How long do you keep your car

[CRA]

Do you guys generally ride your cars until they literally fall apart 12+ years down the road......or trade in after 5-8 years to ensure you have a generally reliable car.......or do you have to the latest and greatest every few years?

[Carolina Husker]

I bought a used car last summer and kept my 2000 Grand Cherokee to use on the weekends. It was worth more to me than they were willing to give me as a trade-in.

[Cat]

until it doesn't work anymore

[D34Williams]

Til the wheels fall off or until it is completely depreciated in regards to what I have paid for/into it.

[Zcustom]

I have cars that I know inside and out and no matter what goes wrong with them I fix it. I hate car payments.

[Darth Biscuit]

I'm driving a '95 Grand Cherokee that I bought from my dad in '04... it's only got 155K miles on it and I'm planning on driving it til it won't go no more...

[Jase]

2 years ago the only car I had ever owned was a 1992 honda accord.

[Johnny Rockets]

I try to keep mine maintained and drive them till the wheels fall off. Just bought a new car a few months ago only because we were handing down our 99' Camry to our son which has 215K miles on it and still drive and rides great.

We usually buy new so we know what we have and keep them about 10-12 years. The car we bought a few months ago will be kept until my 6 year old daughter is old enough to drive then handed off to her.

[g5jamz]

Depends on how much you like giving money to banks/car companies.

[boo7382]

Until I can afford to pay for my own.

Current car has almost 100,000

[Darth Urious]

My wife and I change up every 3-4 years... I blame her because she's the one always wanting something different, and I end up taking her hand-me-down...

Of course, that was up until our most recent buys... her '08 Tahoe and my '07 Avalanche... Had them both since '09, and I don't ever see myself getting anything else unless this one totally craps out...

If anything, we'll get some sort of smaller car as a 3rd vehicle to save money on gas... $97 for me to fill up every week and a half is getting old pretty fast...

[Panthro]

I'm looking to sell my 2002 Honda Accord (192k)and take that money and buy my dad's F150 (120k). I don't really need a nice car...just one that works and is useful.

[CRA]

I currently find myself at this crossroad.

I have an 8 yr old car (paid off). That is always seems to be having issues. Which means time off work and arranging my schedule to get car to shop and out and a ride while it is in the shop.....and tons of consistant bills. .

I don't buy high end cars and when I do buy I will pay cash.....I just can't figure out when the hassle of a problem child car becomes not worth it. I like the idea of riding it until it can't be fixed but I think I like the idea of a reliable car my family could take anywhere (with little worry) better.

[Johnny Rockets]

Depends on how much you like giving money to banks/car companies.

I have bought 3 new cars in my lifetime. 2 were 0% interest and 1 was 0.9%. No way I would pay 5%-10% interest (or more) on a car.

I wish I was financially able to pay cash. My parents have owned several new cars over the years and 2 boats (one is a 27 ft. Grady White) and have never had a payment on anything but their house. They were not rich at all..dad worked for the phone company and mom stayed home with the kids, but they saved until they had the money to pay cash. That mentality doesn't exist much in todays world.