Every so often, I go through the mental gymnastics of debating whether it would be worth it to 'downgrade' and no longer have a car note.

Current DD for me is a 2020 Explorer. It's great, reliable & gets pretty phenomenal MPG for a 300hp 3 row SUV.
Wife's is a 2018 Expedition Max. Not a MPG queen, but it's a highway mile muncher & has handled a few road trips amazingly.

Thinking back to the litany of cars I've owned, the oldest DD I've had was 19-22 years old, but I was a teenager & not doing a ton of miles then. Though, both of those had >300k on them [early 80s Mercedes diesels].

At what point, if it does, does the age/mileage of your DD concern you?

2016 Exploder.

Just had the 100k mile service done for $3k (Waterpump and timing belt).

So for this vehicle, it started worrying me at 90k miles but not in a position to replace it before the water pump went.

The wife’s Subaru is our newest at 11 years old. My main driver is a 2005 Colorado with 161k on the meter- mileage is in spec. My 03 Tundra which I got from dad before he passed has 71K actual miles. My daughter inherited my 02 Grand Cherokee with 135k. All run fine, and the only one consuming excess is the Subie but the 3.6 boxer motor is known to do that.

20 yrs, 2004 Nissan Titan.
Bought new, but just can't justify anything else new with all the inflated prices (but I am always tempted) and I honestly love the truck.

14. I'm putting short range miles on my parent's old 2010 Toyota Highlander. Only has 55k on the clock.

For more recent, I've got a 2018 F150 with 55k on it also.

I don't see a need for a new vehicle for me for at least 5 years, and maybe longer, as my mileage has dropped significantly since Covid.

My current DD is a 2010 Tahoe with 150,000 miles on it. I bought it in 2016 or so with 97,000 miles. I recently upgraded my plow/firewood truck from a 1998 K2500 gasoline with 160,000 miles to a 2004 Chevy Duramax with 200,000 miles.

I'll probably use the 04 Duramax as more of a daily driver to keep the miles off the Tahoe. The Duramax is a crew cab with an 8 foot bed, so it's a little tough to take some places.

I maintain all of my vehicles myself, and have no plans of selling either one in the near future. I can keep both of them running for another 100,000 easy.

I'm retired and really don't have too many places that I need to go. My DD is a 2015 Chevrolet SS. My weekend (actually anytime good weather beckons) fun car is a 2013 Corvette, 427 Convertible. Both have a little over 20K miles on them.

Adios,

Pizza Bob

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
At what point, if it does, does the age/mileage of your DD concern you?

In general, age/mileage would concern me when the reliability starts to go down and the ongoing costs of major maintenance/repairs start to add up.

As to when that is, it'd depend on the make/model.

100k with proper maintenance is nothing on things like most Toyotas/Hondas/Subarus/Mazdas/etc., or on many domestic trucks.

However, 100k would likely be getting close to age/mileage concern for a cheap domestic compact car or SUV, or something like a BMW/Volvo/Audi that's less reliable and more expensive to fix.


But personally, while I would be comfortable driving a reliable Toyota/Honda/Mazda/Subaru for 150k-200k+ miles, my usual habit is to buy lightly used ones with 10k-20k miles, drive them for 8-10 years, and then sell/trade them around 100k while they still have significant value and before any major maintenance is due or age/mileage concern comes into play. Then repeat.

My current DD is only 2 years old, and I've had it for less than a year. The one prior to that was 8 years old with 90k miles, and prior to that was 11 years old with 110k miles.

My highest mileage DD was a Toyota Celica that I drove in high school and college from something like 120k to 190k. And it had no mechanical issues during that time, other than having to replace the HVAC dash control unit.

2008 Silverado 2500 with 130k on it. The years and miles are not as much of an issue for me as the constant minor electronic gremlins like the current intermittently working cruise control.

Wife drove a 2001 Honda Accord for nearly 20 years and 130,000 miles. Since 2021 we've put about 20,000 miles on a 2019 Honda Passport. My vehicle for 14 years and 220,000+ miles was a 2004 Chevy Siverado. Since 2018, I've put 60,000 miles on a 2016 Silverado. I expect to drive both vehicles for a good while.

Ours is a 2021 Toyota Highlander Hybrid with 44,000 miles. We're retired but put quite a few miles on our cars running around Tucson.

