How Long Do You Keep Your Vehicles?

ski3pin

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We recently when over our records and discovered an interesting pattern. This was unintentional on our part and amusing to see the consistency -

In 1987 we bought a 1986 Izusu Trooper and owned it for 11 years

In 1998 we bought a 1994 Ranger 4x4 pickup and owned it for 11 years

In 2004 we bought a 2004 Subaru Forester and sold it on Monday - 11 years

All of these had right around 200,000 miles when we sold them.

This list does not include the 1963 Datsun L320 pickup I bought in 1978..................and passed on to a new owner last spring.This was the Lady's legendary daily driver to school for years.
 
I sold my Jeep TJ bought new in 1997 in 2012, so 15 years.

I sold my FJ40 in 2010 that I'd bought in 1989, so 22 years.

I sold my Ford F250 bought new in 1991 in 2006, so 15 years.

Not as crisp a pattern, but similar. If it holds I'll be buying a new truck in 2021 or so, and a new car in 2027
 
I tend to drive them until I get tired of fixing them:

1951 Dodge Power Wagon. Dad's farm truck. Started driving it at ~10 years old. Still have it, Odometer rolled over at least twice.
1962 Dodge Polara 500, 413 cu in, 8 bbl. 3 mpg (gas @ 32¢/gal). 5 years (1965 - 1970). High School car, still wish I had it!
1970 Plymouth Valiant. Slant 6; dumping more (used) oil than gas in it at the end. 320,000 miles, 16 years (1970 - 1976).
1976 Nissan King Cab 4X4. Replaced body, 3 transmissions. 350,000 miles, 20 years (1976 - 1996).
1997 Dodge 1500 4X4. Dumped it when a number of problems materialized. 267,000 miles, 14 years (1996 - 2010).
2008 Subaru Forester. Traded it after having to deal with a muddy dog on camping trip. 49,500 miles, 4 years (2010 - 2014)
2012 Ram 2500 4X4, 8 foot bed. Bought specifically for a camper. 21,000 miles, 1+ years.

jim
 
Well, looking back to the last car we bought for my spouse- we bought a Honda Accord station wagon in 1996, traded it for a Civic in 2007 (well over 100k miles), so- 11 years, haha. She is still driving the Civic. That's only been 8 years so far- but already well over 100k on the odometer. Bought my truck in 2011, traded in a Civic that I bought new in 2000 (well over 100k miles). Surprise, surprise- 11 years!
 
My first "new" car was a 1967 Mustang I ordered in April 1966 while in Japan on the BIG boat.
Kept it for 11 months traded it in on the 1967 Shelby GT 350,still have that one.48 years the beginning of this month.
Rest of the cars/trucks have kept for about 100k plus.
Did just pick up a 2006 Toyota Highlander Hybrid 101k miles,love it.
After trading the 2006 Ranger in for the 2002 Toyota AC TRD 4x4 122k miles ,now 144k,love it also.
Now we need to sell the 2013 Ford Escape.Don't need the 4x4 suv any more.(any buyers?)
We seem to keep most of our cars for a little over 100k,but they have all been American made.
Now that we have 2 Toyota's hope to keep them till the wheels fall off.
We have owned cars from all the Big3 but didn't like the GM ones.
Jeeps were nice had 4 ,2 Cherokee s, 2 Grand Cherokee s. They were great SUV s put many miles on all 4 even 2 trips to Alaska.
Oh and throw in a 67 Ford used truck,to carry our first "hard side" camper in 1977, than a 84 Dodge W150 Power Wagon for same camper ,than needed more room and went to a 79 Dodge Club Cab Power Wagon for same camper. Oh saw the friend who bought the Dodge/camper combo,
The Dodge is long gone but the camper is still in use he has it on a 2005 Tundra.Couldn't believe that. And that at the time was just an inexpensive cabover camper.Who knew.
Yeh we have done our share to keep Detroit in business.
Frank
 
I tend to keep things 10 years of longer. Ride a motorcycle a lot so not a lot of miles on the 4 wheel vehicles. Bought a used 1977 Blazer that I sold in 2005 to get my current Tundra. Tundra has 66,000 miles and two trips are over 16,000 of those miles.

Frank that was a great investment in the '67 Shelby. I worked with a guy in 1968 who spent almost a years salary on a AC 427, got to ride in it. I wonder if he still has it.
 
1987 Ford Ranger, bought new owned it for 11 years, 315,000 miles. Sold it for $500.00

1998 Dodge Dakota, bought new owned it for 11 years, three power steering pumps, catalytic converter, two AC compressors & 268,000 miles later, I cashed for clunkered it in'09 for a 2009 Toyota Yaris (still have). Thank you President Obama!!

2000 Ford Expedition (wife's car) bought in '03, owned it for 11 years, 134,000 miles. Tradeded it in for a 2013 Toyota Highlander in February of 2014.

