How often do you get a new car and what is your rationale?

[Lilac]

What is your general philosophy on when it is time to replace your vehicle? Do you upgrade every X years or after X miles? Keep repairing them until they aren't worth fixing anymore? What is your repair threshold?

We bought a (new) 2008 Subaru Outback seven year ago and 5 years in, it started needing repairs a few times a year. DH does most of the normal maintenance (oil changes, brake pads, etc), but in the past two years, we've spent about $2,500 on repairs at an auto shop. Some of that work was expected maintenance given the age of the vehicle (rear suspension, brakes), two repairs were components that failed (leaking steering rack, CV joint boot) and one repair was prompted by some bad driving on my part... No comment on that one. lol.

The Outback currently has 90k miles and I guess I expected a Subaru to be more maintenance free given the miles. At 105k miles, it will need the timing belt replaced (standard maintenance), which will be a ~$1,000 job. We bought this car intending to run it into the ground, but now I'm daydreaming about a new, maintenance free vehicle. Financially, we can afford it, but I hate wasting money on "unnecessary" things. So how do you determine when to trade in a vehicle? Older cars will need intermittent maintenance, no question.

Ironically, DH drives a 2005 Prius as a commuter car (bought used two year ago @ 100k miles) and has put 60k miles on it already. That car has not needed a single repair in two years, although it could really use a new rear suspension at this point. Is the Subaru a fluke? The Prius a magical, maintenance free vehicle? If we get a new vehicle, we're looking at a Rav4, CRV or similar.

[aurora]

I don't think $2500 over two years for regular maintenance plus a repair for your error plus some unexpected repairs is excessive. If you get a new car you'll "pay" more than that in depreciation in those two years.

We replaced our Subaru at age 12 with 130k miles. We'll probably replace our Tacoma next year at age 14 with 135k miles. We wanted it to go a bit longer but we've had recurring problems with it ($7k in repairs, not including maintenance, over the past 3 years and more probably needed). So, we may keep our vehicles longer than most, but I do agree that the replace decision can be based on repair situations.

[Lilac]

Nov 22, 2015 10:38:02 GMT -5 aurora said:

I don't think $2500 over two years for regular maintenance plus a repair for your error plus some unexpected repairs is excessive. If you get a new car you'll "pay" more than that in depreciation in those two years.

We replaced our Subaru at age 12 with 130k miles. We'll probably replace our Tacoma next year at age 14 with 135k miles. We wanted it to go a bit longer but we've had recurring problems with it ($7k in repairs, not including maintenance, over the past 3 years and more probably needed). So, we may keep our vehicles longer than most, but I do agree that the replace decision can be based on repair situations.

I definitely agree with your first point (although older cars still depreciate, but at a slower rate), plus yearly registration fees are less for older vehicles. I guess it's a question of how much is "new, shiny and no hassle" worth.

What were the issues on the Tacoma? DH has a 2011 Tacoma with low miles (no issues at all yet) -- we bought the 2005 Prius b/c his commute changed from 10 miles each way to 60 miles... Didn't want to put that many miles on a new vehicle + major difference in gas costs. He's hoping the truck will last forever, so I'm sad to hear you've had major repairs needed.

[Deleted]

I've only had 2 cars thus far. The first I bought as a senior in college. Drove it for 8 years (woah!). Replaced it when it started having ignition problems and I wanted something new. Bought the MM-approved VW Sportwagen TDI. SUPER fun car to drive, even if I feel guilt about killing the environment. Great in the snow with snow tires. But... It may be too small inside with two kids. I'm due in May so we'll give it a whirl for a year, but I'm already daydreaming about the new Volvo SUVs. I wanted one last time but couldn't stomach the 14mpg in town. They now get 25, which is better.

So what's my rationale? I do what I want, within reason, I guess?

[sfy]

When the repair costs get to the point where I find them cumbersome/abnormal. I would agree that $2500 over two years is pretty normal for an 7-8 year old car. At that point, I expect to start doing the first round of major repairs, which are also the last round, because it's unlikely that I'd keep the car long enough to do them again (e.g., timing belt). I've never had a car make it to 10 years, although it's my goal. I'm hard on my cars, sadly.

