How Long?

[tcianci]

There are so many discussions on here about maintenance and service intervals. It seems that a lot of people go to great lengths to service their cars and trucks, doing much more than is required or suggested. So, I'm wondering what type of mileage to you typically run up on one of your cars or trucks before you sell or trade them.

 

[Delo1605]

My last truck, 97 Dodge diesel, had 218,00 on it when i sold it. Bought it new, kept it 9 years then bought an 06. The wifes 01 Tundra has 119,00 on it, and she aint giving it up anytime soon, and my beater work truck 92 s-10 has 250,000 on it. I keep my stuff around for a while.

 

[Stuart in MN]

I pretty much drive them forever. My daily driver is 24 years old and has 195k miles on it. I figure I can get another ten or twenty years out of it.

 

[Eds_tls]

I have 90k on my '04 Dodge truck that I bought new. I've had zero problems with it and I maintain it religiously. I have no intention of getting rid of it before 200k

 

[Stephenw]

My daily driver is an '87 Samurai with over 100k. I'll drive it as long as I can still get parts.

 

[neverenoughtools]

I run mine till they rust away

 

[autoist]

My '92 Sonoma has 350,000+ miles on it; my '98 Dodge 1500 has 210,000+ miles on it; my '82 380SL has 165,000 miles & some of my MG's, who knows....until it's rust, it's repairable!

Oh, my wife's C280 has 125,000+.....why get another car if you like the ones you have now?

 

[dustin19]

89 ford f150 with original engine and trans is close to 300k miles body is going to a little hell but both engine and trans is running strong... take care of ur car/truck and itll take care of you.. also have a newer dodge 1500

 

[A_Pmech]

500,000 to 750,000

When I'm done with them there's nothing left to sell.

 

[Jack Olsen]

I've only sold two cars in my life. I regret both of those decisions.

 

[BackAgain]

When the wheels fall off...I'll go find some new wheels. I already have it in writing that I am to be buried in my 1979 Chevy 1 ton. It's already got 48,000 miles on it!

 

[GeorgiaHybrid]

Driving between 30,000 to 50,000 miles a year, most of mine are replaced at around 200,000 miles. Least amount? 186,000 on a POS Volvo and the most? 415,000 on two engines in a 1979 cutlass. Current car is a 2 year old Camry hybrid with 58,000 on the clock.

 

[metal1313]

usually when the cost of a major repair, or in the case of my bronco repairs, is higher than the value of the car or truck. my bronco is worth maybe 2-3k but needs a few thousand in body work alone. its forsale now if anyone wants a parts/project wheeler

 

[z28snksknr]

268k on my '94 Z-28. The thought of anyone but me driving it is about the same feeling I get when I think about my wife cheating on me.

 

[APEowner]

I generally put around 200k on my trucks before I sell them. How long that takes has varied as my life has changed. One truck hit that in just a bit over 2 years. My current one is probably going to be there next year which will make it 10 years. Truck prices are getting really ridicules and I'd like to keep this one longer but despite all my efforts to stay on top of it the rust is going to get away from me soon.

 

[tkiranch]

My farm truck (1997 Ford F250) has about 280K on it, my daughters winter vehicle (1997 Suzuki Sidekick) has about 275,000. We just replaced my wifes winter vehicle (96 Blazer) when it was 270K with a 2008 Saturn Vue. I just do the math, when it costs me a enough durring a year to make a small car payment, then it is time to get rid of it. If it is more than 2400 for the year to do the maintenance, time to go. The suzuki cost this last year 2300, Engine rebuild, tires, brakes, starter. I also look at the condition of the vehicle, We bought it for 4000 and will hopefully sell it for around 2000 or 3000. These vehicles have no value other than a form of transportation, so no emotional value.

Just for Info: Wife drives a 2009 Mini Cooper Convertible, traded in her 2003 Mini cooper S. Daughter drives a 2009 Mini Cooper Clubman, JCW, traded in her 2003 Mini cooper S.

I drive the Farm truck,I cant afford anything nice for me, but it is comfortable and the girls are happy.

