Americans Keeping Cars Longer than Ever Before

Gr8t Fan · Dec 5, 2016

We have a 1995 Buick with 43,000 miles and a 2002 Odyssey with 160,000 miles (as well as a 1964 Ford Galaxie that rarely leaves the garage). We bought both cars gently used and plan to drive them until they don't drive anymore. We have a great mechanic and put about $500-$1,000 into them each year to replace parts that need replacing, but it sure beats a car payment. 18 years without car payments for us and we don't ever want to go back to having them.

Dashzap · Dec 5, 2016

I keep cars 10-12 years and then get lured in to a new one for the new safety features.

manning · Dec 5, 2016

runwad said:
What kind is it??

1993 Lincoln towncare. It has a 4.6 v8 that was put into the mercury, ford. Probably the best engine they made. I've been told that independent cab owners like them a lot.

LoveBWVVBR · Dec 6, 2016

Dashzap said:
I keep cars 10-12 years and then get lured in to a new one for the new safety features.

Honestly, this is us too even before we lived in an area where everything rusts by 10 years. I just feel like I want newer safety features after about a decade, especially now with the corrosion that our cars encounter.

tvguy · Dec 6, 2016

Dashzap said:
I keep cars 10-12 years and then get lured in to a new one for the new safety features.

That can back fire on you. Look at all the folks with cars with Takata airbags that there are no replacement parts for. My neighbor discovered no dealer would take his 2008 Lexus as a trade in because, at least here in California, car dealers can't sell cars with uncompleted safety recalls. And the recall can't be completed without parts.

tvguy · Dec 6, 2016

manning said:
1993 Lincoln towncare. It has a 4.6 v8 that was put into the mercury, ford. Probably the best engine they made. I've been told that independent cab owners like them a lot.

Yup, hard to buy an old Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor here. California Highway Patrol runs them 105,000 miles then auctions them off. Taxi companies snap them up. They run them another 300,000 miles. Go on EBay sometime and search "crown victoria taxi", people are selling cars with 600,000 miles on them that still run fine.

DisneyMandC · Dec 6, 2016

We are paying off DH's car this month and then I am NEVER having another car payment again! I drove my last car to 265,000 miles before the cost of repairs outweighed the value of the car. I was fortunate enough to pay cash for my next car with 48,000 miles on it and plan on driving it as long as it will go!

JustinD · Dec 6, 2016

My oldest one right now is 17 years. I bought it slightly used 16 years ago and my youngest son drives it now. When we bought it, we went for a quality model, not a flashy one. When we bought it someone asked why we did not buy a different car. We told her that our kids would drive this one some day and they thought that was ridiculous.

It is the most comfortable of my cars. I drove it for...12 years?

Dashzap · Dec 6, 2016

LoveBWVVBR said:
Honestly, this is us too even before we lived in an area where everything rusts by 10 years. I just feel like I want newer safety features after about a decade, especially now with the corrosion that our cars encounter.

Yup, once bitten twice shy. My ex drove off the highway in a 12 year old Buick. Seat beat failed and my oldest is now a quadriplegic. Youngest's seat beat held and he got a tiny cut on one knee that didn't need stitches. I am a huge fan of safety features.

Annadesu · Dec 6, 2016

My first car was a 97' Cavalier. I was the third owner, it lasted 4 years. My second car was a 2004 Cavalier. That lasted 11 years, but after so long, it was only worth $500 and the repairs were $2000. That one went to the junk yard. I'm now on a Ford Focus, which I love. I don't plan on trading it in any time soon.

I honestly can't take "new" car prices seriously. I would never buy new. But that's just me, I guess.

LoveBWVVBR · Dec 6, 2016

Dashzap said:
Yup, once bitten twice shy. My ex drove off the highway in a 12 year old Buick. Seat beat failed and my oldest is now a quadriplegic. Youngest's seat beat held and he got a tiny cut on one knee that didn't need stitches. I am a huge fan of safety features.

Oh my goodness I am so sorry

That is awful.

dreiwhit · Dec 6, 2016

dclpluto said:
Yes in this bad economy Americans is keeping their cars a lot longer.

This is the number one reason why we are keeping our 2002 Ford Explorer and 2007 Honda Civic - we can't afford a car payment. Both have 160,000+ miles on them and they are starting to show their age, but we don't have any choice. After two good size pay cuts, and the cost of everything being much higher than it was 9-10 years ago, we just don't have the money to afford a new car or a new used car. Fortunately, I can do most repairs, but I will pay for rebuilt engines or transmissions.

For vacations, we rent a car. We can get a full size car for @$215 and its a lot cheaper than a car payment!

