Cars people keep for 15 years or more

[Ghostpanther]

I still have my 1995 Toyota Tacoma pickup truck I bought new. Runs great. I also had a 1970 Plymouth for 12 years. I am not into buying new cars or trucks often. If I like what I have and I feel it is dependable and safe, going to keep it until ether of those are not true. And American made automobiles are more reliable than they use to be 20+ years ago and more competitive with foreign makes.

[vaeevictiss]

As I said... if you can afford it. I fully agree a car is a "bad" investment.... but once you have a place to live, food to eat, and money going into the bank, you gotta live life. You only have one. Having a nice vehicle puts a smile on my face. Not to be corny but honestly whats the price on that? It makes me happy. I personally can't understand how someone can like driving around in a 2000 Saturn or something. Again, I directed it at people who make more than $20 an hour.

The funny part is a lot of the people calling me dumb (not saying you are) make less money than I do, so who is the dumb one? Second, I have no doubt a lot of people thinking its dumb spend it all on pre converted piss (beer) or cancer sticks, or pillows with anime girls on them... we all have our thing we want to spend on.

Whats your retirement acct going to look like when that time comes though? I put over 1200 a month into my retirement account. Could i, and would i love to put that into a nice new, preferably performance vehicle? absolutely...but i also want to have nothing to worry about when i quit working either.

I want to have as little debt as possible and its how ive maintained an 820+ credit score. Fuck having a 300-700 dollar loan to pay every month for the rest of my life. I got a mortgage and thats all i want.

[Vash The Stampede]

They planned to have the differentiated brands in Japan but after the 2007-2008 economic issues it was scrapped.

2019 will be the year a lot of auto makers will have to file bankruptcy due to poor sales, particularly GM, Ford, and Chrysler. GM and Fords luxury car divisions may also go the way of the dodo. Even Japanese auto makers will be hurt enough to merge their luxury cars into regular cars, though I don't know about Lexus going anywhere. Lets be honest here, what makes a Luxury car different from a regular car? Cause honestly I have the darndest time figuring out what labels it luxury other than cause the auto maker says so. Because I buy used cars and will go for luxury ones cause why not, the auto makers will now have to compete with their old used luxury cars including the not luxury new models.

The Supra and MR2 would like to have a word with you.

The MR2's weren't particularly powerful, just good at handling. The Supra's are but the new Supra is using a BMW engine and transmission which to me sounds like a cash grab over the Supra name. Japanese car should have Japanese engine. Plenty of straight six engines that are reliable can be had for far less than a Supra, like BMW's... And yes, the BMW straight sixes with their transmissions are reliable.

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I have a 2002 Camaro z28 that we've put a track transmission, suspension, brakes, exhaust, and shift kit into. Love blowing the doors off SRT chargers and challengers. Never underestimate that old car next to you.

That's cause you probably have a LS1 in there, which is an engine touched by the hand of god. Huge aftermarket and lots of power can be made out of them. There's a reason why nearly everyone has done a LS swap, because these engines are super small and light, especially compared to 4 cylinders.

[P for Pancetta]

Not one American car. Tesla is supposed to do really well this year, maybe they'll be such a car.

Tesla cars haven't turned 15 years old, but I would anticipate them being highly reliable as well.

Highly unlikely the Tesla's battery will last 15 years, you'll probably need to replace it within 10 years and the expenses that come with it will drive people not to keep the car but trade it in for a newer model instead.

[avitush]

I still have my 1993 Mustang. I'm either the second or third owner and have had it for about 18 years. Granted, it hasn't been my main car that entire time and has spent a lot of time just parked in the garage.

Its paint job looks like crap at the moment (I intend to do something about that when I have some extra money), but the car still runs like a champ. I use it as a sort of "backup" car.

[ipaq]

Not one American car. Tesla is supposed to do really well this year, maybe they'll be such a car.

Have you kept a car for more than 15 years?

Cuda '74, body mostly fiber by the end;
Jeep Wrangler YJ '94;
( Barely call that an American Car with engine, transmission and transfer case being either asian or european )

Jeep Wrangler JK '13, nothing rusted, nothing broken, nothing leaking, yet. Stock piling spare parts just in case. That shit is hard to work on.

