When do you decide to part with your old car

I get rid of my wife’s cars when the lease is up, usually 3 years. I no longer get rid of my cars, since they are collectible and I enjoy owning them. I imagine my wife will junk them when I die.

Or worse, sell them for what you told her you paid for them, right?

I don’t discuss my finances with her.

We used to tease a fraternity brother about that. His father owned a couple of car dealerships, and he got a car to use. He had to turn it in and get another at least once during the school year due to mileage. We used to tease him about the ashtrays filling up and needing a new car.

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Depends on the car. I keep cars for as long as I like driving it, for as long as it’s reliable, and as long as it can be repaired (at reasonable cost). We will probably keep my wife’s loaded 2008 Solara Convertible until parts are no longer available and it can no longer be repaired. That’s how much she loves it. And yes it’s fun to drive, has less than 110,000 miles, is comfortable, reliable and has a great design. Three years ago it got a new top. This year it’s going to get recovered front seats and the dash is going to be reskinned. Toyota replaced the defective transmission at 28,000 miles and it has a lifetime original owner warranty. Other than that its been a trouble free fun car to drive.

I try do my research so that I buy the best car I can afford. And I keep them until they either are totaled or die. I’ve only been disappointed by a 2003 Toyota 4Runner, which I traded after only 2 years for a 2005 Durango. The 4Runner was the first year of a trouble plagued redesign. In two years it went thru two transmissions, an engine control computer and two catalytic converters. I did not want to buy the Solara in 2008, but my wife did and it was a good decision. The 4Runner proves that any manufacturer can build a lemon. Even Toyota.

Provided it’s been reasonably well maintained and isn’t a rust bucket, you should be able to keep your car going another 10 or more years with just preventive maintenance and occasional replacement of wear out items. And you might be able to get a better price on a clutch from a reputable independent shop with an experienced mechanic (not a franchise).

Modern safety and driver assist features are another consideration, my wife recently forced a “completely unnecessary” new car purchase to get these - blind spot warning and automatic emergency braking have saved a few friends from accidents.

My wife gained quite a bit of tech going from a 2003 Liberty to a 2016 Tucson. One thing I like is the maintenance reminder since she tends to neglect vehicles.

She did pretty good keeping that Liberty on the road for 13 years :wink:

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Closer to 15. We bought the Tucson used. The Liberty was mom’s and I inherited it. No clue what maintenance it got. It had an engine overhaul in the time we had it and went in the same shop again for collapsed valve lifters. After that, I started going out late at night checking the oil. It was burning or leaking oil badly when we traded it in.

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I agree unless for some reason it gets wrecked.