Save money, drive your car to death
Driving your car to the end can save you money
Let’s face it, most of us would upgrade the vehicle if we could. Very few people drive their dream car, only the lucky ones really.
It makes sense that as we make our way down the path of life we will continue to upgrade the vehicle that carries us much of the time.
Consumer Reports uncovered some interesting facts that every car owner should be aware of.
You could save some serious cash
Keeping your car for 15 years or for 225,000 miles can save you over 30 grand. It turns out that most people trade in about every five years so these findings are based on upgrading to a new, identical model every five years.
Consumer Reports does an annual national auto survey of it’s readers to find out just how far some models can go. Some of it’s findings are interesting, like a 1990 Lexus LS400 logged in at 332,000 miles and a Ford Ranger that rolled over 488,000 miles.
These cars can go the distance people, keeping them a little longer doesn’t just save you money, it reduces your footprint on the earth.
Tips to help keep your car in tip top shape
In an attempt to save it’s readers money, Consumer Reports offered some helpful advice for keeping your vehicle in good running order so it can go the distance:
Which models should you buy then?
The magazine also goes on to give some information on some models that seem to have no problem with a little wear and tear and conversley the models who have a hard time making it off the showroom floor.
Not such a surprise is the fact that Honda and Toyota’s top the list of long lasting vehicles, after all they are often the best vehicles to buy used and generally eat up the ‘best of lists’ of top automotive names.
Long-term love
Won’t make it far
Ok, ok, we think you should keep your car for as long as you can stand it, and when you are ready to sell it, let us buy it from you.
Comment by Pat Veretto
My car is a 1996 Ford Contour, with less than 85,000 miles on it. Occasionally I get the new car fever, but you’re right; I’m saving a ton of money by driving this one and will save even more in the years to come, barring any major problems. So far, so good. Savings are not limited to the actual cost of the car, though. Insurance and taxes are way lower on older vehicles.
Comment by Bob
Very Narrow long-term list. The SUVs will kill you on the gas, too. And they block visibility, rudely. (Ever wonder why people who drive real cars don’t want to let SUV drivers cut in front of them?)
—-No Camrys or Corollas? No Subarus?
—-Keeping the car clean isn’t that important, and if you pay for carwashes, your long-term costs add up. Hose the thing down occasionally, and drive through some deep puddles when there’s no road salt around to contaminate it.
—-Drop the collision insurance when the car gets to be about 7 years old, if not sooner, or when its value is low enough so that it’s not much of financial hardship to lose it.
Comment by Don Lowrey
You keep mentioning “Depreciation” and then don’t lend any information about it.. Oversight? or just a leader to a sales page.. deceptive ? turns out to be intended or not.