2006 Ram 1500. Bought it in January 2012 with 8,500 miles. Sold it last month to a friend with 28,000 miles and used the proceeds to buy an ATC Panther!! :)

2000 Chevy Silverado 1500 inherited from my father in August of 2014. 128,000 miles, keeping it as my "Panther Puller" :D

My company truck & field vehicle is a 99 Ford Ranger with 323,000 miles! I can't kill it, though Lord knows I've tried
 
I've only bought one vehicle new and thats my truck and I plan on keeping for quite a while yet. I plan on hanging onto the Jeep until I no longer feel like (or can) turn a wrench. I spend way too much time getting a vehicle customized for my likes to just let it go.

Previous vehicles and there weren't that many of them were also held onto a long time.
 
I'll keep the trend going :D.A 50 ford flat V-8 was my first car in 1961, followed by a 56 Ford with 4 duces in 63 that my sister blow up while I was in the army in 1966. Got a 61 VW when I got out of the army in 67, drove it until I bought a 70 VW in 1969. I drove it until 79 when the electrical system caught on fire, then I bought a new long bed Toyota 4x4, drove it until 99 and sold it to a friend of mine who drove it until last year and he sold it to some guy up on the Oregon coast when I understand it is now a beach truck! I bought my present 99 F150 4x4 in 99 and it is still running like a top especially since I had the rear end suspension upgraded to the 3/4 ton level. Ya know you sort of get used to things and what do they say something about why change something :p when it works!

Smoke
 
Hm. Lessee

Started with a '62 Chevy Nova in 1970. Only kept it for 5 years, sold it at 105,000 miles. Bought a 70 Buick Skylark, in 75, parted with it in '77 when I moved overseas. Rode bicycles and busses until 1998. Bought a disastrous Dodge Charger which died strangely in 2000 at which point I bought a 1991 VW Westphalia with 80,000 miles on it. Parted with it in 2010 by which time it had 330,000 miles. (I'd replaced the engine.) I was heartsick to part with it but the durned thing was becoming really pricey to keep running. Bought a 2008 Ford Ranger in 2010 -- added the ATC Ranger II in --um-- 2013(?) We've bonded, and I intend to drive it forever. From the figures I see above I should be pretty much able to do that, given good maintenance. I hate parting with most vehicles (apart from the ridiculous Charger).
 
I've only bought 1 new vehicle due to my experience with the stealership. Most cars I've had were bought with high milage, driven a few years and sold for something newer or better. I've had my current Jeep since 75 although it's had 3 bodies on it.

The 2 cars I wish I still had were a 60 TR3 that took me through college and a 63 Vette I bought after graduation.
 
Casa Escarlata Robles Too said:
1967 Shelby GT 350,still have that one.48 years the beginning of this month.
Did I read that right??? :oops:
Frank, I think you need to bring the Shelby to a rally, even if you tow it behind your FWC.
To quote Sunni, "pics or it didn't happen" :p
 
My present Wandermobile is an '02 F350 Crew Cab longbed diesel, purchased in May '04 with 96,500 miles (original owner did oil field rig service work and put those miles on her in only 22 months). She's got 257,000 on the clock today. I plan to keep her indefinitely as nowadays she is only a property maintenance "rolling toolbox" and a weekend/vacation Wandermobile.

In 1973 I got a 1967 IH Scout with a 266 cubic inch V-8 during my tenure at Appalachian State University. My parents and little sisters used it on weekends when visiting our nearby vacation home on ski weekends. I still have it, though it has not been run since 1989. As we say in the IH business, she "ran when parked".

We had a 1990 half-ton 4WD Suburban from 1995 to 2009. It had the distinction of having served as a daily driver for my wife, both sons, and myself (guess who got it last). With 195,000 miles on the clock and on her 3rd transmission, and running on 7 cylinders, the US Gummint decided it was worth $4,500 so we traded it in under the Cash for Clunkers program. I had a plan to have it towed to a discrete spot up the hill from the dealership so I could coast in to a parking spot on trade-in day, as the Clunkers program required that the vehicle arrive at the dealership "unassisted". Fortunately, it was a good day and the old battlewagon made it in under her own power. We really loved that old truck. She hauled the 4 of us from the Blue Ridge to the Outer Banks, camping gear and surfboards piled on top, and she towed our old Hydra Sports CC to and from the coast for a long time (which was the reason for blowing up the 700 series automatic twice).

Near and dear to my heart is my late father's 1994 Lincoln Town Car. He purchased her as a slightly used executive leaser with 19,000 miles in late 1995 and drove her sparingly in his retirement until his passing in 1999. Mom kept her in the garage, rarely driven, until 2003. She then became a daily driver for my wife for several years, for me, and served as a backup car for us and our sons, notably the Navy Seabee who squired the ladies around town in between training and deployment while he was vehicle-less. She's in the driveway on a battery-tender awaiting her next assignment, with 185,000 miles on the clock.

