How long do you keep a car before changing it?

[WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll]

We're going to be needing a new (used) car as soon as we can next year, as the existing 17yo one has recently started to have many things go wrong, having already had a lot spent on it, so it's time to cut our losses.

I've been doing some online research and we've decided on the model that will best suit our requirements (well, either one of two almost identical models from manufacturers in the same group), but one thing I've always wondered is what makes owners decide to change a car after only two or three years or so, as there seem to be quite a few cars that have had multiple owners in not too many years.

Obviously, there will be people needing to upsize with new babies on the way, downsize now the adult kids have left home, get an adapted/motability car, have to/decide to give up driving, emigrate to Australia etc.

However, from reading user reviews, it appears that a lot of people will swap a car after three years or less for a slightly newer one that's broadly similar. Is this a red flag? I'm more used to the other end of the market, where (as now), the car practically dies of old age or becomes an unreliable money pit; but I'm keen to know what makes people suddenly decide to swap a perfectly good car that suits their needs for another of the same.

Is it because they like the prestige of new/nearly new cars, perceive anything over Xyo to automatically become a death trap, can't be faffed with MoTs after three years - or is it just to do with finance deals, like with phones where you're encouraged to keep 'upgrading' every two years whether you really wanted to or not? Even so, that makes sense if cars are bought new and then automatically sold after the end of the purchasing contract - and fleet/company cars of course - but does that still work with privately-owned 6, 7, 8yo cars? I'm kind of hoping that it isn't the custom to cut and run as soon as your friendly mechanic gives you the nod that the wheels (or other parts) are expected to come off, and that there are still plenty of decently functional cars out there under 8-10yo to be had

Any thoughts, experiences and tips as to what to look out for greatly appreciated so that we (hopefully) don't become the fools on the other end of their wise decision to quickly offload a white elephant!!

If you pick well buying and running until the repairs get costly will always be the cheapest way of doing things.

This is what we do. My car is 7 years old and going strong. DH's is 5 years old, and also going strong.

Until the doors fall off. But now fed up with old bangers and have a lease car.

We do a lot of motorway driving and need a reliable car, so we never keep a car until it is only fit for scrap. We have had bangers in our time though.

We buy a car with a loan (arranged by us, not the dealer) and then as a minimum keep the car till the loan is paid off but hopefully for much longer. Normally until it is not sensible or economic to repair and maintain.

Our current car is 9 years old. We've had it for almost 7. It has developed a fault that is not connected to safety in any way but is noisy. So a nuisance. It will get worse. We will keep this going until we can't stand it any longer. Repairing the nuisance would cost about £1,200 and we don't think it's worth that. The noise is still intermittent and only at speeds over 65 mph. Our garage told us he knows of someone still driving the car with the same problem but constant and noisier!

Hopefully we'll have this car for another year, maybe 2. 🤞🏻

Well I really feel like the odd one out.

We (me and DH) normally have 3 cars between us. We change cars enough to go through 8-12 a year; the exact number depends on how much we like a car.

Never spend more than £800 on one and usually sell them for about the same as we paid. Between the cars we spend about £1500 a year on new tyres and repairs which makes it significantly cheaper than buying a newer car or getting PCP/finance.

Currently have a Classic Peugeot 205, Peugeot 206 and a lovely Saab 9-5 with full leather, heated seats etc.

We normally change car when we get bored of it or when we see something else thats more interesting/appealing.

Thanks very much, everybody - a lot of very interesting points to ponder and a wide range of approaches to car ownership (or not, for those who prefer to lease!).

The car in question is an Audi. We bought it 7 years ago to replace a trusty old Volvo that had finally come to the end of the road aged 25. We couldn't care less about any prestige that might be imputed to them - we wanted a big, spacious German car for general solid build and reliability (also looked at some Japanese ones, but nothing seemed quite right for us). We would have gone for a Passat, but the mark of Passat that we could afford at the time had a number of concerning reports about some major problem - can't even remember what it was now.

Our other car is a Golf and is actually two years older, but (other than a few little foibles) is still very reliable. Replacing a worn-out part solves the issue rather than starting a chain reaction of other problems and mysterious that are expensive and difficult to solve.

It's since occurred to me that, although you still see a lot of very old VWs around, you don't really see many Audis of a similar vintage. I don't know if it's because a lot of Audi buyers want a flashy car (which it really isn't any more when it's 10 years old) whereas VW buyers just want a reliable car and don't care about impressing people? Of course, it could well be that (as has already been mentioned upthread), the more fancy things a car has, the more there is to go wrong.

Once funds allow, we're going for a VW Sharan or Seat Alhambra (pretty much identical) - one of the ones from after the major 2010 revamp. We would have gone for one instead of the Audi, but they were only 3 years old then, so beyond our means!

