how many years do you keep a car? - Page 3

Bill D · 07-02-05, 03:53

Wow, there's such interesting stories behind car ownership!

Accumulator · 07-02-05, 03:53

Spilchy- I *knew* you'd have a good family car story

Hope your brother outgrew his, uhm, attitude.

Nice to know your Saab has a caring owner.

Corey Bit Spank · 07-02-05, 07:27

I plan to have my car for awhile. I want to be able to get my masters.

JDookie · 07-02-05, 07:30

Well, let's see. I've had my mustang since 95 which puts me at 10 years, but that's just a toy and never gets driven. It has literally been driven about five miles over the past four years, and that's divided into 1/4 miles.

As far as my daily drivers, the longest I have kept one was four years and the shortest I have kept one was one month.

Bill D · 07-02-05, 07:41

WOW Jason! And I thought I drove my Caddy sparingly!

loco · 07-02-05, 07:43

If I like the car, I keep it for a while. I had my Miata for 8 years. I hope to keep the RX-8 for as long if it continues to be reliable. I only kept my '00 Accord for three years, though. It was a nice car, but I just got bored with it.

JDookie · 07-02-05, 08:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill D

WOW Jason! And I thought I drove my Caddy sparingly!

Yeah, it's pathetic. The car is street/strip with a heck of a lot more influence on strip, so I don't really like to drive it on the street much, even though I've continued to keep it fully street legal (license plate, inspection tag, and insurance). With a 4500rpm stall converter (three speed auto.), and a supercharger, that thing creates more heat than I'd like, so I stick to 1/4 mile passes only or quick rides around the block every now and then.

I've been lucky enough to have a friend that doesn't mind keeping it at his shop. It has its own lift and everything. I really need to sell it, but just can't bring myself to let it go after ten years of constantly dumping money into it, and literally putting my sweat and blood into it.....I have the scar on my hand to prove it!

Bill D · 07-02-05, 08:09

Whoa! Talk about stories of ownership!

klnyc · 07-03-05, 04:43

25 year of driving exp(Class A tractor trailer). All my life I owned a brand new Honda Accord, if I recalled correctly I swap car every 5-6 years.

Accumulator · 07-03-05, 09:41

Loco- I'll be interested to hear how the RX-8 holds up reliability-wise. We never kept our rotaries (1st and 3rd gen RX-7s) all that long and people who *have* kept them have had some major repairs (which they paid for gladly and didn't mind). Heh heh, remember to check that oil

I guess the thing I'm waiting to see on this thread is the people who keep cars for a long time and with a lot of use. Accumulatorette always kept her cars for well over 100K before she met me, and would keep her Audis forever if people would quit running into them. She was sorta

when I got her to trade her Mazda 626 Turbo at 95k, but I figured that with the original clutch, turbo, etc., and not *one* problem or unscheduled service, well, I wanted to say "good enough" and move on before something came up late at night and far from home.

But then I *bought* my Caprice with 113K on it

Bill D · 07-03-05, 10:16

My Cadillac had 110K on it when I got it. The 4.5L V8, which was out for a few years as a replacement to the infamous 4.1, apparently is quite reliable. I regulars see Sedan de Villes of that vintage ( I'm happy the Coupes are more rare

)on the road in both the 4.5, like mine, and the 4.9, the predecessor to the Northstar.

loco · 07-03-05, 10:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by Accumulator

Loco- I'll be interested to hear how the RX-8 holds up reliability-wise. We never kept our rotaries (1st and 3rd gen RX-7s) all that long and people who *have* kept them have had some major repairs (which they paid for gladly and didn't mind). Heh heh, remember to check that oil

Well, so far, so good. It's got almost 39,000 miles on it in just about two years. No problems worth mentioning. There were a couple recalls soon after I bought the car, but naturally they were taken care of quickly and never troubled me. I check the oil every couple weeks and maybe add half a quart (maybe not).

Most people I've talked with who have experience with rotaries say the majority of the problems have been with engines that were turbocharged. The 3rd gen RX-7 would certainly fall into that category, but I don't remember if any of the 1st gens were turbo'ed. I think not. By the way, I envy you for having a 3rd gen! What a gorgeous car that was! What color was yours? I used to fantasize about having one back in the '90s. But my little Miata was all I could afford.

I am definitely having a lot of fun with the car, and I do hope it will give me as much trouble-free pleasure as the Miata did.