Should be my last ~20y car unless I can switch to an electric 4 wheelers.

[Skilrathos]

Oh I can afford it lol. I'm just of the mind if it isn't broke don't fix it. I get what you are saying and there isn't anything wrong with that either for those financially stable. Oh don't forget to mention those with the newest iPhones that can barely afford to feed themselves. Motorcycles are my thrill, I've owned 5 different ones with the newest being a 2018 HD Fat Boy. Just made sure everything else was paid off before allowing myself my dirty pleasure lol.

[lockedout]

Chevy S10 pickup - 20 years
Ford Taurus - 16 years

Damn ou must have paid a lot of money in repairs.

[cparle87]

Playing devil's advocate here, but being "built in" a country doesn't mean it's the same quality as something that was designed in that same country. The factories that assemble them just follow the designs. Are Toyotas and Hondas designed by the same engineers that design Fords, Chevies and Dodges?

Playing reverse devil's advocate. Take a company that began in the US, like Apple. Would you say their quality is just as good now that most of them are made in Chinese sweatshops as opposed to here in the US, because they use designs invented in the US?

[Felya]

I drive a huyndai Elantra from 1999. Yeah... I can afford better. Got a Bluetooth to radio dongle. No one has presented a convincing argument.

[Enfilade]

Some subscribe to the Dave Ramsey approach to cars. Keep putting money into it. Till it becomes cost inefficient.

I've fallen into this trap before myself. I had an older Mercedes-Benz which I absolutely loved. It took me a while to realize that the hundreds of dollars I was spending on maintaining it wasn't worth being able to say I drove a German luxury car anymore. Plus it was pretty bad on gas.

Bought a 2019 Subaru Impreza (OH NO A MONTHLY PAYMENT) and am loving it. Way more technology, of course, it's 15 years newer. Way better gas mileage, to boot.

[lockedout]

Playing reverse devil's advocate. Take a company that began in the US, like Apple. Would you say their quality is just as good now that most of them are made in Chinese sweatshops as opposed to here in the US, because they use designs invented in the US?

Apple has always used Chinese parts.

[Citizen T]

Damn ou must have paid a lot of money in repairs.

The only repairs on the Chevy S10 was replacing the serpentine belt that seemed to break about every 7-8K miles, but I learned to keep a spare in the truck and it only took 2 minutes to pop the hood and fix it.

The Taurus, I had to replace the power steering pump once. Nothing else.

I wouldn't have kept them if they were costing me much in repairs.

[Lorgran]

It's a very odd thing to track. How many percent of the owners who keep a car for at least 15 years.
Why not 10 years or 20 years?
What would be a more interesting statistic is how long someone keep their car for on average.

I've had my Hyundai Couple/Tiburon for 13 years.

[Themius]

Highly unlikely the Tesla's battery will last 15 years, you'll probably need to replace it within 10 years and the expenses that come with it will drive people not to keep the car but trade it in for a newer model instead.

What is this based off?

[Appelgren]

I have my cars for 3 years and then i get a new one. Always new and fresh and working at optimal performance.

[Khaza-R]

I had a Mustang that I kept for 12 years. But that was really just because my job, home and school were all within 1 mile of eachother and I put basically no miles on it for 6 years.

[P for Pancetta]

What is this based off?

The way those batteries work, the estimations released by Tesla, science etc. Speaking for the average user that is, if you rarely drive it'll last longer obviously. If you don't drive it it can last as long as you want. Father of a friend of mine got a Mercedes from 1910-1920ish that is still in perfect and original condition. It has never driven though.

[Clevername]

What's the point in keeping a car for that long? I know this isn't the same thing as reliability, but still.

Pure love and nostalgia, I still have the 86' Ford Bronco that was my first vehicle sitting in my garage, I paid 2k for it that I worked for when I was 15 years old. I straight up love that truck, it's a total piece of shit but I love it.

[Bryntrollian]

What's the point in keeping a car for that long? I know this isn't the same thing as reliability, but still.

It runs, it isn't a burden financially and you own it outright.

That is just one example though.