One thing that absolutely baffles me is the concept of low-profile tyres. Looking online for more info about them, I can find a lot of negatives and the only positive I could find was that apparently 'wheels look prettier than tyres, so you want as much of the former and as little of the latter as possible'. Never occurred to me that that was actually a thing. I didn't really twig that it had LP tyres until after we bought it. The ground clearance is rubbish and so impractical on many British roads. Since buying it, we have also bought an old caravan, so that we can actually afford to have family holidays (school-age child), and whilst the weight ratios work, it's terrible on campsites for scraping the towbar and tow-hitch-stand thing.

It's been a very nice car to drive when it worked - but not without a whole load of issues and many times when it didn't work.

New cars are much more fuel efficient and safety standards improve all the time. If you drive for work you can have easily done approaching 100k on the clock when it’s 4 years old. If you rely on the car and have no other transport and spend more time inside it then you may feel like investing more money than if it’s just an occasional convenience but not essential. People change at 3 years because often warranties run out, MOT kicks in. I’m not sure how so many people on here have old cars that are reliable and have cheap running costs, I’m presuming they must be doing a low mileage!

Our 10 year old Toyota avensis has cost very little in maintenance. It had a (reasonably priced) manufacturer extended warranty until last year and has never needed any expensive repairs - mostly wear and tear stuff like brakes. It did at least 10k per year pre-pandemic.

It's also pretty fuel efficient for a larger car - 40mpg with lots of intercity driving. And because we own it, we don't have to care about keeping it pristine.

@BungleandGeorge

New cars are much more fuel efficient and safety standards improve all the time. If you drive for work you can have easily done approaching 100k on the clock when it’s 4 years old. If you rely on the car and have no other transport and spend more time inside it then you may feel like investing more money than if it’s just an occasional convenience but not essential. People change at 3 years because often warranties run out, MOT kicks in. I’m not sure how so many people on here have old cars that are reliable and have cheap running costs, I’m presuming they must be doing a low mileage!

I drive for work and do ~20k a year, DH was the same before Covid but is currently WFH which is saving us money in fuel. What we spend in maintenance and repairs pales into significance when put next to the depreciation on newer cars/cost of PCP etc.

Lots of 15-20yr old diesels are very fuel efficient; think 50-60mpg round the doors. Older petrols are less efficient especially if you have a big engine but insurance tends to be a lot cheaper on older cars and even doing lots of miles the difference in that is likely to be more than the difference in the cost of fuel.

Safety does improve with newer cars. In the 2002 Saab driver and passengers would be fine in a motorway crash whereas a crash at 40mph in a classic 205 would write off the car and probably result in serious injuries for the people inside.

It's perfectly possible to run an efficient older car (which is safe by modern standards) cheaply.

Some people like new/er cars. The economics of it generally are quite clear; older cars will cost you less in total. But if you want a new car then spend your money.

Until they start costing an arm and a leg to fix. For one car that was 11years, the next was only 18 months. My first car I had 2 years before it became unsafe to drive, but it was 20 years old by then! We then had the next 2 for 2 years, but went down from 2 cars to 1 and then got given a (size) upgrade by PIL. We will keep this until it is too uneconomical to fix.

I have friends however who like cars, like getting now ones and get bored easily. I don't really see an issue with that.

We buy our cars second hand, outright. Every 3 years we upgrade. From local, or auto trader or whatever. Dh knows a lot about cars and always buys well. He'll be upgrading my car soon to a hybrid.

The fuel efficiency of my diesel dropped quite a bit over the years. I presume that’s normal. As cars age they start wearing out, seats lose some comfort, bits rattle, drop off and need repairing. They break down more often, to suggest people only buy new ones for appearances sake is a bit ridiculous. I don’t really care what car people drive and don’t upgrade every 3 years but I understand the advantages of that. When you add all costs in I don’t think the price difference is always as big as first appears. Why judge? People spend money on plenty of non essential items, holidays, clothes, home furnishings etc, and replace because they want something different

Last two cars were bought new and changed when mileage >100k. I can justify new in my own mind if I'm going to keep it for 9/10 years.

We've had 4 in the 9 years I've been with dp. First one was written off after about 2 years, but it was a bit small anyway. Second was still on the small side but all we could afford at the time. We upside about 2 years later. Had the last one for about 4 years. I loved it, but dp crashed it and write it off aswell. Hopefully can keep this one for a bit longer. We never buy cars brand new, or do pcp. Everyone I know seems to do pcp though. We do too many miles a year and basically domt take enough care of cars. Doubt they would take them back at the end of the lease 😂

On our current standard of cars, almost exactly 10 years.

My parents have one that's over 40, although they do have a newer one as well now.

I love my car. It has 2 extra seats in the boot which (pre covid) was so useful to fit 7 people. We are a family of 4 so can take siblings, grandparents, an extra family of 3, My dc's friends.

I have now had it 3 years from new. I part financed it and that loan just finished so I'm going to enjoy no financing payments for a while. I will change it in 2 years whilst I can't still get decent part ex on it. If I can't find another estate/7 seater then I will keep it until its 7yo. I will probably change it once it starts needing costly repairs. Plus I like a newish car.

Buy a Toyota! They are brilliant cars. Don't cost a penny and run and run. 100,000 miles is just getting the engine warmed up.