How do you decide when it's time to get rid of your vehicle?

In My Humble Opinion
1

My husband and I have had this conversation many times, always about my car because I choose to drive them till they die while he freaks out as the mileage approaches 100K. (So my 220K Sonata is making him crazy.) Since I’m retired and we have a 3rd vehicle, it’s no biggie if mine totally craps out. On the other hand, I do like my car and it’s been well-maintained by a garage that I love. But I know there will come a point where repairing it will be too expensive to be worth it.

We agree that if the transmission or the engine totally give out, that’s it. We’ll also keep doing routine maintenance, even tho that’s getting more $$ for both parts and labor - such is the economy. In the past, my main criterion was when the average repair costs were the same as the payment on a new car, that was time. But I won’t be replacing this one with a new one.

My husband thinks the calculation should take the blue book value into consideration and we should sell it while it’s still it reasonable shape, and take the money and run. I understand his logic, but I do like my car and I’ve kinda set a goal of getting it to 250K miles, just because. At the rate I drive now, that could take another 5 years.

Anyway, ignoring my specific situation if you can, how do you decide when your car/truck/SUV has to go?

2

My current car is 11 years old, had it for 10 years. My previous car was 14 years old, I only sold it because I was tired of driving a stick. Also it looked pretty sad, but it still worked well, and I missed some things about it as soon as I sold it – it was a small SUV that had a lot of room inside but was easy to park. My husband’s car is 25 years old, he’s had it for around 20 years.

I don’t think your husband’s calculation is remotely logical (sorry to say). A car is an expense, not an investment. If you are going to base your decision on a financial calculation, it should include the expense of running your current car (including insurance!) on the one hand, and the same plus cost savings you might get from a new car (e.g. if you get a hybrid, how much would you save on gas?). You can factor in other improvements in auto technology for the new car, but then it becomes less a strictly financial calculation.

I’ve been thinking about selling my current car, mostly because it’s rather small inside and low to the ground, i.e. it no longer suits me as well as it did.

3

It seems to me that even if the repair cost is several times the monthly payment on a new car, it may still be worth repairing it, as long as you then go for some time without needing additional repairs. And I think it’s important to recognize that some things, like tires and brake pads are wear items versus things that are broken.

4

I have replaced cars when they start breaking enough that I don’t trust them. The age has varied by car. Oh, and once I replaced a car that was fairly new because the transmission died, and that was going to cost a ton to repair, and the car seemed like it might have other lurking problems. (But I repaired the transmission on an older car that had been very reliable, and where I thought the transmission problem might have been triggered by a friend, used to driving a standard, accidentally putting it in reverse while cruising on the highway.)

I don’t generally look at the blue book value. Partly, I don’t really like buying or getting used to a new car, so i’d rather keep the one I have. Partly, old cars are almost always cheaper than new cars, because, you know, you aren’t paying for the new car.

5

When the ashtray is full of course. :grinning_face:

But the I don’t smoke any longer and they stopped putting ashtrays in cars. That and I have been leasing company supplied cars for years, and they make me get a new one every 6 month.

I will be retiring next week. So I will need to reassess my criteria. I’ll be following this thread closely.

6

I had a college friend whose father worked for one of the big three auto companies (as you do, I think) and I get the impression that constantly giving their employees new cars means they have no experience with how cars perform as they age.

7

One of the Japanese big 3. I think that many people get into the mode of keeping a car until the new car warranty expires.

From a manufacturers standpoint, after the car is out of warranty it is someone else’s problem. Not totally true for all companies, but seems true for some.

8

When the tie-rod got loose and jabbed a hole in the engine. Thank you Dave’s Auto for replacing the one you weren’t going to pass inspection for, and probably was okay. (He is out of business.)

9

When it’s no longer driveable and will cost more to repair than it’s worth in trade.

10

I had 1992 Chevy Corsica that had an ashtray that fit in the cupholder. It was great for change on toll road’s …220 thousand and sold it …
great commuter !

11

No one reason. A couple have been because repairs were starting to cost too much , a couple because they needed one big repair ( engine or transmission) , two were because I was tired of that vehicle ( but my kids got those ones) and the most recent one was because we’ve used it two or three times since my husband retired in January and it’s not worth insurance, registration etc when we clearly only need one vehicle ( that one also went to my daughter)

12

Yeah, I don’t consider routine maintenance items. They’re just cost of ownership. But if the transmission falls out as I drive down the road… :open_mouth:

Years ago we had a Jetta that literally dropped parts in the parking lot. The repair wouldn’t have been a huge expense, but it was more than our budget could manage at that time. So we just sold it for junk and did what we had to do till we could replace it. Thinking back, I wish we’d hit up our parents for a loan for the repair, but…

And that’s why I said average. A one-time fix of a couple of thousands is different from having to fix this and that with a $400 bill every month. The tricky part is at what point do you stop shelling out the $400? That’s why I love my garage - the manager there is always straight with us, so his opinion carries weight.

Technically, we’d be good with just my husband’s Santa Fe (bought just before the tariff insanity hit.) Our 2009 pickup has minimal insurance on it and it still hasn’t hit 80K miles because it’s only driven when we need to haul something, or when my vehicle is in for maintenance. BUT I really like my Sonata and it’s great when I need to haul the grands somewhere. The assorted fees and insurance are as much a part of ownership as oil changes.