 

[ovilla]

Bought a new Nissan Maxima in 94', put 187K on it and then sold it for 1K last year to buy another Nissan Maxima. My 02' Honda Odessey just flipped 160K and is still running just as good/solid as the day we bought it new in 01'. I have two 1975 Porsche 914's with over 100K each but with full rebuilds that I'm going to keep forever.

I generally like buying new cars so I know exactly what maintenance is done to them.

 

[brownbagg]

my 85 toyota 2wd 315,000. 85 toyota 4wd 275,000 06 tacoma 122,345 today. my 46 cj2 no idea. really with trucks running 30k, dont plan on buying for at least ten years.

 

[Gary S]

When the wheels fall off...I'll go find some new wheels. I already have it in writing that I am to be buried in my 1979 Chevy 1 ton. It's already got 48,000 miles on it!

Me too. As the price of gas went up, I kept cutting my miles driven. I went from about 15,000 miles a year 20 years ago to about 2,000 miles a year today. I'm still driving my old 1981 Chevy K10. It has only 130,000 on it now and should easily last me until I die. I don't plan to ever make another vehicle payment. I figure it has treated me well for over 30 years, so why sell it now.

 

[Costner]

Guess I'm the exception to the rule here. I have a history of trading vehicles often, but more times than not it is because I simply want a change or my needs have changed - not because of mechanical concerns. The only exceptions to this rule are my old 82 Mazda RX-7 and my 2003 Audi A6. Both of those had issues that were suggesting it woudl cost more to keep them than trade them... so off they went.

As of now I drive two Hondas. The Pilot has about 50k on it and the Civic has about 65k. I'd love to say I plan to drive them until the wheels fall off, but I'm a realist and expect ot replace the Civic within the next 2 to 3 years. The Pilot I'll probably keep around until it hits at least 150k partly because I have a 100k warranty on it and I see no reason to replace something I actually like driving and that serves the needs of the family.

As to maintenance, the Pilot goes in when the indicator on the dash says so... which is typically about 5k between oil changes. I change the oil on the Civic about every 5k as well... in vehicles where I have used synthetic oil in the past I will run them about 7,500.

I firmly believe the only benefit to changing oil every 3,000 miles is to the bank accounts of oil executives. I've read studies about the differences between changing oil every 3k versus ever 5k or even 10k and honestly the differences are so minimal I'm not sure I could ever justify it. Not to mention people in Europe drive at least twice as many miles between changes and almost all manufacturers recommend longer intervals than the service shops do... so why waste the money?

 

[GrantMLS]

My 1500 chevy has 210,000 miles and my Jeep Cherokee (daily driver) has 350K on it. Mobile one all their life's changed every 10-15K.

 

[manansal]

i am the opposite, i dont keep cars long. i never own cars past 100k.


i drive a lot, but i have a bunch of cars so they dont get much mileage on them. i think i have 4 cars with under 15k miles on them. the highest mileage car i have right now has 63k (my daily driver), and i plan to ditch it before it hits 100k.


i love cars. so to me life is too short to spend driving the same one around.


i find there is a sweet spot to buying cars moneywise. i dont buy them new, i buy low mileage cars that have already taken their huge depreciation hits. then i drive them, and sell them when they have a lot of life still in them and their values have stabilized.

 

[rwhite692]

i find there is a sweet spot to buying cars moneywise. i dont buy them new, i buy low mileage cars that have already taken their huge depreciation hits. then i drive them, and sell them when they have a lot of life still in them and their values have stabilized.

+1...With this economy especially, there's no reason to buy new unless you absolutely (emotionally) "must have" something that is the newest/latest/greatest....There are SO many cars/trucks for sale that have only a few thousand miles on them, still under warranty, etc...I buy all of mine this way.

I'll gladly let someone else take that 20% depreciation hit just by driving it off the lot.

 

[adam728]

I've never had a vehicle that has "too many" miles on it and needed to be sold. Most have been sold because I was bored with it and wanted something different. I think the lowest mileage truck I sold was ~135,000 on a 98 S10, most was somewhere north of 200K on an 85 Toyota.

My Jeep has ~128K on it now and will be for sale sometime in the future. Not because it's not reliable or anything, but because it's a toy and is hardly used. With a kid on the way money is more important than toys.