[babsbunny]

Here's a really loose math explanation. Suppose you are looking at a $20k car. $20k spread over 10 years is $2k a year, so you would keep your old car if maintenance was less than that. $20k over 15 years is $1333. So spending $1k a year would be cheap enough to keep the car... UNLESS you need to consider daily reliability. If you have a long commute and you start feeling anxiety about it, then go with your gut.

I wouldn't consider trade in value as a factor when these are pretty old and used vehicles. DH's car was 13 years old and he was learning to do some maintenance on it when something deep in the wirering blew. We did not have to rush to get another car which helped us find a good deal (paid cash for new car and donated dead car). My car is now 15 years old. I got new tires last year and am going to spend $1k on some work not critical but a very good idea to get done. Our work commutes are 3 miles. I do look at new cars but I don't know what I want and I like having a car where I don't care about the little dings it gets.

[hamster]

We tend to drive far and remote places, so if we start to worry about problems we get rid of them. FWIW, we got rid of the jeep at 100k and diesel truck at 170k.

[gt7301b]

We keep cars until the hassle factor gets to be too much. We have a 1997 Honda Accord and just replaced our 2000 Honda Civic with a Subaru Forrester.

Honestly, a lot of the stuff for your Outback sounds relatively routine and not enough to justify a 20k-30k purchase. That being said, if you want a new car and it doesn't impact your finances too much go for it, but just know it is a lifestyle purchase.

[aurora]

Nov 22, 2015 10:51:34 GMT -5 Lilac said:

Nov 22, 2015 10:38:02 GMT -5 aurora said:

I don't think $2500 over two years for regular maintenance plus a repair for your error plus some unexpected repairs is excessive. If you get a new car you'll "pay" more than that in depreciation in those two years.

We replaced our Subaru at age 12 with 130k miles. We'll probably replace our Tacoma next year at age 14 with 135k miles. We wanted it to go a bit longer but we've had recurring problems with it ($7k in repairs, not including maintenance, over the past 3 years and more probably needed). So, we may keep our vehicles longer than most, but I do agree that the replace decision can be based on repair situations.

I definitely agree with your first point (although older cars still depreciate, but at a slower rate), plus yearly registration fees are less for older vehicles. I guess it's a question of how much is "new, shiny and no hassle" worth.

What were the issues on the Tacoma? DH has a 2011 Tacoma with low miles (no issues at all yet) -- we bought the 2005 Prius b/c his commute changed from 10 miles each way to 60 miles... Didn't want to put that many miles on a new vehicle + major difference in gas costs. He's hoping the truck will last forever, so I'm sad to hear you've had major repairs needed.

Well, the biggest one was the new transmission at just 115k miles. We're also on our 3rd steering rack and have had problems with the ABS, another brake leak problem, and some smaller items.

All of that said, I think we may have gotten a lemon since this amount of problems is not normal for a Toyota. We may actually replace it with another Tacoma.

[drloretta]

DH had a lemon of a Subaru, so I'm with you there. I was so happy when we got rid of it. We sunk so much $ into it.

We typically get rid of a car when there are significant or frequent repairs that make it not worth holding onto the car. We are an all-Honda family right now, so that's typically 10+ years or 300k+ miles.

We currently have a 20 year old Civic that I'm finally wresting out of DH's hands, LOL. My Fit is 6 years old with a little under 90K miles on it, and I see it lasting us at least another 5 years. It had major maintenance this summer to the tune of $1K, but that was the first major expense we've had on it since we bought it. It will need a new timing belt next year, but I don't foresee any other issues for a long while yet. We also have a 3yo Ridgeline that hasn't had any issues at all.

I will admit that when we bought the Fit, I was entranced by all the bells and whistles and wondered what it would be like to get a new car every few years. But it's so awesome not having a car payment! We're still paying off the Ridgeline, and it sucks.

[starlily]

We drive our cars into the ground.

H's 4Runner quit on him shortly age reaching 400k miles.

I'm currently driving a '03 Camry, but it has low mileage on it given it's age, so we don't plan on replacing it soon.