Altho lately, it’s done a few weird things that make me think a computer is getting cranky. I suspect that could be its death knell. Which would suck, because I really don’t like driving the Santa Fe - it’s so freekin’ big!

13

I am very much not typical: I own about ten vehicles and do all the maintenance myself. I have a lift, air tools, etc. Suffice to say, I tend to drive them until they can’t be driven anymore. One of my Saabs now has 250K miles on it.

Unless, of course, I start hating the car. Right now I hate my 2006 BMW Z4. Am going to fix it this fall and get rid of the POS.

14

Yes, if you have a mechanic you trust, they will be able to advise you when to stop putting money into the car.

15

I think this is more just something I feel. If I feel like I’m going to have repairs all the time and the expenses are piling up, that feels like a safe bet. Not just the cost but the inconvenience.

That said, I’ve never gotten to that point with a car. I drove a Honda Fit for ten years and I would have driven it into the ground, but I had a baby and I worried it wouldn’t be as safe, so I traded it in for a CRV five years ago. I plan to drive this one until it gets really inconvenient and expensive. I’ll know when I’m there. Hoping for another ten or fifteen years.

16

The “blue book value” on a 220k mile car is just about zero. It’s not going to decline materially with more mileage. Or more age.

So your hubby’s POV is useful applied to a newish car. But not to an old run-out car even in superb shape.

Said another way, he’s logically right, but your car is worth $500 in trade-in now and would be worth $400 if you magically racked up the extra 30k miles to get to 250k in the next 2 years. $100 is a big percentage of $500, but it sure isn’t much money absolutely when you’re talking about cars.

You said you weren’t going to replace this one. Would that have you driving the 3rd vehicle you own instead? If so, a truly valid financial comparison would include how much more depreciation is happening on that vehicle due to you driving it, differences in insurance and fuel consumption, etc. etc., etc.


Right now you’re paying $X in extra insurance and registration costs to have 3 cars when you only need 2. Maybe the discussion ought to be centered on which one(s) are just wasted overage that could usefully be eliminated.

My late wife and I were always a 2-car family. As she declined and quit driving the last ~4 years of her life, pretty quickly we realized her car was just a slow-motion money pit sitting there fully paid for but still depreciating and needing insurance and registration and occasional maintenance. Selling it did not yield much cash money. But the reduction in monthly expenses was significant.

Another factor to consider.

17

At this point, I only buy new vehicles. I don’t want the cost or headache involved in maintaining a previously owned car or truck. I have no idea how well it was kept up, and I don’t want to inherit anyone else’s problems. I take care of my vehicles and never miss an oil change or tire rotation. At about 65k miles, I start thinking about buying a new vehicle, which I usually do before reaching 70k, when things often start to break down. I have found that Japanese vehicles require the least amount of upkeep and repair when compared to American cars and trucks. YMMV. I am currently driving a 2024 Toyota Tacoma TRD with 4WD that I bought in early 2025. It was the last 2024 model they had on the lot, and they were happy to get rid of it.

18

First off, 200K miles is the new 100K. I would consider a modern car that only lasted 100K miles to be a lemon.

I have noticed that when vehicles hit a certain mileage that maintenance costs seem to spike. Back in the ‘80s and ‘90s, that mileage was around 100K miles. Starting about 20 years ago, it’s been more like 200K miles.

My experience with large maintenance costs for older vehicles consists of the following:

For a 2003 Subaru Outback, this included a head gasket replacement (~$3,000), followed by a fuel tank replacement a couple of months later (~$1,500). These were at 207K miles back in 2014. Unfortunately the vehicle was subsequently totaled 7 months later when my son was rear-ended by a drunk driver…so all that money went down the drain. (Thankfully my son was not seriously injured.)

For a 2004 Toyota 4Runner, this included a suspension issue that cost ~$3,000 at around 210K miles in 2017. Two years later when the mileage hit 240K, I was told the frame welds were rusted through, and that the frame needed to be repaired or replaced. At an estimated cost of ~$10,000, this was cost-prohibitive, and a vehicle that was likely worth a few thousand dollars beforehand instantly became worthless and was junked.

So in both these cases, I wonder if I kept the vehicles for longer than I should have. If I’d sold them sooner, I would have saved thousands of dollars of maintenance costs. In the case of the 4Runner, I would have been able sell it for a few thousand dollars instead of junking it.

I now have a 2015 Toyota 4Runner with 170K miles. I have similarly wondered how long I should keep this vehicle. I have noticed that not only do maintenance costs seem to spike past 200K miles, but the value of the vehicle seems to plummet as well. So that would be an argument for selling it before it gets to that point.

But I still have a hard time getting rid of a vehicle because it might develop problems. Especially when vehicles seem to be lasting longer and longer. My current 4Runner has only had one significant maintenance issue so far (steering column issue last year that cost around ~$3,000). The vehicle otherwise is in great shape. It still feels new to me and drives and handles great.

19

I used to trade them in every 2-3 years, so basically when they got dusty. I stopped doing that about ten years ago.

20

I think where you live is a big factor in vehicle longevity. I happen to live where I can walk to 90% of my monthly destinations, so my 30-year-old Volvo is such an economical bonanza that I barely have to consider it in my budget. A few years ago I was faced with investing $5k to bring it up to snuff, which seemed like a lot for such an old beast but now it runs perfectly and problably will for a long time to come. I’ve had it for over 20 years and it has cost me less than $100 a month (including purchase price) over that time. Pretty good, but then I don’t drive much any more.