How often do you change your car?

TimSynths

I've had 14 cars since I passed my test in November 1991 so on average I change every 2 years. Cheapest car £350 Talbot Sunbeam, most expensive Audi A4 in 1999 £9k. Last car I purchased was a 1999 Mercedes SLK for £2k in March 2016 and it is still going strong- Only done 1,200 miles in the last year and passed its MOT in September first time. I tend to buy cheap now and keep for as long as possible, due to low mileage travelled I can go for the bigger stuff that no one else wants as MPG doesn't matter so can get a lot more bang for my money. Fancy a V8 next.

Paddy79

I'm on my 6th car now after driving for 23 years.
Longest I've kept a car is 7 years, had to change the 3rd car which I had from new to a more family friendly car, which I kept hold of for another 7 years.

lordmountararat

I am deeply ashamed that I have owned more than 40 cars and motorhomes (often owning two vehicles at the same time) since I passed my driving test in 1963 and immediately bought a 1937 MG TA for £65. I just love driving different marques; I am a car dealer's dream and must have provided many of them with lovely Caribbean holidays over the years.

Ebe_Scrooge

Zellah said:

I always buy brand new (cash) and try to get at least 10 years usage before sending them to the scrap heap. 

Good Lord, what are you doing to those cars ????  A modern car should easily last well in excess of 10 years as long as the routine maintenance/servicing is done and it's reasonably well looked after.  I've always bought cars that are about 5, 6, 7 years old, and would be pretty miffed if I didn't get another good 8 - 10 years of use out of them.  Even at that I've never had to scrap a car, I still manage to get a few hundred quid for it at the end.  Admittedly I do all the routine servicing and the majority of repairs/maintenance myself, so it doesn't cost too much and I know it's been done right :-)

JustAnotherSaver

Dr_Crypto said:

JustAnotherSaver said:

Dr_Crypto said:

3-4 years. Never put a car through a second MOT. 

Out of interest, why is that?

I like new cars. I know it’s not a financially sensible way of doing it but it works for me at present. If money became tight then I’d quickly start keeping them longer. 

Fair enough. I was looking around myself and nothing 'new' really jumps out at me. I much prefer older cars but then they come with their own issues.

Plus i'm a bit of a tight !!!!!! and think if i spend £10k on this car then that's about £8k that i could've put towards the bathroom, the kitchen, pension, just general savings for in-case-stuff.

Nick_C

Mine is 12 years old.  Bought new.  Only done 80k miles.  I'm as happy with it now as I was back in 2008.  I get it serviced regularly and apart from tyres changes the only thing I've replaced is the battery.  While it continues to be trouble free, I will stick with it.  Although I will buy a new car before the Government scraps the sale of ICE vehicles in 2030.

facade

The last one I had for 11 years I think, depreciated by £950 over that time.

Cost £100,000 in repairs though

Actually, it needed an alternator, a new back 'box, a wheel bearing and a front pulley, so about £400

Markneath

My current car I bought new in Sep 16 so 4 years, its the longest I have owned a car but I like it and I have lost interest in cars a bit lately.

noclaf

I've had my driving license 15 years and owned 2 cars in that time, first one was a corolla.. reliable ish but painfully slow and a chore on motorways with a 90 bhp n/a engine. Changed to a MK1 focus from a Ford main dealer...10 years later and still going strong though feeling the cars age now(16 years old) and will likely change it soon. Combined purchase price of both cars was less than £9k. As my annual mileage is low am tempted to go for a bigger older n/a petrol engine next....
 

Aran76

lordmountararat said:

I am deeply ashamed that I have owned more than 40 cars and motorhomes (often owning two vehicles at the same time) since I passed my driving test in 1963 and immediately bought a 1937 MG TA for £65. I just love driving different marques; I am a car dealer's dream and must have provided many of them with lovely Caribbean holidays over the years.

It's interesting that you should say that as I've always felt there is a social stigma to frequently changing cars. You should feel no shame, clearly cars are your thing so it's good that you have enjoyed many cars over the years.