We will be replacing our '96 Lexus within probably the next year, because it now has chronic age-related issues that affect it's reliability for longer distances.

[Lilac]

This is why I love this board and talking things through. As gt7301b said, at this point, upgrading would be a lifestyle purchase, not a necessity (but it's nice to dream about a new car! lol). Reliability is not a major concern -- I have a short commute and my neighbor works there, so I can catch a ride with him when needed. Plus, we have a "spare" vehicle since we only use the truck for weekend outings and trips. I'm glad to hear that the level of maintenance is fairly typical for a car that age -- that was my main concern.

I'm still loosely considering upgrading, but it's good to understand my own rationale and not trick myself into thinking it's absolutely necessary We test drove a RAV4 yesterday and I wasn't in love with it (DH really liked it, but it's not going to be his daily car). I'd like to try out the CRV at some point. DH has mandated that I need a vehicle with higher ground clearance due to my past driving incidents... lol. drloretta... remember my story from driving in Boston last winter??

[pumpkin]

My first car, that I got at 21, I drove until the head gasket started leaking 15 years and ~160K miles later. In the last 3 years of that car and now, my commute is about 70 miles a day. My plan is to keep this car until the maintenance becomes really too high or the reliability goes way down.

[LoveTrains]

Nov 22, 2015 11:25:19 GMT -5 gt7301b said:

We keep cars until the hassle factor gets to be too much. We have a 1997 Honda Accord and just replaced our 2000 Honda Civic with a Subaru Forrester.

Honestly, a lot of the stuff for your Outback sounds relatively routine and not enough to justify a 20k-30k purchase. That being said, if you want a new car and it doesn't impact your finances too much go for it, but just know it is a lifestyle purchase.

This is what we do for our cars.

All of your subaru repairs seem like standard maintainence except for the cv boot thing. Again, the timing belt is standard in many japanese cars of that time period at 100k miles, and it is important that you do it before it breaks. But that just comes along with car ownership.

I plan to drive my subaru at least 200k miles and it is at 135K miles now. I don't consider replacing the timing belt a "hassle" - it is routine maintenance. 

I just don't see the need to replace a subaru with 90k miles unless you want that expense. I don't think its MM, but if you can afford and it will make you happy and you want it, then you should do it. 

[LoveTrains]

Lilac we bought a new car recently and I didn't like the rav4 when we test drove it, either. If you want something smaller than the outback I really liked the new subaru crosstrek.

[bostonmichelle]

We both bought cars right out of college, both subaru legacys 5 years ago. Both of us had older cars and had really far commutes (50 or so miles one way for me and closer to 60-70 miles one way for DH) we were nervous about breaking down. Both cars were older Toyota Camry with 150k miles or so and a Pontiac with about 100k miles.

I just traded in my subaru legacy because we moved south and we were going to be coming back north at least twice a year with our big dogs. I got a Chevy Traverse, I didn't need a big huge car but between the dogs and anticipating kids in the next few years it made sense to buy bigger rather than smaller now and again later. We plan on DH's car lasting at least another 5 years if not 10 and mine lasting somewhere around 10-15 years as well.

Though if it won't impact your budget and you just want to upgrade go ahead and do it but not based on $2500 in 2 years worth of repairs.

[drloretta]

Nov 22, 2015 11:46:59 GMT -5 Lilac said:

We test drove a RAV4 yesterday and I wasn't in love with it (DH really liked it, but it's not going to be his daily car). I'd like to try out the CRV at some point. DH has mandated that I need a vehicle with higher ground clearance due to my past driving incidents... lol. drloretta... remember my story from driving in Boston last winter??

I do not! Which isn't surprising, my GBCN memory is as short as a fruit fly.

You may want to check out the HRV too

[crashgizmo]

Well, DH has a company car, so we're a little SS here. His is replaced every two years no matter what. I used to be an every 4 years trade in girl, but since MM I learned the error of my ways. Right now I have a 2012 with less than 60K miles and I plan on driving it until the ground.

