How many miles do you want to keep your vehicles, expect your vehicles to last. (if currently under 100K)

I generally keep a vehicle until it ceases to become dependable.
The one caveat that I make is that I tend to keep my wife in something newer.
That is the one vehicle that we use for road trips, generally.
The other stuff I drive.
The Mustang is my play car. I will keep that forever.
The Accord I will probably keep to at least 200K if not beyond.
The Ranger will be kept until the remnants of the body fit in a 5 gallon bucket. Since I have it Krown'd yearly, it should still be good for awhile. Still a dependable vehicle at 20, although it goes in next week for a new radiator.
 
Cruzer4326 said:
An old Farmer told me long ago," Repairs are cheaper than payments." (Remember this is a Generalization...)
I live by," The second 100,000 miles are cheaper than the first." Although 3 years ago I bought a 2 y/o Cruze with 2500 miles on it and have enjoyed NOT fixing anything for the last 77,500 miles/ 3 &1/2 years. The monthly payment is still there, even though the repair bill is not.
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Exactly right. I think what often happens is people have a car that needs a particular repair. I refer these repairs as "get by fixes".....meaning they can get by for a while without having to do the repair. While they are "getting by" another repair is needed, and then another, until things compound to the point that they all need to be done at once which translates into a repair bill that is perceived to be more than the vehicle is worth.

They then go through the psychological process of justifying to themselves that they need a replacement vehicle, because the current one needs too many repairs, and so on. They may either trade the car in or sell it outright to someone who comes along, evaluates the vehicle and completes the needed repairs and then either uses the vehicle for themselves or flips it for profit in the market. There are lots of capable people who make a good living doing this. I have seen them roam the junkyards keeping tabs on current inventory of complete whole unit vehicle cores that they can tap later for parts for another "acquisition" vehicle that they will BOLO (be on the lookout for) in the future.

Personally, I try to fix what is broken, replace good with good, and try to keep things in reliable state. I get it that not everyone shares my viewpoint, and I am totally ok with that. This is just an observation from me that has served me well with vehicles, and houses over my lifetime.
 
Wrenchturner44 said:
Exactly right. I think what often happens is people have a car that needs a particular repair. I refer these repairs as "get by fixes".....meaning they can get by for a while without having to do the repair. While they are "getting by" another repair is needed, and then another, until things compound to the point that they all need to be done at once which translates into a repair bill that is perceived to be more than the vehicle is worth.

They then go through the psychological process of justifying to themselves that they need a replacement vehicle, because the current one needs too many repairs, and so on. They may either trade the car in or sell it outright to someone who comes along, evaluates the vehicle and completes the needed repairs and then either uses the vehicle for themselves or flips it for profit in the market. There are lots of capable people who make a good living doing this. I have seen them roam the junkyards keeping tabs on current inventory of complete whole unit vehicle cores that they can tap later for parts for another "acquisition" vehicle that they will BOLO (be on the lookout for) in the future.

Personally, I try to fix what is broken, replace good with good, and try to keep things in reliable state. I get it that not everyone shares my viewpoint, and I am totally ok with that. This is just an observation from me that has served me well with vehicles, and houses over my lifetime.
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Well Said!
 
I have 34K miles on my '18 Forester XT. I will get rid of in 2 1/2 years or so when the extended warranty runs out....probably.
 
Usually by the time I hit 80K I have had the vehicle 10 years or so. When I'm bored with a vehicle it goes.
 
Snagglefoot said:
I don’t mind replacing anything driven by a belt but I can’t tolerate serious body rust. I’ve taken two cars to the wreckers and really should have get rid off them prior to then earlier. For cars, 150,000 miles. For my Suburban, I’m looking for 300,000 miles. I have 235,000 miles on it. If the tranny goes, I’ll have it rebuilt and keep going.
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Whoops. Things snuck up on me. I have 240,000 miles on it. Usually I have it toggled to kms. I did some work on it and disconnected the battery. When I reconnected, it came on as miles, as it’s a US version purchased in the States.

2218E737-4B43-4488-A22D-D9DDA50D5DA6.jpeg
 
A few years ago I was a run and replace type. Yeah, I will change the oil but I would let little and big issues pile up and then I would just get rid of the car..

Now today I want to see 250,000 miles plus on the Kia lol. (300K would be phenomenal) I no longer enjoy picking up vehicles car shopping, DMV, insurance and quite frankly, I now get comfortable in the stability of having the same vehicles for years and some miles. I also do not have a problem fixing said vehicle such as long as it's under the value of the vehicle to fix and run for sometime after.
I've already addressed all the nickel and dime issues, plus the dollar issues haha.

So to answer your question. I would like to see additional full 5 years, or 100 plus k miles out of a used vehicle. On a new vehicle in my opinion that doubles 10 years 200,000 plus miles.
 
I'd like the Focus and Escape to last 200-250k but doesn't look like that'll happen. The Focus (172k) is dead again and can't figure out why unless it's the coil again. Escape (184k) has misfires can't seem to chase down, I'd replace the coils but think it's the ECM. The RV, Dakota and Festiva doesn't matter their lifers unless the boys drive the Dakota.
 
At 166k miles on my G5. Would like to see it roll 187k miles (300,000km). It should do that in almost exactly 1 year, unless something major fails on it. The rust is actually reasonably under control for the age.
 
If I weren't a car dealer and automotive journalist I would have probably just kept Scarlet, my 1994 red Toyota Camry LE coupe.

I bought it brand new in the fall of 1994. Sold it in 2005 with 239k miles.

It now probably has over 400,000 miles. Two owners later the odometer was mysteriously given a near 200,000 mile reduction in miles according to the Carfax history from 270k to 83k.

That, and a first gen Miata would have been my only two cars. Even when I bought it back in 1994 the plan was to have Scarlet until 2014. I would have probably kept it until something big conked out... and that just doesn't happen on these Camrys.
 
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We've kept all our vehicles 10+ years but do not always reach the 100k miles mark. We'd like to keep the Subaru Outback for at least 150k miles, the Ford Taurus to 200k miles and 150k miles for the Nissan Frontier assuming all are over 10 years old. It's getting hard to find suspension parts for the Ford Taurus and will most likely retire it at 200k miles.
 
Rust usually determines how long I keep my vehicles, because it usually is spread out enough to where it is not feasible to repair the whole car. I can afford a new vehicle, but choose to hang on to cars I really enjoy driving and maintaining.
 
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