Until the blower motor breaks. The one on my '79 Volvo recently died and it’d cost over $1000 to get it replaced. (Labor costs are high over here!) I’ve decided it’s a non-essential function - it doesn’t get that cold in winter, and I can get through the summer by opening the windows.
Otherwise it’s an awesome car. Tons of head room, great visibility, and rubber-coated steel bumpers that can destroy a door on a Toyota without getting a single scratch. (Actually happened once, not my fault.) And my power windows still work, as well as the cool headlight wipers! My only complaint is that it’s not the station wagon version.
1994 Dodge P/U and a '62 Studebaker GT Hawk. The Dodge has over 90k miles and the Stude is about 130k. I would love to have a new truck, but I sure like not having a payment, so I’ll drive this one until it starts to fall apart. Then there’s the Stude! It’s a cream puff. Runs great, almost show quality condition, and it’s easy to work on.
I have a 1987 Nissan Hardbody pickup which I hardly drive now because my SO has a 98 Explorer (I’d rather transport baby in the SUV). When I do drive it, it still runs great. It has over 150K miles on it and still runs tops. When I eventually go back to work I will get another Nissan pickup, but probably the top of the line model with the Crew Cab and 4x4.
I really enjoy driving the old truck, though…it took me to many difficult fishing spots despite being only a 4x2. The camper that came with it provided great shelter during those overnight fishing trips.
Hmm…maybe I’ll keep it even if I get the brand new truck.
I don’t own a car. My true love Marcie has a 1991 Honda Civic that she bought new. It now has 90K miles and runs like a Swiss watch. She recently bought a new (2001) Dodge van that we use for camping and hope to keep for the next twenty years.
Wow, over 1.1 million clicks on an engine? Diesel or petrol? In any case, that’s some sort of record! Contact Nissan, maybe they wanna use it in an advertisement or something!
I bought my 95 Honda Civic with every intention of driving it til the wheels fall off. I didn’t need much in the way of a car at the time, since my daily commute was only around 10 miles round trip. Shortly after I bought it, my commute went down to about 5 miles round trip. I had a couple of years of putting about 40 miles a day on it, then my commute went down to nothing (working from home and then unemployment). Except for a two-week trip up the East Coast right after our wedding in 96, it’s had very few long trips, so the mileage for a car that’s nearly eight model years old is quite low: still under 60K. It has great fuel efficiency and has had exactly one unscheduled repair (the alternator went about eight months ago). Otherwise, it’s had oil changes, new tires, and a new battery. At this rate, I should be able to hand it off to my five-year old son when he’s sixteen with less than 150K miles on it. I’m figuring that regular maintenance and such will run me less than $10K for the next 11 years, and that’s a lot less than I’d be spending on anything else. I do think cars are a reflection of the owner’s personality, and I like the fact that what my car says about me is “I don’t give a damn about having a spiffy new car – I own a car because I need one for transportation, and this is the most cost-effective way for me to fill that need.”
Our other vehicle is a 2000 Mazda MPV that already has more miles on it than the Civic. If it holds up as well as the 93 Mazda 626 it replaced, however, we should be driving it for quite a while as well.