AquaDame · Dec 6, 2016

Still driving my '97 Impreza... I am still really happy with it but I had a scary reminder last weekend that it is old enough that it doesn't have antilock brakes. Impatiently waiting for more info on the Tesla 3 next year so I know if I'm finally upgrading.

jodifla · Dec 6, 2016

Dashzap said:
Yup, once bitten twice shy. My ex drove off the highway in a 12 year old Buick. Seat beat failed and my oldest is now a quadriplegic. Youngest's seat beat held and he got a tiny cut on one knee that didn't need stitches. I am a huge fan of safety features.

My goodness! So sorry to hear this.

We feel the same way about safety. Our newer car (well, until someone totaled it) had a backup camera and the navigation system, and those to me are musts as we look to replace it.

firefly_ris · Dec 7, 2016

AquaDame said:
Still driving my '97 Impreza... I am still really happy with it but I had a scary reminder last weekend that it is old enough that it doesn't have antilock brakes. Impatiently waiting for more info on the Tesla 3 next year so I know if I'm finally upgrading.

Really? Was it an option or not available at all? My first car was a 1997 Taurus and that had ABS for sure... now I'm wondering if that was still more of an "upgrade" option then.

MillauFr · Dec 7, 2016

The car companies will be really in trouble when more and more people stop buying cars and just rely on Lyft and Uber to get around. My 2000 Ford Ranger has 34,000 miles on it. I never would have bought it if I known I was going to drive it so little.

tvguy · Dec 8, 2016

firefly_ris said:
Really? Was it an option or not available at all? My first car was a 1997 Taurus and that had ABS for sure... now I'm wondering if that was still more of an "upgrade" option then.

Just like your Taurus, an option. I bought my kids used Tauruses. A 2006 and 2007, no ABS on either.
Certainly a worthy option when you need it.
Although some police agencies until recently were ordering their patrol cars without abs because they felt the many of the systems were programmed to activate at the wrong times.
I was doing a story out at our Sheriff's Department Emergency Vehicle Operations center when the Chrysler rep was there demonstrating the Dodge Charger after the department failed it because of how the ABS worked. EVOC superrvisor pulled the fuse on the ABS and took the rep for a high speed run. The rep then understood why the department wanted the cards without abs, something Chrysler said they couldn't do.

Tattylou · Dec 8, 2016

Dashzap said:
Yup, once bitten twice shy. My ex drove off the highway in a 12 year old Buick. Seat beat failed and my oldest is now a quadriplegic. Youngest's seat beat held and he got a tiny cut on one knee that didn't need stitches. I am a huge fan of safety features.

So sorry to hear that happened to your child and family.
Does anyone know where you can compare safety features on your current older car to the newer model? we drive a 2007 Honda Pilot 113k and a 2007 Toyota Rav4 90k. I feel like they are safe vehicles, but they are pushing 10 years and your post just gave me anxiety about if they are as safe as I think! I still feel like 2007 is kinda new when it really is not. I'm nervous about safety in cars anyway.

Jaime4004 · Dec 8, 2016

We currently have two car payments, which I hate. DH loves cars. I don't care too much. However, I drive a Toyota Sienna that is pretty crappy in the snow, going up my driveway can be rough. Driving his AWD car is soooooo much easier. I'm a little jealous. We only have one year left to pay on mine and i'd like to keep it til it dies and not have a payment for years. So i'm trying to suck it up for the 4 months of snow/year. When it is really bad we just switch cars for the day anyway.

firefly_ris · Dec 8, 2016

tvguy said:
Just like your Taurus, an option. I bought my kids used Tauruses. A 2006 and 2007, no ABS on either.
Certainly a worthy option when you need it.
Although some police agencies until recently were ordering their patrol cars without abs because they felt the many of the systems were programmed to activate at the wrong times.
I was doing a story out at our Sheriff's Department Emergency Vehicle Operations center when the Chrysler rep was there demonstrating the Dodge Charger after the department failed it because of how the ABS worked. EVOC superrvisor pulled the fuse on the ABS and took the rep for a high speed run. The rep then understood why the department wanted the cards without abs, something Chrysler said they couldn't do.

I could see that -- my husband, a native Buffalonian (I'm just a transplant) does not really like ABS because he feels it takes away the way he likes to control his braking in snow situations (can't really "pump" without the ABS initiating and locking things up). I feel a similar way about traction control which my 2005 Town and Country is equipped with -- I actually tend to turn it off when the roads are bad because to me it just makes it worse. Sometimes simple is better! For me, when I was a teenager and then college student regularly commuting up and down I-95 Baltimore back then, ABS was a good feature because there were certainly some idiots out there and a few close calls.

Americans Keeping Cars Longer than Ever Before

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