[Dutch]

For my last few vehicles I've become a "keep it until the wheels fall off" type of person.
One of my friends is a die-hard "trade in every 4 years" guy.


How about it folks, are you a "keep it forever" or "trade it in" type?

 

[ghostgs1]

We tend to keep our cars for a long time then give them to family or friends. Sometimes none are wanted by either so they go to charity.

 

[firehawk72]

For my last few vehicles I've become a "keep it until the wheels fall off" type of person.
One of my friends is a die-hard "trade in every 4 years" guy.


How about it folks, are you a "keep it forever" or "trade it in" type?

I don't quite fit either. I believe in paying for one first. Then based on needs or wants or market conditions or a combination of all, then you trade.

 

[caronjeff]

If you have money to blow then yes trade often. My 2004 Volvo is paid off, my 2011 Volt about a year away from being paid off. No car payments = freedom.

 

[Barry]

I voted "keep it forever," but I keep them "as long as they are reliable." It is tough to decide when is the right time to give up on one. It is usually a costly repair that starts the decision making, then I don't want to abandon the investment I made in that repair. But if it is burning oil, or I suspect it might leave someone stranded, or I think there will be recurring repairs, it goes. I really don't want to be in a position where it dies and I have to buy in a hurry. Replacing sooner means you still have some trade value, and you can take your time finding the best deal.

 

[timoshev]

Two reasons for me: 1) rapidly advancing EV technology is a strong incentive to upgrade, compared to ICE car progress; 2)advancing age of driver. The hour glass is running and I want to experience the latest before hanging up the keys. All of this assumes that you can afford to change cars more often than not, of course. Read David Nolan's piece on his Tesla upgrade in Green Car Reports. We are contemporaries that think mostly alike.

 

[Loboc]

I need something different every 3-4 years. I like to experience different cars and prefer something with some GO.

I usually buy a 3-yr-old one-owner then trade again in 3-4years. ELR was bought new and I’ll keep her a bit longer.

 

[emg77]

I'm kind of a mix. I usually keep my car until I'm frustrated with something, or it starts falling apart. I kept my last car (a 2008 Saturn Astra) for 9 years and 120,000 mile), but during that time, I had leased 3 different cars for my wife. I usually keep her in a leased car, because we need an SUV to haul our 3 kids and tow our camper, and she is hard on cars with mostly 3-4 mile stop and go trips. It also seems cheaper to lease her SUV's with the GM discount. For me, I now plan on buying 3 year old CPO off-lease vehicles like I did with my 2014 Volt. I should still be able to get 5-6 years out of a 3 year old car with how good they are now, and I save so much money buying used.

 

[Off Oil]

Based on my math, it's economically best to buy new and keep it for 7 years. Based on my current driving, this will be around 140,000 miles. This is longer than your friends 4 year mark but shorter than the point where you start hitting more expensive repair & maintenance items. Now EV's will likely improve on this reliability and expense wise, however I still don't want to be driving something when rust spots start showing. Include an aluminum body like the Model S and I'll likely keep it much longer.

So I'm effectively in the middle.

 

[wizard_of-ahs]

For my last few vehicles I've become a "keep it until the wheels fall off" type of person.
One of my friends is a die-hard "trade in every 4 years" guy.


How about it folks, are you a "keep it forever" or "trade it in" type?

I'm with you Dutch. I keep em until the wheels fall off, put new wheels on and run them some more. My smart is now almost 9 years old and right at 150,000 miles with not problems............maybe I should keep my mouth shut

 

[AZ EV Driver]

I'm looking forward to hanging Arizona "Antique" plates on my 2011 in 2036. Assuming I make it to my 91st birthday.

VIN # B0985

 

[Steverino]

I voted "keep it forever," but I keep them "as long as they are reliable." It is tough to decide when is the right time to give up on one. It is usually a costly repair that starts the decision making, then I don't want to abandon the investment I made in that repair. But if it is burning oil, or I suspect it might leave someone stranded, or I think there will be recurring repairs, it goes.

Similar for me. I keep my cars a long time and don't worry about depreciation as a result. When repairs get to be a few thousand or more a year, I usually sell (they are usually only worth a few thousand by that point) and move on. I have kept a car as long as 21 years, lol. But miles count too.

 

[Dutch]

I'm with you Dutch. I keep em until the wheels fall off, put new wheels on and run them some more. My smart is now almost 9 years old and right at 150,000 miles with not problems............maybe I should keep my mouth shut

Well, my Jeep is now old enough to drink legally, has 255k on the clock. At this point I really need a new drivers seat, tires, and brakes again but beyond that it's doing fine.

So we'll see how the Volt stacks up over time

 

[trm2]

The average age of my cars is 9.75 years old, so you could think I keep them forever, but that average counts the 2017s as 1 year old. I get new cars when necessary. My wife had a Camaro a little over 3 years old and absolutely loved the car, but visibility was terrible and it didn't have the blind spot monitoring, etc. Once she started being a bit startled by someone next to her every once in a while the car had to go.

 

[wizard_of-ahs]

Well, my Jeep is now old enough to drink legally, has 255k on the clock. At this point I really need a new drivers seat, tires, and brakes again but beyond that it's doing fine.

So we'll see how the Volt stacks up over time

Nice looking ride

 

[Dutch]

Nice looking ride

Thanks, I've had a lot of adventures in that driver's seat for sure!

 

[indyflick]

I normally keep my cars a looooooong time, like 15 to 20 years. Nowadays however we have two major factors to consider - reliability and technology obsolescence. Its technology obsolescence that will cause me to more rapidly replace my vehicles going forward.

 

[Dutch]

I normally keep my cars a looooooong time, like 15 to 20 years. Nowadays however we have two major factors to consider - reliability and technology obsolescence. Its technology obsolescence that will cause me to more rapidly replace my vehicles going forward.

By technology obsolescence do you mean from an efficiency standpoint, or safety, or something else?
I myself have been of the opinion for a while that there are certain "cut off points" with safety gear that seriously differentiate one "era" of cars from another. For example, just the Volts traction control alone has made my wife start to consider replacing her 2003 Mazda.

 

[indyflick]

By technology obsolescence do you mean from an efficiency standpoint, or safety, or something else?
I myself have been of the opinion for a while that there are certain "cut off points" with safety gear that seriously differentiate one "era" of cars from another. For example, just the Volts traction control alone has made my wife start to consider replacing her 2003 Mazda.

By technology obsolescence I was thinking safety, performance, efficiency, infotainment, and convenience. The pace of change in all of those dimensions has been increasing. I have friends and family who have traded in cars that were in excellent mechanical condition just so they could get the newest technology.

 

[quirkySquirt]

I'm mostly a "till the wheels fall off" since that's why I got a Volt last year in the first place. However, I traded up to a Bolt due to the ICE afterfire/misfire/bang issue rearing it's head more often in the fall as the ICE comes on more often.

There should be an option for "buy a 5-yr old used one every 5 years" option. Fairly recent vehicle but without the depreciation hit.