How long can I keep my car?

Amateurd

Most people seem to buy a new car every so many years. Mine is over 10 years old and I still like it. It is a Cat N now following a minor accident (the other driver's fault) so it isn't worth much to sell.

I pay for tyres, MOT, insurance and occasional oil etc but it's pretty efficient (60+MPG). Tax is almost nothing as the emissions are low.

I guess it comes down to repair costs, which have so far been pretty low.

My question is, can I just keep driving until it has an expensive failure, or is there a cut-off point where I should ditch it and get a newer car? Can I keep it a few years more or am I being too tight?

elsien

I keep mine to the point at which the costs are outweighing the benefits. Last two went went when one was an expensive MOT fail, and one I managed to write off. 
If you like it and it's cost effective then tight doesn't come into it. 

neilmcl

Amateurd said:

Most people seem to buy a new car every so many years. Mine is over 10 years old and I still like it. It is a Cat N now following a minor accident (the other driver's fault) so it isn't worth much to sell.

I pay for tyres, MOT, insurance and occasional oil etc but it's pretty efficient (60+MPG). Tax is almost nothing as the emissions are low.

I guess it comes down to repair costs, which have so far been pretty low.

My question is, can I just keep driving until it has an expensive failure, or is there a cut-off point where I should ditch it and get a newer car? Can I keep it a few years more or am I being too tight?

Do you really need to ask others this question? Just keep driving it until it becomes too expensive to maintain or run.

Amateurd

neilmcl said:

Amateurd said:

Most people seem to buy a new car every so many years. Mine is over 10 years old and I still like it. It is a Cat N now following a minor accident (the other driver's fault) so it isn't worth much to sell.

I pay for tyres, MOT, insurance and occasional oil etc but it's pretty efficient (60+MPG). Tax is almost nothing as the emissions are low.

I guess it comes down to repair costs, which have so far been pretty low.

My question is, can I just keep driving until it has an expensive failure, or is there a cut-off point where I should ditch it and get a newer car? Can I keep it a few years more or am I being too tight?

Do you really need to ask others this question? Just keep driving it until it becomes too expensive to maintain or run.

I suppose I don't know much about cars. Like if there's a time when they start rusting away or become dangerous or whatever.

I'm asking because everyone else seems to need to upgrade theirs pretty regularly and I don't understand whether I should be joining in.

GrumpyDil

Yes. I have a 13 year and my daughter has a 16 year old car. Both have minimal value and both will be kept until the cost of maintaining them becomes too high.

elsien

Amateurd said:

neilmcl said:

Amateurd said:

Most people seem to buy a new car every so many years. Mine is over 10 years old and I still like it. It is a Cat N now following a minor accident (the other driver's fault) so it isn't worth much to sell.

I pay for tyres, MOT, insurance and occasional oil etc but it's pretty efficient (60+MPG). Tax is almost nothing as the emissions are low.

I guess it comes down to repair costs, which have so far been pretty low.

My question is, can I just keep driving until it has an expensive failure, or is there a cut-off point where I should ditch it and get a newer car? Can I keep it a few years more or am I being too tight?

Do you really need to ask others this question? Just keep driving it until it becomes too expensive to maintain or run.

I suppose I don't know much about cars. Like if there's a time when they start rusting away or become dangerous or whatever.

I'm asking because everyone else seems to need to upgrade theirs pretty regularly and I don't understand whether I should be joining in.

That's why you have an MOT and regular service. I upgrade about every 14 years on average. But only if there's a good reason. 

Ebe_Scrooge

Amateurd said:

Most some people seem to buy a new car every so many years.  Also, don't forget that a lot of these people don't own the car, it's on a PCP deal.

My question is, can I just keep driving until it has an expensive failure, Yes

Can I keep it a few years more or am I being too tight? No, you're not being tight, you're being sensible

My comments above.

I'm 100% with you on this one.  I normally buy a car at between 6 - 10 years old, and fully expect to get another 5/6/7 years out of it, if not more.  Buying a new car every 3 years is an extremely expensive (and unnecessary, in my view) pastime.  If your car is running well apart from minor repairs, and if you like the car, then absolutely keep it.  Keep on top of routine maintenance & servicing (you'd have to do this on a brand-new car anyway), and any repairs within reason will still be a lot cheaper than the depreciation on a new car.

Yes, when the time comes that you're facing a huge repair bill, then think about changing.  But bear in mind that even a seemingly large repair can be good value overall if the rest of the car is OK, when compared to the cost of buying a new car.

[Deleted User]

Last car was an 05 plate, planned to run it to 2015, bit of ice and radiator damage and so died at a few months shy of 10. Current is 2014 plate, ideally to late 20s and replace at 14-15 years for an EV

[Deleted User]

One of mine is 22 years old, I've owned it for 18 of those.

However, it now needs new wiper blades, so that's a pain...

cymruchris

If you keep it long enough - who knows - the value might go up again

Keep it while it runs well, a few minor repairs along the way will still be cheaper than buying a newer car and getting hit with the depreciation. 

Ibrahim5

If you can work on your own cars repairs can be very cheap. Spares are cheap and uncommon parts can be sourced from scrapyards. So a repair that may cost £20 could be £300 at a garage. So the bills may start to mount up quicker than for someone who can do their own repairs.