[Wanderista]

I was gifted my mom's old Camry but it was a real clunker at that point and I had to dump it because the catalytic converter went bad. I then bought a new '08 VW Jetta Wolfsburg (turbo engine special edition) which I've paid off and still drive.  It is a fun car to drive and while some of the maintenance has annoyed me, I haven't been motivated to get rid of it. I've only put like 50k miles on it. 

I have thought about getting a new car but I don't have the need yet and I've been enjoying the paid off status. I'm sure that eventually I'll replace it but I really don't feel the need right now. I don't particularly know what car I would get either. I guess my rationale is that I like my current car and financially, it makes sense to keep driving it right now. If it needed excessive maintenance, especially if I decided on my next car, then I would make a change.

[Lilac]

Nov 22, 2015 12:44:57 GMT -5 drloretta said:

Nov 22, 2015 11:46:59 GMT -5 Lilac said:

We test drove a RAV4 yesterday and I wasn't in love with it (DH really liked it, but it's not going to be his daily car). I'd like to try out the CRV at some point. DH has mandated that I need a vehicle with higher ground clearance due to my past driving incidents... lol. drloretta... remember my story from driving in Boston last winter??

I do not! Which isn't surprising, my GBCN memory is as short as a fruit fly.

You may want to check out the HRV too

It involved jumping a curb and getting a VERY VERY flat tire 2 blocks from the hospital on the way home from DH having knee surgery. Cue drugged up DH trying to talk me through changing a tire (remember, knee surgery + narcotics... he couldn't move at all) on the streets of Boston in the snow and having a mental breakdown before a stranger helped me out. Not a fun night. lol. We now have AAA.

[mbcdefg]

My first car was a total beater that my parents gave me while I was in college. I drove it for four years.

Then once I had a FT job, I bought a cheap private-sale car (Jeep) with cash. I gave the beater to my brother, who then gave it to our sister once he bought himself a nicer used car. Sis drove the beater until it needed to be junked.

I drove the Jeep for three years, and I got into an accident with it where the axle got damaged and the car wasn't quite the same after that. I got a new job in NYC so I didn't need a car anymore and I gave the Jeep to my dad. My sister took the Jeep after he died and drove it until it needed to be junked.

Then I got another job a couple years after where I needed a car, so we went to a dealership and I bought a used Sentra. I bought it a couple days before my dad died, plus they hid a bunch of issues with it (so it needed repairs every few months) so I always had a negative association with it and I wanted to get rid of it almost immediately, but there wasn't an immediate need so I let it be.

I drove the Sentra for three years. This summer we had some time and money to spare, so we traded it in and I got my first new car, a Ford Focus. So far so good. I plan to drive it until it's not worth it to repair it.

My parents always bought cheap used cars, my brother always did the same but recently leased a new car, and my sister just takes everyone's castoff cars.

[LoveTrains]

Nov 22, 2015 13:16:49 GMT -5 Lilac said:

Nov 22, 2015 12:44:57 GMT -5 drloretta said:

I do not! Which isn't surprising, my GBCN memory is as short as a fruit fly.

You may want to check out the HRV too

It involved jumping a curb and getting a VERY VERY flat tire 2 blocks from the hospital on the way home from DH having knee surgery. Cue drugged up DH trying to talk me through changing a tire (remember, knee surgery + narcotics... he couldn't move at all) on the streets of Boston in the snow and having a mental breakdown before a stranger helped me out. Not a fun night. lol. We now have AAA.

That doesn't raelly have anything to do with ground clearance/height of your car. That type of popped tire can happen to anyone depending on how you hit the curb, and i'm convinced its more likely up here with the granite curbs. 

[Lilac]

Nov 22, 2015 13:33:19 GMT -5 LoveTrains said:

Nov 22, 2015 13:16:49 GMT -5 Lilac said:

It involved jumping a curb and getting a VERY VERY flat tire 2 blocks from the hospital on the way home from DH having knee surgery. Cue drugged up DH trying to talk me through changing a tire (remember, knee surgery + narcotics... he couldn't move at all) on the streets of Boston in the snow and having a mental breakdown before a stranger helped me out. Not a fun night. lol. We now have AAA.

