How long do you keep cars for?
Discussion
I guess I don't have a set rule, I change cars based on what suits my lifestyle at that particular point in time
First car - EK Honda Civic 1.4 hatch - bought at 7 years old and 54000 miles, kept for three years, sold at 76,000. Was solid and reliable, wanted something more interesting.
Second car - NB Mazda MX-5 1.8 sport - bought at 9 years old and 68,000 miles, kept for four years, sold at 91,000. Was doing lots of miles with my new job and was getting too expensive to run. Something was wrong with it, it kept overheating, suspect either leaky water pump, goosed radiator or head gasket, as well as alternator issues, so it had to go.
Third car - Alfa Romeo 147 JTD 16V - bought at 8 years old and only 32,000 miles, kept for five years, sold at 96,000. Just moved to Manchester with lots of short journeys in heavy traffic, so wasn't benefitting from having the diesel, plus some pretty expensive work was looming - namely new clutch and DMF, new sump, two new front wheel bearings, new rear brake calipers, new gear linkage, new handbrake cable, new front exhaust flexi hose. Was pretty gutted to get rid of it.
Fourth car - 8P Audi A3 1.8 TFSI Sportback - bought at 11 years old and 54,000 miles, kept for two years, sold at 64,000 miles. This car was quite a disappointment, hence getting rid of it relatively quickly. Fuel consumption was poor (22-30 mpg typically) - I think 11 years of being driven gently by it's one old lady owner, combined with the direct injection system resulted in excessive coking. There was water ingress into the footwells and to boot, the flywheel was getting noisy, the DSG gearbox was getting jerky and the timing chain was getting very rattly, so it had to go!
I have traded it in for a 5 year old Audi A3 e-tron at 77,000 miles, the youngest car I have bought, but highest mileage. I'm now of the opinion that it might be better to get younger cars with higher miles, as long motorway journeys are kinder on cars than lots of short journeys / cold starts, etc, plus the HV battery should have had fewer full charge cycles. I think the e-tron will suit my mainly city driving needs better. I know these e-trons are fiendishly complex and so have a lot to go wrong, but this one had full main dealer service history with everything done on time, and I'll keep the servicing up. Fingers crossed nothing disastrous happens, I plan on having this for 3-5 years.
First car - EK Honda Civic 1.4 hatch - bought at 7 years old and 54000 miles, kept for three years, sold at 76,000. Was solid and reliable, wanted something more interesting.
Second car - NB Mazda MX-5 1.8 sport - bought at 9 years old and 68,000 miles, kept for four years, sold at 91,000. Was doing lots of miles with my new job and was getting too expensive to run. Something was wrong with it, it kept overheating, suspect either leaky water pump, goosed radiator or head gasket, as well as alternator issues, so it had to go.
Third car - Alfa Romeo 147 JTD 16V - bought at 8 years old and only 32,000 miles, kept for five years, sold at 96,000. Just moved to Manchester with lots of short journeys in heavy traffic, so wasn't benefitting from having the diesel, plus some pretty expensive work was looming - namely new clutch and DMF, new sump, two new front wheel bearings, new rear brake calipers, new gear linkage, new handbrake cable, new front exhaust flexi hose. Was pretty gutted to get rid of it.
Fourth car - 8P Audi A3 1.8 TFSI Sportback - bought at 11 years old and 54,000 miles, kept for two years, sold at 64,000 miles. This car was quite a disappointment, hence getting rid of it relatively quickly. Fuel consumption was poor (22-30 mpg typically) - I think 11 years of being driven gently by it's one old lady owner, combined with the direct injection system resulted in excessive coking. There was water ingress into the footwells and to boot, the flywheel was getting noisy, the DSG gearbox was getting jerky and the timing chain was getting very rattly, so it had to go!
I have traded it in for a 5 year old Audi A3 e-tron at 77,000 miles, the youngest car I have bought, but highest mileage. I'm now of the opinion that it might be better to get younger cars with higher miles, as long motorway journeys are kinder on cars than lots of short journeys / cold starts, etc, plus the HV battery should have had fewer full charge cycles. I think the e-tron will suit my mainly city driving needs better. I know these e-trons are fiendishly complex and so have a lot to go wrong, but this one had full main dealer service history with everything done on time, and I'll keep the servicing up. Fingers crossed nothing disastrous happens, I plan on having this for 3-5 years.
XR2 4 years
Escort cab 1 year
MX5 4 years
Elise 6 years
BMW 330CI conv 18months
RS4 6 years
XKR conv 9 years and still going
V90 2 years and still going
All bought new apart from my 2 current cars, I like to buy the car I want and keep it for a while, to me it takes several years before I really know them and I like the ownership experience
Escort cab 1 year
MX5 4 years
Elise 6 years
BMW 330CI conv 18months
RS4 6 years
XKR conv 9 years and still going
V90 2 years and still going
All bought new apart from my 2 current cars, I like to buy the car I want and keep it for a while, to me it takes several years before I really know them and I like the ownership experience
The Wookie said:
I'm lucky enough to have plenty of car storage space available at my parents so I keep the cars I love and usually chop and change my every day car as it suits me... Usually the logic follows this cycle:
Sensible car.
