How long do you typically own your stuff for?

[Von]

Kevin, I still have my first car that I got when I was 15 (now 42) Its a 59' Austin healey. My Porsche 911 is a 76' with only 40k and all original. My everyday cars are 95' Jeep GC with 110k and 96' Dodge Grand Carv. with 120k. These two will be with me for a few more years. My two chain saws are both made in the early 60's. Would like new ones, but the old ones still run, so no need to change. I don't think I have bought anything new in large tools or equipment, most I have gotten used or were given to me. My tractor is only two years old, but I got that used as well. And will have it for along time. Unless another deal that I can't pass up comes along. I tend to hang on to everything, my wife says I'm a "pack rat" but you never know when you might need something that you once had! So I hang on to everything. Besides its more fun and cheaper to fix it when something happpens, than have to buy new.

 

[Steelfan]

Well, I was one of the people who traded about every 3-4 years. It always seemed better to have the warranty, and piece of mind of a newer vehicle. I also found that leasing helped with that some. But in the last 3 years since I bought my 99 GMC Seirra Pickup, I've changed my mind. I plan on keeping this truck a long time. My wife drives a 96 Ford Explorer which we bought after leasing a 97 Ford Explorer for 2 years. The payments for the 97 were very low, but the car wasn't worth the money , that we would have paid out at the end of the lease. We sat down, and figured out the money that we paid out for the last 5-6 vehicles, and found that the loss you take on the new cars is too high for the advantages. As far as other things, we try to keep all our other stuff as long as possible. I have 2 garden tractor from the early 80's, that are built better, and run better then the new ones. Its mostly true that stuff made years ago are better built, and last longer. Kent

 

[hwp]

'Till it dies! My newest car is a 1981 BMW, other than my truck.

 

[TWINKLE_TOES]

Kevin, don't know yet. Best guess 40 to 50 years. Hope the Kubota's can hold up this well.

1966 F250
1973 F250
1955 David Bradley
1944 Farmall "A"

Al

 

[Wingnut]

Well, I gave my last Toyota Tercel to my mechanic when I bought my '95 Camry ... it had 325,000km on the clock.
My '78 Ford F150 won't be retired for awhile yet, it only has 86,000 miles on it.
My '82 GoldWing Aspencade has 81,000 miles on it and is still going strong so I'm having a hard time talking myself into a new one.
My (new-to-me) '88 Winnie LeSharo mini-motorhome only has 86,000 miles on it, so it'll be sticking around a while.
My 16.5 hp lawntractor is only 6 years old.
My Yamaha 2wd Timberwolf ATV is only 8 years old - but only sees use as a farm work"toy".
My electric Club Car golf cart - 20 years old - sees daily use as transportation to the barn by my wife .. I've used it for golf twice in the past 7 years.

WingNut

 

[TonyC]

I tend to keep stuff forever. I try to take care of vehicles and tractors so they last. I don't believe in buying new cars. One year old is the newest I'd consider. I have had several cars I kept TOO long and lost ny butt on them.

 

[hwp]

<font color=blue>...I have had several cars I kept TOO long and lost ny [sic] butt on them.</font color=blue>

For what it is worth, there has been some academic research on this topic. The conclusion is that the most economical route is to keep a vehicle until the cost of the next repair exceeds the value of the vehicle.

 

[frank_f15]

i tend to go with the second group. i usually by my vehicles used, take my time and buy before i NEED it. last one i bought was jan. of 2001 1995 buick lesabre loaded with 17k on it.my other two wer purchased the same way. 93 pontiac grand am(which i bought in 97 with 21k . don't like to take the depreciation on new vehicles.keep most things as long as they are functional.AND DO THE JOB. I STILL HAVE MY ORIGINAL BRIDE, GOT HER IN 1963, LOT OF MILES STILL LEFT ON THAT BABY/w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif

 

[TonyC]

<font color=blue>...keep a vehicle until the cost of the next repair exceeds the value of the vehicle. </font color=blue>

In my experience that's still not necessarily safe. The problem is if you have a car worth $7,000 then decide to put $2000 into repair. In reality a car valued at $7000 may very well need another repair not too far down the road. So it's worth 7K, I put 2K into it and 5 months later it needed another 2K repair. I kept it too long!!!!! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[JJT]

TwinkleToes, Any idea what the '66 F250 is worth? I've got my eyes on a '66 F350. The body's in great shape and the moter was rebuilt ~15 years ago, (30K miles ago).