. It should go 250,000 miles without a problem, and, who knows, maybe 300,000. No rust issues in this climate!
Escapevelocity
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Re: How long should a car last?

Post by Escapevelocity »

12-15 years is pretty reasonable these days
anoop
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Re: How long should a car last?

Post by anoop »

As a stock holder in auto companies, I think everyone should buy a new car every year. :D

Aside from that, I think the good life of a car is 100K miles and ideally coupled with an extended warranty if it's not a reliable brand. After that things start going wrong and the interior/exterior parts also start looking old and you have rattles/creaks. I owned a car to 211k miles and after 150K it became a money pit and it wasn't enjoyable to ride in.
Mike Scott
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Re: How long should a car last?

Post by Mike Scott »

My general goal is 10 years /200,000 miles. It can vary by individual car and events of course. My current car is past this point and showing its' age. I had started casually looking at cars last winter with a thought to perhaps buy one this summer when I had more time. I now think that it will keep until the market cools down.
hi_there
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Re: How long should a car last?

Post by hi_there »

If you are looking at the general numbers, the average vehicle age in the US is 12 years. This number trends higher over time for various reasons, but significantly because vehicle longevity is increasing with improvements in quality. Presumably, this number is skewed high by some vehicles that are very old.

25% of vehicles in 2020 were 16 years or older according to this study:
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/28/25perce ... -high.html

With this in mind, in my opinion, an affluent consumer (i.e. typical person on this forum) is justified in owning vehicles that are significantly newer than the general population. It is worth paying for better safety, as well as technology like driving aids that increase your utility. While population averages are a good benchmark in some cases, your spending decision should be based on your means. The same applies to food nutrition, education, and so on.
andypanda
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Re: How long should a car last?

Post by andypanda »

How long? About 6 years and 75k is what I tell my wife, but she knows better. When we started dating in '15 she was working 2 p-time and 1 f-time jobs and had two beater Camrys. The '06 had 140k and the '03 had 180k. I think they are both still on the road somewhere with many more miles, but I got her into a new '16 Avalon Touring over her protests that all she wanted was another 4-cyl Camry. No more Camrys for her now. If only the new Lexus line wasn't so fugly she might go for one of the sedans.

I pointed out a new GX460 the other day and told her I was getting one for pulling the boat and surf fishing. She only said, "Lordy, why is it so ugly? You aren't going to park that in our driveway are you?"
Doctor Rhythm
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Re: How long should a car last?

Post by Doctor Rhythm »

Our prior cars were retired (in order) at 12, 10, and 15 years. We usually put less than 10k miles on them annually however. My current car is at 14, with a tentative plan to decommission it at the end of the year.
MarkBarb
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Re: How long should a car last?

Post by MarkBarb »

Cars can last as long you want them to. It's a personal/value decision. For me, modern safety improvements are a compelling reason not to keep an old car as a daily driver. I think it is a false economy.
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Padlin
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Re: How long should a car last?

Post by Padlin »

I drive mine till they start having more problems than I care to have worked on, 14ish years, maybe 150k these days.

We get a new car for her at about 100k before or just when larger maint items start happening. Works out to about 10 years.

The last 2 Corollas @ 100k went to SIL to use for long commutes.
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killjoy2012
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Re: How long should a car last?

Post by killjoy2012 »

MarkBarb wrote: Tue Jun 15, 2021 3:31 pm Cars can last as long you want them to. It's a personal/value decision.
I agree. For you it may be safety. For me it's more about not wanting to be that guy driving around in the hooptie, as well as valuing my time WRT dealing with repairs and unexpected major issues. What that equates to in age is probably dependent on your personal situation (e.g. I could be more aggressive in retirement.) 10 years, 150k miles is probably a good rule of thumb.
alfaspider
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Re: How long should a car last?

Post by alfaspider »

MarkBarb wrote: Tue Jun 15, 2021 3:31 pm Cars can last as long you want them to. It's a personal/value decision. For me, modern safety improvements are a compelling reason not to keep an old car as a daily driver. I think it is a false economy.
Yes. They don't spontaneously combust at a certain age. You can cars running indefinitely as long as you are willing to repair what breaks and can put up with the old age foibles and reduction in safety compared to something new.

A car isn't used up at 10 years (by any stretch), but I think that's a reasonable time period where you've gotten your "money's worth" out of the car and new cars represent a significant advance from what you have.

I also like waiting to sell a car until it can be sold private party easily (most cars over ~$10-15k tend to be hard to sell private party).
Trader Joe
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Re: How long should a car last?

Post by Trader Joe »

davebo wrote: Tue Jun 15, 2021 9:41 am I drive a 2006 Honda Accord with 145K miles on it. My wife drives a 2010 Honda Oddessey with around 125K miles. We had a $500 repair on the Mini 2 weeks ago and then now we probably need the alternator replaced, which could be $700 or so. My wife is really pushing for a new car, but I'm a little hesitant because I think it's a bad time to buy.

