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Thread: What is the longest you have made a car last?

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    Senior Member Ultralight's Avatar
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    What is the longest you have made a car last?

    What is the longest you made a car last? Years? Mileage?

    Which make and model was it?

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    Senior Member catherine's Avatar
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    I can't believe it was 12 years ago since my DH bought his Honda Fit and 11 years ago since I bought my Toyota Prius and we still are driving them. Good thing is, both of us spent a number of years working from home, so his mileage is about 160k and my mileage is about 115k. I plan on driving mine until paying to fix it doesn't make sense.
    "Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it--every, every minute?" Emily Webb, Our Town
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    Senior Member HappyHiker's Avatar
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    Our Ford Focus SE is now 18 years old and still road worthy. Has a lot of rattles, though. Mileage is around 92,000. It's not our daily driver--we mostly use our 2005 Honda Civic. It's much quieter.
    peaceful, easy feeling

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    Senior Member Ultralight's Avatar
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    My current vehicle (which is actually the first one I really bought and owned) is a Nissan Versa 2012.

    Previously, when I was a teenager, I was given a couple old, rusty Dodge Omni from my dad.

    Then after those died on me I drove girlfriends' cars, rode the bus, rode a bike, or just hoofed it.

    My Versa has around 62k miles on it. I bought it in May of 2013. I am wondering how long I can make it last...

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    Senior Member razz's Avatar
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    With a lot of driving, I usually keep a car for 10 years - Chev Lumina, Ford ,and now have a Toyota Prius that I will drive until the repair cost discourages me. I spoke to a former mechanic, who when advised that I bought a Prius, told me his brother bought a Prius the second year it was available and has had no problems with it so I anticipate few.
    As Cicero said, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.”

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    Senior Member SteveinMN's Avatar
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    Fifteen years and counting on my Volkswagen Jetta diesel. More than 135,000 miles. It was run a lot when I first got it (with three miles on the odometer), but I'm pressed now to put 10,000 miles a year on the car (even though this is the car we take on longer trips). It's showing its age: no rust and all the rubber is good, but the headliner is drooping some, the radio antenna (amplifier, actually) needs to be replaced (poor design), and there's a switch in one of the doors that arms the alarm even if I'm in the car dawdling before I start the engine (my workaround but still a nuisance). Fixing all this is more a matter of taking enough things apart to find and replace the parts.

    Beyond that, I'm not even halfway to an engine overhaul (never mind engine failure) and the car does everything I want it to do. It's more comfortable and hauls more and gets better mileage than DW's Kia (eight years old). I don't really even want a different car. So, yes, this one will stick around until it's economically beyond repair.
    Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome. - Booker T. Washington

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    I have a 2007 honda crv that my dad passed down. I typically get the cars no one wants to deal with anymore. It is at 230K miles right now. I have it in because a rear strut is blown and the door lock motor is fried. Total about $1,200 with a rental car. I have not taken care of hail damage, many of us don't.here in denver. My dad was a traveling salesman so all our cars had high mileages.

    My last subaru was at 270K miles when the engine blew. It was over $5K to fix so I didn't keep it. My chevy astro van was in the high 200's I think. I drive them until they drop.

    My hints are to get the best oil changes recommended, get good tires with tire insurance, and put money in savings for repairs. Driving older, high mileage cars makes a big impact I think but you need to be prepared to get work done, be willing to rent a car or use uber and have a good shop.

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    Senior Member Sad Eyed Lady's Avatar
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    I had a 2000 Toyota Echo that I sold in 2014 to a friend when we bought our current car, a Prius C. The Echo had around 150,000 miles on it then, and the friend can do his own repairs and maintenance has taken very good care of it and it now has over 200,000 miles. I don't believe I have ever had a car that I loved like that little Echo. There was just something about it. I am thinking this Prius will probably be my final car.
    "Like a bird on the wire, like a drunk in the midnight choir, I have tried in my way to be free." Leonard Cohen

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    Senior Member CathyA's Avatar
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    Of course, a lot depends on the type of driving, car storage (we don't have a garage), how many times mice have chewed your wires, etc.

    I got a new odyssey 2 years ago. I traded in my old odyssey when it was 15 years old. I think it was something like 178,000. But too much was going wrong, so I bought a new one. DH still has his 2006 Ford Explorer with close to 300,000 miles on it. But.....he did drive it when there was smoke coming out from under the hood at couple years ago, and got a new engine. He does things like that. I'm trying to talk him into a new car (or a used one, since we've had great luck with used Hondas and have a great service place)......but I think he's waiting until he's really busy and is going on a business trip, when his car dies. Seems like he likes life best when things are at their worse, which forces him to take action. Another

  10. #10
    Senior Member dmc's Avatar
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    My wife put 250,000 miles on a Mercedes diesel. She was doing a lot of traveling at the time. It was still in very good shape when I gave it to a friend at work. He wanted it for his mother. Unfortunately she was in a accident a few months later and the car was totaled. She was not hurt though.

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