That doesn't really have anything to do with ground clearance/height of your car. That type of popped tire can happen to anyone depending on how you hit the curb, and i'm convinced its more likely up here with the granite curbs. 

I didn't just sideswipe a curb... I went over a raised crosswalk curb thing in the center of a two lane road and drove over it completely. There were snow banks everywhere and it was REALLY hard to see, ok?! DH is convinced that if I were in a lower clearance vehicle (like the Prius), I would have totaled the car and there's no way we would have driven out of there. I cracked the radiator on Outback in such said incident, so yeah... I don't like driving in Boston.

[foodiemom]

We pretty systematically replace our cars when they are 10 years old - because we buy new it means we have had them for almost 11 years. Normally they have somewhere around 120k miles.

We do this for a few reasons but the #1 reason is that it means that we know when we will have a car payment and we always have one car that is Newer than the other and never have two car payments. Right now we have a 2014 car and a 2008 car. We'll replace the '08 in 2018 (we hope).

[audette]

We have replaced each of our vehicles once since getting married. My old Pontiac was a lemon, and after several major issues, followed by multiple months with smaller, but still costly, repairs, some of which were repeated issues from earlier in the car's life (so a design issue), we replaced it with a new accord in 2007. I still drive that car, and have had nothing but regular maintenance needed for it. We sold DH's old Chevy truck before our assignment to Korea, because the military would only ship one vehicle over for us, and at 12 years old, it wasn't worth it to store it for two years on our dime. We bought him a new car when we came back to the US, because we really are a two car family...

I would like to keep my accord for a while yet. DH did some body damage to it while we were in Korea, so we will see how that holds up, but otherwise it's a great car. I am hoping for another 2-3 years with it, at least, if not more.

[starryfish]

The Prius is not magical. I just sold my 2006 Prius with 155k miles. In the past 1.5 years i spent more than $6k on it ($3500 of it was a new hybrid battery, apparently these go out around 150k miles so be prepared). It still needed another $1200 in it when I sold it

[livinitup]

I purchased my last car with a big chunk down and a 3 year loan. I kept it for 10 years - when the loan was paid off, I kept saving for my next car. I would have kept it longer because I looooved not having a car payment. DH thought I kept it too long because a new car would have had better gas mileage, better trade in. I traded it in when the transmission light came on and it wouldn't pass inspection. The $$$ repair wasn't worth it.

It's really hard to know the best time. I definately want to have enough saved to pay in cash or at least a small loan. That's s good rule of thumb.

[steamboat185]

We keep our cars for a long time. Mine is a 2004 and the plan is to keep it for at least 4 more years. DH got rid of his 1998 Corolla in 2014, but only because we wanted something bigger after having DD. I expect that car would be fine for several more years.

I don't think 1k-2k a year for upkeep is bad. When you factor in tires, oil changes, brakes, etc it all adds up. I will happily pay that rather than have a car payment, higher registration, and insurance and still have to pay for tires, oil changes, and whatever else they require to keep it under warranty.

[mich1]

SO just sold his 14 year, 180K Subaru for $5000 Friday night. The car was soon going to need a new timing belt, and would likely need a new water pump this time around. However, over the last 5 years he has owned it, it has never left him stranded. I would say he's probably averaged about $1000 in repairs each year for the last 5 years or so, last year it was a new clutch. But very none of the repairs he had were outright failures that left him stranded, but wear and tear parts that just needed to be replaced.

Had he not just purchased a newer model of the same car (2007 vs 2002), he very likely would have kept his old car until it totally croaked.

Both of us are now driving 2007 Subarus now, and both have fairly low mileage on them. I don't see us replacing the vehicles in at least 5 years, unless there is a catastrophic event.

[yentl]

My current car is 16 years old and I've had it for 13 years. I bought that car when my first car was crapping out and unreliable. I think at that point it was about 14 years old and I had it for about 4 years.

DH got a new (to him) car about 3 years ago, but he actually didn't have a car at all for about 5 years before that. We were a one fairly old car household before that. I imagine he will have this one for awhile and it's going to be paid off in a few months.

The main rationale is always I guess whether the car can function. I'm definitely not on a time table but I don't give a shit about cars really.