how many years do you keep a car?

Spilchy- I'm surprised you don't have some cars around that've been in your family for generations ;) I gave the Volvo to an in-law rather than sell it, just to keep it in the family.



The women in my mother's family kept their cars a *long* time back when most people were trading regularly. When my aunt Irene heard they were discontinuing big-block MOPARS she ran out to buy her third and last car (good mechanical options, no a/c, no power anything, and angry that she couldn't get a radio delete like back in the day...). She never even thought of buying another car after that (wish I'd kept it :( ).



Bill D- Yeah, if I ever *do* get a new S8 you can bet I'll treat it right. The current one would've been my last foreseeable "good" car had I not hit the deer. There are a lot of things I'd miss if I replaced it, no matter how much "better" the new one is. Not thrilled at the presumed cost of trading my 8K mile car in on one that might run six figures. All over cosmetic issues that only I can see (sigh...).
 
Accumulator said:
The women in my mother's family kept their cars a *long* time back when most people were trading regularly. When my aunt Irene heard they were discontinuing big-block MOPARS she ran out to buy her third and last car (good mechanical options, no a/c, no power anything, and angry that she couldn't get a radio delete like back in the day...). She never even thought of buying another car after that (wish I'd kept it :( ).
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Accumulator,



Is this your aunt who had a considerable passion for detailing right into old age? I recall you mentioning something about how she waxed her door jams.
 
Accumulator said:
Spilchy- I'm surprised you don't have some cars around that've been in your family for generations ;) I gave the Volvo to an in-law rather than sell it, just to keep it in the family.
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We actually had an old Buick that was my grandfather's. It was leased by the labor union he was President of. When it ran out, my dad bought it off lease and we had it for a long time. Both my grandfather and father kept it mint. I loved it and was able to drive it for a year my senior year in high school.



It was given to my brother who proceeded to destroy it and crashed it drunk driving while in college. My father fixed it up and he trashed it again. I'll never forget being in the car and the tape deck jammed and he took his frustration out on the radio / center console with the heel of his Timberland boot. We had to have it towed out of the driveway to the junk yard; it was that bad. :sadpace:



I sold my '86 Saab for a $1000 cash to my Saab mechanic whose father (another master Saab mechanic) loved it so much. He was amazed at the condition I kept it in. He fixed it up. It required $1200 in repairs - master cylinder, brakes, 120,000 mile major service, etc...; too much to sink into that car. At least I know it's with someone who it was meant for besides me and has been mechanically refurbished.
 
Bill D- Yeah, she's the one who switched to Rain Dance when she was nearing the end. Somewhere I have a snapshot where you can just barely make out the spotless doorjamb of her far-from-new car. I think that was her first car, '54 Lincoln. She and my mother went 50:50 on it, bought it after one won the Carrera Panamerica.
 
Spilchy- I *knew* you'd have a good family car story :D



Hope your brother outgrew his, uhm, attitude.



Nice to know your Saab has a caring owner.
 
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.
 
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.
 
Bill D said:
WOW Jason! And I thought I drove my Caddy sparingly!
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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. :2thumbs:



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! :scared:
 
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.
 
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 :rolleyes: 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 :o
 
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.
 
Accumulator said:
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 ;)
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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.
 
Well I have had a few cars now a but the first one I bought my self will always hold a place in my heart. that would be my 95 Jeep cherokee. I had her for 11 years and 200,000 miles before i got rid of her and got the Baja and I hope to keep that just as long.
 
It seems to me your question relates to econmics. If you can aford it, why not get a new car every three years.?Why drive an old car?If one has other use for their money then it does not make sense to turn over car quickly.

When I was a younger man with family to take care of I averaged five years on a car. Now I do not even make the three years. I like to have the newest car and most expense I can buy. When I retire, I will likey go back to 5 years and by an Avalon, instead of a BMW.
 
We typically buy our vehicles new and keep them on the road for 7 years and @ 100-150K miles. Though our current '96 Volvo 850 GLT is in its 9th year and has only 150K miles. I also kept a '78 Datsun King Cab p/u from '78 (new) - '03 and it only had @ 100k miles.



The Wife's VW NB Turbo S has yet to hit 20K miles. I hope it can maintain the family tradition.
 
Mr. Clean- Heh heh, maybe Volvo 850s are something *else* you and I won't see eye to eye on ;) But then we had a really awful one so maybe I shouldn't generalize too much.



loco said:
Well, so far, so good. ..By the way, I envy you for having a 3rd gen! What a gorgeous car that was! What color was yours?
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Glad to hear things are going well with your RX-8. The first gen ones seemed to have the same apex seal problems as the turbo ones. Mine never did, but then I was a fanatic about the oil level/changes.



The 3rd gen was my wife's daily driver, despite having the track package (memory fails me, was it "R1"?). Silver, red interior. She really liked it but I just couldn't get remotely comfortable enough in it to drive it. I was physically incapable of doing heel & toe in that car. Bought it sight-unseen so that's what I get :o I think she still sorta misses it and that was the only time I sold a car that she would've liked to keep. Lucky for me that she fell head over heels for the Audi I got her as a replacement!



tabinha said:
It seems to me your question relates to econmics. If you can aford it, why not get a new car every three years.?Why drive an old car?
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Realizing that I'm, uhm, "different" :o With me it's that I actively dislike the direction many carmakers are going. I'd buy a new S8 today if I could get one just like my '01, but a) they quit making them, and b) the new A8, while better in many ways, has some changes that deviate from "how I think Audis oughta be" and a lot of "features" that I'll never use and don't want to be distracted by. The new S8, if they ever come out, just might have so many "improvements" that I won't like it as well as my old one.



And I find it sorta satisfying to keep "old" stuff in service indefinitely. Having a "history", an extended period of ownership, sorta makes things become a part of my life. When a something has "been and done" with *and for* me, I'm reluctant to part with it.



And FWIW, the wealthiest woman I know still drives a '92 Audi V8 even though she could buy a new Rolls whenever the old one needed an oil change.
 
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