How many miles on your vehicle before sell or trade?

[Oaktree]

US brands, 100k about the max.
Honda - i keep till they have no value left, which is over 300k.

My experience has been just the opposite. Japanese stuff seems to fall apart around 100-125k.

Maybe if rust eats it first. Otherwise it's good for way more.

That's the big problem up here. N.H. DOT is very aggressive about salt use on state highways. I understand that in the southern part of the state they're big on use of brine which is even worse. Fortunately haven't seen any evidence of it up here.

Personally, I don't trade vehicles. I'll generally buy 5-8 y.o. ones and keep them 'til they drop. Not only are they at that "sweet spot" of price vs needed repairs, you also have a pretty good idea at that point which ones to avoid. I've had my best luck with GM and Chrysler. YMMV The one with the most mileage was a '90 Chevy Cavalier. Bought it with 150k, put on another 170k before it succumbed to rust. My current Jeep is closing in on that mark fast.

As others have noted, new vehicle prices are insane...I won't pay that much.

 

[Peter 315]

2010 ford focus 200k 2016 f350 srw 4k I buy a new truck every 10 years , I traded 2006 f250 with 80k starting to rust and bad exhaust manifold

 

[ovrszd]

For you folks with over 250k miles on your vehicles, do you end up replacing the drivers seat cushion, fabric, knobs, switches, headlight lenses, etc? I致e never kept a vehicle beyond 170k mi (yet) but those are the items that I notice starting to wear after about 100k (particularly on my 07 Silverado). Don稚 all of the interior plastic panels etc. rattle, crack or otherwise decay?

On my last truck, a ?4 F150, I had the bench seat reupholstered with new foam at about 130k mi. Dash was cracked on the passengers side and it rattled because one of the plastic mounting tabs broke off. Vinyl floor had some tears in it due to dry rot and wear.

I've gotten very good service from my 2000 Ford SD. 250K miles. Normal chassis wear items such as brakes, couple ball joints. No switch or latch failures at all. No plastic panel failure. No rattles. Driver's seat is starting to get holes in the leather. I'll put a seat cover on it before the cushion gets ruined.

 

[dgl24087]

2007 Dodge Ram 1500 4x4, 197,800 miles.

 

[Gem99ultra]

SIL has a 2002 Chevy C1500 with 375K on it. Still runs great. On the other hand, he also has a 2002 Camry with 275K that's on its last leg. Daily trip to work and back is 160 miles, and he has 2 teenage kiddo's that drive. He buys a lot of gasoline. I suppose most any brand will last a good long while as long as its maintained.

 

[radioman]

its all about reliability and backups with time to wrench. there was a time i had 3 car payments since we needed something newer and hated it. but now with only one payment and rest of cars are just old and in 150's miles -- i am hoping to stretch it by wrenching repairs myself to 200k and beyond till something expensive happens to it then its toast.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

After years of great hondas, Bought new 2008 chevy impala, back when they were struggling, before the govt takeover.

Worse vehicle i ever owned. The emission system totally gave out in 4 yrs. Traded it for another honda, no problems with it.

 

[patrick_g]

My dad had a 55 Studebaker which he traded in at 8 months for a 56 Studebaker President. When friends asked why he replied that the ash tray got full.

I'm a little more rational (or so I like to think.)

As long as a vehicle simultaneously meets the following criteria, I tend to retain it until it doesn't.

Vehicle must be:

1. safe, all safety features working nominally. Such things as anti-lock brakes, computer aided traction control, lights, etc. including climate control for applicable vehicles.
2. reliable, must start first time every time hot or cold, run normally and never ever strand my wife.
3. economical, must not cost more to own/operate/maintain than the cost of a replacement (preferably new replacement or near new)

Our current stable includes:

1. 2004 Prius with 140,000 miles (we get free oil changes every 5000 miles.)
2. 2008 F-250 crew cab 4x4 diesel with 27,000 miles
3. 1997 Dodge Ram 3500 4x4 diesel with 75, 000 miles
4. 1997 Daihatsu HyJet mini-pickup (not sure how many kilometers)
5. 1962 VW based Myers Manx style street legal dune buggy. (many many miles)
6. Kubota Grand L 4610HSTC tractor with 1500 hours

When the Prius fails in any of the three criteria we will consider what technology we should replace it with; same-same gas-electric hybrid, plug-in hybrid, fuel cell electric, plug-in electric or what. Maybe advances in flux capacitor technology will allow us to run a Delorean on banana peels. May never need to replace the F250

Patrick

 

[Creamer]

After years of great hondas, Bought new 2008 chevy impala, back when they were struggling, before the govt takeover.

Worse vehicle i ever owned. The emission system totally gave out in 4 yrs. Traded it for another honda, no problems with it.

Another guy who buys a car from a bankrupt company and wonders why they have problems?????

Personally my wife's 2005 Honda Odyssey has had more recalls than any other vehicle I have had by far. It has 138k on it and has failed us on two trips.

now my '99 Deville I bought in 2001 with 71k on it has 256k and still going strong. I finally put rear brakes in it at 225k as the rotors had rusted out in our salt. other than front brakes twice, a new antenna, and trunk pull down it has been trouble free - never has failed me on a trip.

My 2005 Silverado has not been trouble free but I do have 176k on it and it is running well. My 1992 F150 was always a joke and I only got 109k on it and it isn't running - I need to get rid of it.

Daughter's 2013 Hyundai Elantra has 109k on it and with a 200k warranty she is planning on keeping it at least til then.

 

[PJSprog]

I cannot remember the last time I got less than 200,000 miles out of a vehicle. I generally keep them until they start to become a money pit. As noted earlier, if repairs on it cost more then payments on a new one, it's time to go. I've bought quite a few high mileage (100K+) vehicles over the years, and every one of them made it into the mid-200K range. Simple scheduled maintenance is the key. Regular oil changes go a long way towards keeping an older car running well.

My current 2014 Kia Soul has 113,xxx miles in about 3-1/2 years. Still running great. 2°F this morning, and it fired right up with no hesitation.
Wife's 2012 Kia Sorento is nearing 150,xxx miles.
Our 2003 Ford F150 is approaching 190,xxx miles, but is strictly the "farm truck" since we bought it last year, and really only gets driven on weekends, or as an alternate when one of the daily drivers is in for some service.