2016 Mazda 6 with 190K miles. I like not having a car note. I'll drive it until it dies, although it is good shape.

quote:

At what point, if it does, does the age/mileage of your DD concern you?

for me, that line is breached when reliability/cost of keeping it running becomes an issue.

I'm at that point where I'd rather pay the banker short term than pay the mechanic endlessly.

Wife's Subaru Legacy & my 2020 Ranger are serving our needs very well.

Daily driver is a 2007 Explorer with 167k miles. Recently retired my 2003 F150 with 206k miles by gifting it to my BIL to use as a plow truck for his long ass country driveway.

Daily driver is a 2016 Nissan Frontier with only 58k miles on it. I plan to drive it until I retire and then buy a 1-ton pick-up and some acreage (probably not in that order).

I've never had a note on it, and it rarely costs me money. It's only had synthetic motor oil in it, and I follow Nissan's maintenance schedule. One of my hobbies is detailing so it looks nearly new inside and out. I applied a ceramic coating on it over Thanksgiving and with proper maintenance should keep its appearance glossy until I retire.

I have two. A 1999 Chevy Tahoe, and a 1995 Chevy C2500 pickup. I plan on driving them both until I can no longer drive, or twenty more years.

The Tahoe will need a transmission soon, and that will be $4,000 to do it right. But considering the price of new, it’s totally worth it. I’m convinced that the best vehicles ever made were between 1996-2004. They were computerized enough to have excellent drivetrain management, but not overly complicated to make them a PIA to keep running. That was the Goldilocks era.

When I completely retire, I’m going to spruce up my 1936 Ford pickup and use it a lot more for running errands, when the weather is nice.

Wife's is a 2016 and mine is a 2001. 51000 miles on hers and 104000 on mine.

2016 Taco.

I'll get a LOT more out of it.

2006 Nissan Maxima. 135k

2010 Mazda 6. 114k (other than brakes, oil, tires, and an A/C Schrader valve it’s been the most reliable car ever)

2014 Honda Accord Sport. 6 speed manual 90k

2024 Lexus ES 350. Purchased due to age of others and V6 no turbo. Kinda felt like it was “now or never” to get that in a sedan.

Typically drive all of them locally. My son drives the Honda. Also rock solid reliable.

Was a 2020 Denali, lease was up in November, looked at the price of buying it off lease or replacing it and it is nuts what they wanted so back it went.

Pulled the ol F150 out of hibernation for now, it's an 2003 so 21 Model years LOL, haven't had a vehicle that old since Highschool when I drove a 22 year old Olds to school. Drove it up to my Dads yesterday, 100+ miles round trip.

I don't put the daily miles on I used to now that it's WFH.

Interesting Topic, this article hit the other day..

Link

Owning A New Car Becoming A Fantasy For Millions Of Americans Making Under $100K

The pandemic price bump means that 60% of American households and 82% of individuals can't really afford the average new vehicle

The staggering rate of inflation, growing new car prices, and the shrinking supply of affordable vehicles mean that the dream of owning a vehicle is not an affordable one for the majority of Americans.

Since 2020, prices of both new and used vehicles have grown substantially. For vehicles rolling off the assembly line, the average MSRP is now 30 percent higher than it was before the pandemic. For pre-owned vehicles, the average price is now up 38 percent as compared to before the pandemic.

Fortunately, in 2023, the growth slowed, and prices were just one percent higher than a year earlier, reports Newsweek. However, the average price of a new car is now $50,364, while the average used vehicle costs $31,030.

“Simply put, cars have become more expensive,” Joseph Yoon, a consumer insight analyst at Edmunds, told Newsweek. “In November 2019, the average transaction price for a new vehicle was $38,500. In November of 2023, that figure jumped to $47,939.”

You probably need to make $100,000 to afford a new car

According to an earlier study by Market Watch, Americans need a combined household income of at least $100,000 to afford the average new car if they adhere to common budgeting guidelines and practices. While there’s no perfect formula, a common school of thought among financial experts is that you should spend no more than 10%-15% of your monthly take-home pay on car-related expenses, which includes everything from payments to insurance and maintenance.

Based on this criterion, 60 percent of households and 82 percent of individuals in the U.S. are currently unable to afford a new car. One contributing factor to this affordability challenge is the preference of Americans for pricier crossovers, pickups, and SUVs.