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How many miles before trading a car?

I have about 120,000 miles on my 2003 Toyota Camry and it is still running fine. I hope to get at least another 100,000 miles out of it before it dies.
 
Rodimus Prime said:
The majic number of a car value dropping like a rock is mile 1 off the lot.

As for high mileage car they hold their value better than people expect. For example my dads car which is 11-12 years old and has over 180k miles on it is still worth around 3k and looses relatively little value each year because of its age. Cars min value is their scrap value and as long as it is running it is going to be worth a fair amount more than its scrap value.


I am a fan of keeping cars as long as their repairs do not get insanely costly. My car I had to replace my high pressure line of my AC system but that is because I believe a rock hit it and put a hole in it.
As long as you can trust your car it is worth keeping.

Just save money in the terms of a car payment as a car ages and you just use that extra money for a larger down payment which would really be more than if you traded in your car.
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Yeah, I know the feeling. I'm a big believer in keeping cars a long time. I had an old Nissan pickup truck in college, which had 190k miles on it when it was brutally attacked and killed by a suicidal deer. My old Mazda Protege had 180k on it when I got rid of it due to heat stroke. The A/C compressor went out in July. I still tried to drive it for a while, but it was too much for me to handle, since high 90s/low 100s and insane humidity are the norms around here. Even though it was 11 years old with 180k miles, and no A/C, I still got about $1k for it. Mechanically, I have no doubts it could have gone another 50-100k miles. It didn't leak or burn any oil and still ran fine. My Mazda 6 had 80k on it when someone decided to do some free body work on it for me.
 
I take very good care of my 2001 330i and plan to keep it for a long time--certainly well past 10 years. Need/want is not a simple equation--hopefully the need side of my brain will keep me out of the sales lot for many more years. ;)
 
From Edmunds trade in values, depreciation is steady, even over 100K. Hard to believe the value is so high with that kind of mileage, but that's Honda/Acura reliability.

Current value 2006 w/ 73,000 =$10947
" " 2005 w/ 91,000= $8339
" " 2004 w/ 109,000= $6246

Maintenance & repairs I project at $1000/year.
Insurance savings over new car -$300 per year.
Total cost to keep car for 2 more years= $6101 or $254/month.

This seems like a reasonable strategy now. Thanks!
 
Anytime you get involved with a "stealership" you can count on losing, even if you don't realize it.

If you desire a newer, better car then now IS a good time. It is NOT a financially sound decision though.
 
Regarding the thought that if you drive it into the ground, you're cheating yourself out of having something to trade on a new car.....

Do you not know how to save money? By driving your current, paid-off car, you're saving $300+ a month by not having a car payment. Instead of blowing that on whatever, save it. Let's say your current car lasts another 4 years. You've saved $14,400 IN CASH. Plus a $1000 or so you could get for your old car (heck, you can get $500 or so just by scrapping it).

$15,400 of cash will talk a hard bargain at the dealer when you're ready to buy your new car. You deceive yourself by thinking that you're actually saving money when the dealer offers you $3000 for you to trade in your $500 car. Be assured they are making up that difference on the price of the new one. When you can walk in and talk cash, then you can make a great deal.
 
I'm revisiting this thread 15 months later. I kept the car and added 19,000 more miles for a total of 94,000 miles. Maintenance costs for the year, (tires, brake pads, battery), about $500. No mechanical issues. Honda really does engineer a long lasting vehicle. I'm in for another year!
 
senseless said:
I'm revisiting this thread 15 months later. I kept the car and added 19,000 more miles for a total of 94,000 miles. Maintenance costs for the year, (tires, brake pads, battery), about $500. No mechanical issues. Honda really does engineer a long lasting vehicle. I'm in for another year!
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Make sure you get the timing belt replaced as scheduled on the maintenance.
 
I was in a similar spot this year. I was driving a 1990 celica with 146k miles. It was at the point where it would randomly not start. Took it to the mechanics 3 seperate occasions and they could not replicate the issue. Became an issue of reliability for me so I bought a brand new impreza after having drove the celica for 11 years.

I am stoked as it has a LOT BETTER safety equipment, all wheel drive, 4 doors, heated seats, etc and is able to bring my toys with me easily

Only live once and nothing sucks when you are out and your vehicle is unreliable
 
I would say before you hit the 100k mile mark.

With that said, I had a 1995 Honda Accord with over 200k miles on it and kept driving it until someone rear ended me and totaled it. I'm driving a 2004 BMW 3 series with 98k miles on it and will probably drive it to the ground.

It all comes to the point where the annual maintenance cost exceed half the value of the car for me before I decide to get rid of it.
 
Hondas are great. We have a 2003/2004(?) Accord with about 95,000 miles on it right now. It's as good as it was on day one.
 
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