Current Events > What is the longest time you have driven a car before replacing it?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I've been driving a 2005 Pontiac Grand Prix for for 20 years since I bought it in 2005. The venerable Buick 3800 engine in it refuses to die. I've only had to do standard maintenance stuff and replacing some rusted out parts, nothing catastrophic has happened to the car yet. Curious if anyone on here has driven a car for a longer period of time.

I got it in 2016, but I still have a 2009 camry. Didn't have much mileage when I got it, as it was given to me by the kids of a very old man who had just recently passed away and didn't drive much.

With the enormous caveat that I don't drive very much, I only ever had one car which is now 40 years old.

Hospy posted...

With the enormous caveat that I don't drive very much, I only ever had one car which is now 40 years old.

What car is it? That's still impressive because when cars get that old a lot of things get worn down just by age.

My first car. I drove it for 9 years, but it was already 14 years old when I got it.

It was still drivable, but I got paranoid after the battery got stolen overnight and I learned that the hood had an easily accessible emergency release. So rather than deal with the potential of having batteries stolen over and over, I leased a new car

Drove my first car from 2002-2014. Stopped driving it when the brakes failed on a highway (I was very lucky to not get into a wreck).

Have had my current car from 2014-Present. I plan on driving this one for years to come.

YellowSUV posted...

What car is it? That's still impressive because when cars get that old a lot of things get worn down just by age.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/6/659b0aab.jpg
Volvo 240

To this day I have never seen a more beautiful car.

I still have and use the first car I ever had. A 2013 hyundai sonata. (These cars are known for the engine imploding but knocking on wood mine still good to go with barely any problems).

Ive never exactly replaced a car.

Ive got rid of a few but never got a new one immediately afterwards. Always got rid of one because I didnt need it anymore.

Dont have one at the moment and cant see that changing any time soon.

Hospy posted...

Volvo 240

To this day I have never seen a more beautiful car.

Hell man, those things seemingly never break down. My mother still has a Volvo estate that's nearing 30 that she bought brand new.

My current car is 12 years old, bought it brand new. Probably will drive it for another 3 - 5 years unless boredom makes me buy something newer. Since I work from home most of my driving is going to the supermarket once a week to get groceries and the once a year road trip I take.

Got a 2006 honda accord with 20k miles that I drove for 14 years. Traded it in at around 120k miles never had any issues aside from tires or batteries.

I had a used Kia Rio that lasted just shy of a decade. Hopefully my current car will last longer, although I also got it used but really low mileage.

11 years non consecutive. Hyundai Accent that I got new in 2008. Had two vehicles so when it had transmission problems it sat idle for some time. Got that fixed and a black ice slide off into a curb did it in.

My Chevrolet Spark lasted me 12 years. Amazing car. Only issue it had in 12 years was one of the coils (I think that's what it was called) needing to be replaced.

Decided to replace it once I found out the engine was guzzling down oil like crazy.

2005 Scion TC I got in 2008. Still driving it today.

I've only bought two cars - I had my first one for about 7 years.
2010 Elantra that I had from 2012-2019
2019 Elantra from 2019 to today

I'll probably keep the 2019 for a few more years. It helps that I work from home so the mileage is relatively low. Putting 3000-6000 on it yearly.

I still have a 89 chevy van that my parents bought new and gave to me 20 plus years ago.

Thompson posted...

Hell man, those things seemingly never break down. My mother still has a Volvo estate that's nearing 30 that she bought brand new.

They certainly don't make them like they used to.

I've been driving a 2007 corolla since 2010. The transmission went out once. had to get a new starter in it. otherwise it runs fine.

My previous car. I bought it in 2016 and traded her up in 2024.

I expect to keep my current car for at least that long if all goes well.

I'm on year 9

Im on year 10 with mine

My 2013 Cruze was my first car that I bought in 2015. I just replaced it in March. Was having issues and a new car made more sense.

2004 MINI Cooper for 20 years (we donated it last year). Engine was fine, but all the plastic parts were disintegrating and it was also due for some expensive maintenance.
I've also had a 30 year old car, but I didn't own it the whole time.

I can't even remember the last time I played GTA

I had an 08 accord from 2010 to 2024. That was my longest.

I was driving a 2002 Envoy until last year when it was totaled. It was my mom's car when it was new so it's been in the family anyway for 23 years. Can't remember how long I owned it, 10 years maybe.

I still drive two 2001 Toyotas.

Just replaced my car from 2014 last year.
I would have kept going with it, but it got totaled when someone hit me, and the break line was shot. I wasn't gonna put that much money into an already totaled car.

Not very long. A little over 4.5 years was the longest I've had a car.

1998 Buick Regal - 2007 to 2009. Totalled in a low-speed collision.
1999 Saturn SC2 - 2009 to 2011. It had oil burning problems and didn't have the money to fix it. Destroyed the engine on my way to college one morning.
1995 Plymouth Neon - 2011 to 2015. The car wouldn't start for no reason one day, so instead of throwing more money at it, I scrapped it and bought the following car:
2009 Ford Focus - 2015 to 2017. Totalled on the highway.
2013 Ford Fusion - 2017 to 2022. Traded it in for my current car:
2020 Honda Civic - 2022 to present.

My first car is on its 12th year. Will probably have to replace it in a few.