Bored.
Stupid car.
Skint/Pissed off with it
Sensible Car... etc
The shortest I've kept an every day car was about a year which was my Evora (sold because although I enjoyed it, luggage tetris became tedious every day).
The longest was my Focus which was about 7 or 8 years although I had the Evo at the same time. I ended up using the Evo every day, was skinted by it, sold both to buy the 123d
I suspect I'll keep the Cayenne for a good few years as I'm still enjoying it after 8 or 9 months and 25,000 miles of using it every day.
This aged well, put 150k on the Cayenne over another 4 years, bought car that seemed half way between stupid and sensible in the Jag but got bored of it after 2 years, missed the Cayenne so went back to another one but with a stupid engineSensible car.
Bored.
Stupid car.
Skint/Pissed off with it
Sensible Car... etc
The shortest I've kept an every day car was about a year which was my Evora (sold because although I enjoyed it, luggage tetris became tedious every day).
The longest was my Focus which was about 7 or 8 years although I had the Evo at the same time. I ended up using the Evo every day, was skinted by it, sold both to buy the 123d
I suspect I'll keep the Cayenne for a good few years as I'm still enjoying it after 8 or 9 months and 25,000 miles of using it every day.
Well....mainly hang onto them and sorry I sold some:
currently ( all bought new) :
SL500 2003- 17 years
Smart Fortwo 2005 -16
Cayenne S 2008-13
997.1RS 2008-13
Jeep Wrangler 2011-10
991RS 2016-5
Pana Turbo ST 2018- 3
Cars sold in period:
BMW 645 Ci 2004- sold 2006
BMW M6 2006- sold 2011
997.2 RS 2010- sold 2015
None planned for sale except Cayenne which will be replaced by a new Cayenne after 280,000km.
currently ( all bought new) :
SL500 2003- 17 years
Smart Fortwo 2005 -16
Cayenne S 2008-13
997.1RS 2008-13
Jeep Wrangler 2011-10
991RS 2016-5
Pana Turbo ST 2018- 3
Cars sold in period:
BMW 645 Ci 2004- sold 2006
BMW M6 2006- sold 2011
997.2 RS 2010- sold 2015
None planned for sale except Cayenne which will be replaced by a new Cayenne after 280,000km.
When I was in my teens and twenties they would get changed every year. The exception to this was a BMW E30320i SE that I simply couldn’t afford to trade up.
I’ve since then generally changed them around 3 years. The last car however an E Class I kept for nearly 5 years. The current BMW 530d, I can see keeping longer as I just don’t know which way the market is going to go and I simply don’t like EV’s.
I’ve since then generally changed them around 3 years. The last car however an E Class I kept for nearly 5 years. The current BMW 530d, I can see keeping longer as I just don’t know which way the market is going to go and I simply don’t like EV’s.
I don't like buying cars much, and I like selling them even less so...
635CSi, about 25 years
M635CSi, about 17 years
Alpina B10 V8 Touring, 12 years
Alpina B10 4.6 Touring, 10 years
Alpina B12 5.7 Limo, 8 years
During those 25 years since buying the 635CSi I've also bought a 1995 M5 Touring which I sold after a few years for parts/breaking when it broke, a 1989 635CSi which I bought when the 635CSi wouldn't start and sold for restoration when I bought an M635CSi, and a BMW 540i Touring which I would have kept to this day had it not been written off when a sleepy taxi driver drove into it whilst it was parked.
635CSi, about 25 years
M635CSi, about 17 years
Alpina B10 V8 Touring, 12 years
Alpina B10 4.6 Touring, 10 years
Alpina B12 5.7 Limo, 8 years
During those 25 years since buying the 635CSi I've also bought a 1995 M5 Touring which I sold after a few years for parts/breaking when it broke, a 1989 635CSi which I bought when the 635CSi wouldn't start and sold for restoration when I bought an M635CSi, and a BMW 540i Touring which I would have kept to this day had it not been written off when a sleepy taxi driver drove into it whilst it was parked.
I went through 12 years of company cars ranging from a Jeep Liberty (Cherokee in the UK) to a Couple of Ford explorers with eco boost engines. None of them would have been my car if it was my money buying them.
I got the opportunity to try something completely different work wise and it meant handing my car in. I agreed with the wife I would buy a sensible family SUV. One night, while drinking, I stumbled on a car listing. As I opened it I tilted my shoulders so my wife couldn’t see my phone. The next day, while sat in my just purchased Porsche Cayenne GTS I sent a text to my wife. “I’ve bought a Porsche”.
I still have the car 5 years later and I still love it. It’s surprisingly practical and deals with our snow storms. It’s quick and it’sfuel efficient. Ok, it drinks like Oliver Reed.
The only car I might consider swapping it out for is a Taycan but it’s a lot of money when mine is relatively cheap motoring because there’s no car payment, I use an indie for servicing and I replaced the brakes and battery. ($5k and $1200 respectively at the dealer. It’s a VW battery which costs $180).