This brought up a discussion between us regarding when to throw in the towel. She thinks 10 years/100K is about when is reasonable to get rid of a car. I think that a Honda should be able to reach 150K miles easily without dealing with too many major repairs.

Any thoughts? This is primarily for those that drive cradle to grave.
At least 20 years for a Toyota or a Honda.
CascadiaSoonish
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Re: How long should a car last?

Post by CascadiaSoonish »

Just sold a 14 year old Acura with 170K miles on it. We could have hung onto it for a few more years but the absurdly hot used car market pushed us to sell. We'll share our remaining (much newer) car until prices return to normal. But with proper maintenance I'm sure that Acura has many more years and miles left in it.
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Watty
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Re: How long should a car last?

Post by Watty »

davebo wrote: Tue Jun 15, 2021 9:41 am She thinks 10 years/100K is about when is reasonable to get rid of a car. I think that a Honda should be able to reach 150K miles easily without dealing with too many major repairs.
Assuming that you are not on a real tight budget I agree with your wife.

That is basically my car ownership strategy. I buy new cars, keep them for about ten years, then sell them even if they are not giving me any problems.

The big reason is that a well maintained 10 year old, well maintained, never wrecked, one owner, Toyota or Honda is pretty much the holy grail of used cars for some car buyers and if you sell it yourself(in normal times) you can get a surprising amount for a car like that.

If you keep it until it has 150k miles it will have limited resale value, at least in normal times.

Another big reason is that you can take your time and wait for a great deal to buy your next car. I typically start watching the car market when my car is about 9 years old and I can wait for a good time to buy until it is 11 years old if I need to.

I have had to replace a car in a hurry and that is not only stressful but you are unlikely to be able to get a good deal.

This is not the cheapest way to own a car but it always gives me a fairly reliable car with fairly current safety features.
davebo wrote: Tue Jun 15, 2021 9:41 am I drive a 2006 Honda Accord with 145K miles on it. My wife drives a 2010 Honda Oddessey with around 125K miles.
So your accord is only 5k miles from your 150k goal. It might make sense to replace it and then you could drive the Odyssey for a bit longer. In this crazy market you might be surprised what you can get for it.

For a couple it is a good idea to try to stagger your cars so that one car is newer and one is older. In addition to having one car that should be real reliable you are also less likely to have replace both cars at around the same time.
davebo wrote: Tue Jun 15, 2021 9:41 am My wife is really pushing for a new car, but I'm a little hesitant because I think it's a bad time to buy.
What think doesn't matter.

Do some research and find out what a replacement car would cost.

It only takes five minutes to get a quote from Carmax and Carvana to see what they will offer you for either of your cars.

I agree that finding a good used car right now is unlikely but if you are flexible about the what model and trim you get there are still some new cars out there which are still reasonably prices.

I bought a new Subaru Forester about a month ago and I was able to get a decent deal below MSRP with 0% financing. I also had a Corolla that it replaced that I got top dollar for.

Someone posted that Mazda was not being impacted as much by the chip shortage. I don't know how true that is but you might also check them out.

If you find an acceptable new car that is not in short supply it might not be a cheap as it would have been six months ago but with the price of you old car it could still be a decent overall time to buy.
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Padlin
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Re: How long should a car last?

Post by Padlin »

MarkBarb wrote: Tue Jun 15, 2021 3:31 pm Cars can last as long you want them to. It's a personal/value decision.
Living in New England rust and pot holes do a number. When the front end starts falling apart its time for something else. Thats what happened to the last Toyota that I kept for 11 years and 148k. Could it have been fixed? Not for less then the cars value.
Regards | Bob
niagara_guy
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Re: How long should a car last?

Post by niagara_guy »

I have 2 cars, one suv and one truck. The sum of the mileage on the 4 is about 1 million miles. (Cars last a lot longer than they used to.) 100k on a car today is just getting broken in. If you are handy you may be able to rebuild the alternator yourself or buy a rebuilt at the auto parts store.
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Re: How long should a car last?

Post by Grt2bOutdoors »

jlawrence01 wrote: Tue Jun 15, 2021 10:02 am How long are you willing to maintain the vehicle in top mechanical condition?

Forty years ago, you felt very good if you could get 100k miles out of a vehicle without a significant replacement of the engine or the transmission. These days, I am driving a 2007 Toyota Corolla with 165k miles. I have had no major issues with the car.

What I find is that once the vehicle hits 100k, MANY drivers stop wanting to spend money on the vehicle. One repair over $500 and people start looking for a new one although the car has been very reliable. Since the car is not being maintained, it starts to wear out.

Every time I think that my car is old, my neighbor's daily drive is a 1988 Toyota Corolla.
I have a 1996 Honda Civic that I use as a station car and run errands. The interior is getting worn, so long as car runs and is safe to drive I will continue to keep it. It’s one of the older cars in the parking lot. It has low miles, change the oil at least once a year, replaced the timing belt, water pump, hoses and seals a few years ago. It takes a while longer to warm up in the winter.
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