3 or 4 years.

I like to get a (nearly) new one way way in advance of any potential issues. I'm not dealing with repairs and hire cars.

Besides, I like a change. Getting a new car with new features is always a fun experience.

Never replaced a car. Had one for about a year, then the motor blew, and I decided I was better off just not owning a car.

8 years. Literally just bought a new truck just last week. Had my Dodge Charger since 2017.

Low key miss her since she was obviously paid off.

I had an 09 Ford Focus I bought when I was twenty. Brand new off the lot... I told myself I wanted a car to last until I was thirty, and it did. Was still running fine at 200k miles when I sold it to my brother. Other than an ignition switch issue I never had a problem with it. Only changed the brakes once. Was a great car.

About ten years.

The Tucson we have now was ten years old and 100k miles when we got it, and we've had it nine years and put 90k on it, and just like a month ago we finally decided maybe it's time to think about replace it.

Why do American products have to be such garbage when Hyundais go twenty years with like four repairs?

We lease our cars and trade them in every three years.

On year 12 or so.

It's crazy that my dad had a 1993 Buick that he gave me after I left home, and the car was 15 years old by that point. And now my own personally purchased car as an adult is almost getting to be the same age.

1992 to 1994 drove a little cheap car while in high school and working
1994 to 1999 I was in the Navy and didnt need a vehicle
1999 to 2004 I had my little S10 truck
2004-2013 I upgraded S10 truck to a bigger truck with 4WD after I bought my house and needed winter driving capability. In 2013 someone hit me and totaled it.
2013 to current. My Chevy Silverado is in great shape. No plans to change it unless it dies. Otherwise Id like to use it another 10 years then buy what will probably be my final vehicle as I will be fairly old, and likely retired.

So yeah my current vehicle is the longest. 12 years and counting. Its the 4th vehicle Ive had my whole life at 49 years old. I dont change vehicles much. One was just a car to get through high school. One needed upgraded out of necessity because of winter driving, one was replaced from an accident. Ive never once just replaced a vehicle because I wanted a new one.

my first car was a 1992 buick lesabre, I drove that from 2010 until 2016ish, but my two older sisters drove it from 2005-2010, and my grandma/grandpa drove it from 1992 until 2005. I feel kinda bad cus my younger brother is the only one of my siblings who didn't get a chance to drive that car.

current car I've owned for around 6 years and will probably keep it for another 6-7

I tend to buy cars that are in their last 5-10 years of life anyway, so it's never been more than that.

I'd rather outright buy a 10+ year old semi luxury car and deal with the problems that come with that than be held by the balls to some loan company on a budget vehicle.

People at the office make fun of me for the shitboxes I buy and that's all fun and games, but you know what else is fun and games? Not having an $800 monthly car finance payment to make.

7 years

I leased a 2015 Dodge Dart, bought it out at the end of the lease in 2018 cause I was way over on my miles, then sold it to Carvana in 2022 cause my wife and I both started a remote job in 2021 and didn't see the need for two cars and could use the extra money. It had 93k on it when I sold it.

I miss that car tbh. People say Darts are horrible but mine was perfect, never had a single problem with it and just kept up with the maintenance schedule. Took it on a bunch of road trips and Ubered with it for a couple years too. I'd love to buy another one but I'm sure most of them are terrible because they weren't maintained properly (which isn't even hard to do on these, not like there's some crazy expensive maintenance milestones on them so idk why the hell people don't just keep up with them) so it would give me a bunch of headaches.

If I can find a well-maintained 2016 model with the vented hood, dual exhaust, leather seats, and sunroof then I'll pounce on it though >_>

My 2013 Ford Fusion SE that I bought in 2016 or 2017 with 16000 miles is still going strong. About to hit 120K miles.

First new car I bought was a 1999 Dodge Neon back in '98. Drove it until it broke down for good in, I think, 2017 on my way to a concert. Nothing like being in a traffic jam on an expressway and suddenly you can't put the stick in anything except first.

Bought a 2013 Civic new and I still have it now. Only thing I've had to replace on it are the batteries and tires. I plan on driving it into the ground.

Hospy posted...

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/6/659b0aab.jpg
Volvo 240

To this day I have never seen a more beautiful car.

People don't associate Volvo with beautiful cars, but then they don't know the P1800.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/3/3bb99033.jpg

Toyota Corolla copypasta bump

Let me tell you a story. One day my Corolla started making a strange sound. I didn't give a shit and ignored it. It went away. The End. You could take the engine out of this car, drop it off the Golden Gate Bridge, fish it out of the water a thousand years later, put it in the trunk of the car, fill the gas tank up with Nutella, turn the key, and this puppy would fucking start right up. This car will outlive you, it will outlive your children.

YellowSUV posted...

Toyota Corolla copypasta bump

Let me tell you a story. One day my Corolla started making a strange sound. I didn't give a shit and ignored it. It went away. The End. You could take the engine out of this car, drop it off the Golden Gate Bridge, fish it out of the water a thousand years later, put it in the trunk of the car, fill the gas tank up with Nutella, turn the key, and this puppy would fucking start right up. This car will outlive you, it will outlive your children.

Best Craigslist ad of all time.

And totally true. I had a 1986 Camry. It sat for three months and was missing more than half its oil and it fired up like a brand new car