I got the opportunity to try something completely different work wise and it meant handing my car in. I agreed with the wife I would buy a sensible family SUV. One night, while drinking, I stumbled on a car listing. As I opened it I tilted my shoulders so my wife couldn’t see my phone. The next day, while sat in my just purchased Porsche Cayenne GTS I sent a text to my wife. “I’ve bought a Porsche”.
I still have the car 5 years later and I still love it. It’s surprisingly practical and deals with our snow storms. It’s quick and it’s
The only car I might consider swapping it out for is a Taycan but it’s a lot of money when mine is relatively cheap motoring because there’s no car payment, I use an indie for servicing and I replaced the brakes and battery. ($5k and $1200 respectively at the dealer. It’s a VW battery which costs $180).
Fiat Punto September 2007 to January 2010
Ford Focus January 2010 to February 2012 (written off)
BMW 528 February 2012 to February 2013 (sold to get my bike)
Yamaha XJ6 February 2013 to June/July 2016
Audi A4 November 2013 to January 2014
BMW 528 January 2014 to April 2014
Vauxhall Corsa April 2014 to somewhen in 2017
Suzuki GSXR June/July 2016 to March 2018 (same time I wrote the Corsa off which was now my mums)
BMW 330D March 2018 to September 2018
Ford Mondeo September 2018 to April 2019
VW Golf April 2019 to Present
Up until my Golf they were all sheds (apart from the bikes and the Corsa but that was crap!).
Ford Focus January 2010 to February 2012 (written off)
BMW 528 February 2012 to February 2013 (sold to get my bike)
Yamaha XJ6 February 2013 to June/July 2016
Audi A4 November 2013 to January 2014
BMW 528 January 2014 to April 2014
Vauxhall Corsa April 2014 to somewhen in 2017
Suzuki GSXR June/July 2016 to March 2018 (same time I wrote the Corsa off which was now my mums)
BMW 330D March 2018 to September 2018
Ford Mondeo September 2018 to April 2019
VW Golf April 2019 to Present
Up until my Golf they were all sheds (apart from the bikes and the Corsa but that was crap!).
I reckon buying nearly new, or pre reg and then keeping it until its 7 or 8 years old and / or 80k miles is the most hassle free and best value way to own a car.
Was watching some videos on youtube made by VW and they said a lot of their car components have a design life of 8 to 10 years driven average mileages. Fits with the 6yr max vehicle age of their service plan which comes with 2 years warranty.
Given Toyotas new 10 year warranty scheme, I would bet their cars have a 10 to 12 year component life span design.
So buy pre reg / nearly new, let someone else take the initial 20% ish depreciation (dependent on the car of course). Use the car during the design life of a lot of it’s components. Then sell before you start having to replace stuff.
Was watching some videos on youtube made by VW and they said a lot of their car components have a design life of 8 to 10 years driven average mileages. Fits with the 6yr max vehicle age of their service plan which comes with 2 years warranty.
Given Toyotas new 10 year warranty scheme, I would bet their cars have a 10 to 12 year component life span design.
So buy pre reg / nearly new, let someone else take the initial 20% ish depreciation (dependent on the car of course). Use the car during the design life of a lot of it’s components. Then sell before you start having to replace stuff.
Edited by wyson on Friday 25th June 08:11
Robmarriott said:
I’ve had 28 cars in 17 years. The answer is “not long enough”
My dad totted up how many cars i’d owned - he reckoned since 1992 (when i passed my test) it was 85 (ish)I’ve owned the Allroad for almost 3 years…. As a daily that’s a record for me, but it does everything i need it to, has just had a major service with no issues and the 3.0 engine is good for 300,000 miles (so i’m not half way yet). i can’t really afford a replacement next gen bi-turbo at the moment, nor can i really justify it either.
Wifey will keep her car for a long time. I’ve owned the M3 for 4 years……. no plans to sell that….. although management has suggested we sell it a buy another camper van or caravan!!!!
I generally keep my cars longer than I'd like, but not as long as my wife would like 
She thinks you buy a car and keep it 3-4 years at least. I think there's too many cars out there I'd like to own, for that to ever be possible.
In 31 years of driving and 12 years of riding I've owned 39 cars and 2 motorbikes, which is nothing like as many as some.
Funny enough I'm happy to keep my bikes for several years, but most of my cars last less than a year before I'm making eyes at the next one.
I've had a Puma 1.7 for the last 4 months and there's nothing much wrong with it but for half that time I've been wanting an E36 BMW instead
She thinks you buy a car and keep it 3-4 years at least. I think there's too many cars out there I'd like to own, for that to ever be possible.
In 31 years of driving and 12 years of riding I've owned 39 cars and 2 motorbikes, which is nothing like as many as some.
Funny enough I'm happy to keep my bikes for several years, but most of my cars last less than a year before I'm making eyes at the next one.
I've had a Puma 1.7 for the last 4 months and there's nothing much wrong with it but for half that time I've been wanting an E36 BMW instead
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