My current DD is a 2001 Mazda B-3000 V-6 5-speed, a Ranger in Mazda cladding. She's an Expo-Rated extended cab 2WD with 185,000 miles. I picked her up for $3,500 in early 2013 in order to stop driving the F350 and the Lincoln. I'll likely keep her indefinitely.

Like the motor oil commercial says: "I like new things, especially when they get old".

Foy
 
These are great stories! Thanks to everyone and please keep them coming. Frank, you are way ahead of all of us with your classic. Good job! :)
 
This is a very fun conversation! I learned to drive in a 61 Plymouth Valiant, nicknamed "blue cloud" for the burned oil left hanging over the highway!
My own list of vehicles in chronological order: 61 Chevy Biscayne wagon, 64 MG 1100 (now that was an education!), 1951 GMC pickup (foot starter and hand throttle on the dash), 56 VW Beetle (oval window) 66 VW Van, 73 Saab Sonnet, 64 VW Beetle, a second 66 VW Van, 64 Lincoln Towne Car, 65 International Travelall. I had all of these between high school and discharge from the military; in college I had a 61 VW Van (21 window with sunroof).

Then I got married and the nature of my car buying/owning changed radically as evidenced by the current vehicles in our stable:

2002 VW Golf TDI, puchased new, currently 225k miles and still gets 42mpg!
2010 Nissan Frontier CC long bed, purchased new, just clicked over 80k miles, usually has the FWC attached.
1992 Nissan Pathfinder, purchased from original owner with 161k miles on it - it has 264k miles and the original clutch! This is the go-to-the-dump, haul-the-dog, beater fishing car we can't imagine not having.

Again, a great idea for conversation!
 
1983 Chevy K20 bought new and had it for 25 years. Wish I would of kept it.
Also purchased a new 1983 FWC Grandby at the same time and had it for 23 years.

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The new pair should out last me.

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Always had 4x4 pickups. Started with a 73 Dodge W200 in 78. Drove it till 85 and bought my only car, an 81 Oldsmobile. The Dodge went farming with my Father. The Olds lasted a year, long enough to get me through the last year of college. Somewhere in that year I inheirited a 68 CJ5, a sister to my grandfathers CJ. Basically Jeep used mine to consolidate their bad parts bin and used the good parts to build my Grandfathers. My Jeep did stay in the family till 07 or 08. Out of school and unemcumbered I bought an 84 Ranger in 86. Drove it till 96. Bought another Ranger, my only automatic truck and drove it till 2001 when the transmission died. bought a 99 Ranger in 2001 with 11,000 miles on it. Still own it. Bought a 91 F250 Diesel in 03 or 04 from dear old Dad. He bought it used at a liquidation auction. It's the FWC transport with half a bizillion miles on it. The 7.3 runs well and with the camper I still get 18-20mpg. The truck wrapped around the engine and transmission is another story.

To Summarize: 10 years or longer with the Ford products. My family and I have an odd vehicle based relationship.
 
Well Andy you asked for it.
The convertible is it's garage mate. Passed to us by a close friend years ago.She bought the 65 convert 50 years ago in April 1965.
Don't drive either one much.I hate to say it but with all the road traffic nowadays they just aren't the "FUN" they used to be
I had hoped our daughter Shelby,catchy ,original name right would take one at least but she has no room at her condo at this time.So they sit here gathering dust and money.
Don't get me wrong I have had such great times and memories with both cars.
As for "towing " it behind our ATC to a rally don't think that's gonna happen,sorry. Would be neat though.

Ski not really just to stubborn to sell it. They have long gone from daily drivers,mostly because we didn't need to use them but for pleasure. I still get them out around our house area.
It's cool to hear about everyone's car stories. During high school I did have some cool cars also but never had them in driving condition.Lots of big dreams though.
Mom got her drivers license about the same time I got mine.Dad bought her a 1956 Ford Victoria hardtop
312 ci Thunderbird engine,really moved.Well a few months later she let me start using it and about a year later she got so fed up with what I had done to her car I had to buy it from her. Than sold it to a friend bought a 1957 Ford convert enjoyed that .Went into the navy 1963 and mom sold all my cars I still had that "dream" car in the backyard 1938 Ford Deluxe coupe. Gone .

Foy,maybe we had the same "dad".My dad loved his cars also.Mom bought him a Lincoln Town car I think maybe a 93.That was his "tuna boat" he just drove it all over had a huge grin on his face while behind the wheel. When he died in 2002 mom had to sell it ,found a good next owned and I think it's still cruising
the roads of the Philly area.
Oh well such is life.

Now I enjoy driving the 2002 Tundra and the 2006 Highlander Hybrid.

Hope I haven't bored everyone too much,but I do like talking cars.

Thanks Ski for the thread.
Frank
 

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Didn't bore me Frank, cool stories and a quite nice pair of ponies you have there! That Shelby should stay in the family. :)
 

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