Subaru WRX Forum banner

How long do you intend to keep your Subie?

  • <1 yr

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • ~2 yr

    Votes: 3 3.2%
  • ~3 yr

    Votes: 8 8.5%
  • ~4 yr

    Votes: 9 9.6%
  • >5 yr

    Votes: 36 38.3%
  • >10 yr

    Votes: 38 40.4%

How long do you keep your cars?

3K views 24 replies 16 participants last post by  wrxnh 
#1 · (Edited)
Seems like some people on this forum swap cars with more frequency than I change my tires :rolleyes:
Just curious if these are outliers. I know I keep mine unusually long but I see a lot of posts talking about swapping cars after a single year or less.
(Sorry if this is not purely 100% on topic)
National average in2015 is 6.5yr according to financial times

My full history
84 Audi4000 <1yr (pos $250 first car)
72 beetle 17yr to present
92 celica 5 yr
06 Cooper S 10.5yr
16 wrx <1yr present

Avg roughly 7yr
 
#2 ·
We have a 1993 Toyota and a 2002 Subaru both bought new. I've only sold 1 car this century.

If the Subaru fails, being barely 14 years old, I'll never buy another and I'll trash them any chance I get.

I hope these cars are the last internal combustion card I ever buy.

Hopefully my next new car will not be this decade and will not use any gasoline.
 
#3 ·
1964 1/2 Mustang, used, don't remember
1968 Firebird convertible, used, don't remember
1972 Torino, used, don't remember
1968 Firebird 400 coupe, used, don't remember (beast!)
1981 Escort, got used, kept - 4 years
1986 Accord bought used sold 2000, I had it - 12 years
1995 Dodge van bought new sold 2013, rusted out frame - 18 years
2000 Regal bought new sold 2015 with 252,000 running great, body rusting out - 15 years
2003 Regal GS bought used still have (3 yrs)
2002 GMC van bought used still have (2 yrs)
2015 WRX bought new plan to keep until it rusts out (1 yr)
2015 Forester bought new plan to keep until it rusts out (1 yr)
 
#4 ·
I've got a 2014 WRX hatch and intend to keep it till it falls apart. My plan is to daily drive it for another two-four years and then convert it to a dedicated autoX car, or maybe even a street class time attack car if my budget allows for it. We'll see.

I have not kept a car more than three years in the past, for various reasons.
 
#6 ·
First car was in 2013, a '03 GS300 Sport Design, it had some problems at 200k so I got rid of it

Second car was last May, '15 Legacy Premium, great car, smooth ride, quiet, yet I always had a need for speed

Third car was this past March, my '16 WRX Premium. I'll probably keep it till I get my degree and a house then get a luxury car as a daily driver and mod the WRX as a weekend/fun car
 
#7 ·
72 Camaro 2 years
69 Camaro 4 years
69 Camaro SS Convertible 3 years
68 Camaro 6 months
80 Blazer 6 months (blew motor, let it burn)
71 Impala 6 months
84 Fiero 6 years
89 Camaro Convertible 3 years
69 Marquis 18 months
90 Toronado 5 years
97 Discovery 5 years
89 190D 4 years
86 190E 2.3-16 valve 6 years
85 190E 2.3-16 valve Euro 8 months (sold to son)
95 M3 4 years
00 Discovery 2 years
09 X5 3 years
04 530i 2 years
17 WRX (pick up Friday)
 
#11 ·
2001 Nissan Altima SE - 2 years
2005 Subaru STI - 10 years (Still own)
2016 Toyota Tacoma - 1 week (Just bought)

I wasn't going to buy an STI when I was still a college student, but my older sister needed a reliable second vehicle; she had an SUV that she needed for her work in the equestrian field, but with gas over $4/gallon for 87, she needed something cheaper on fuel for regular driving.

She couldn't afford one, but when I ran the numbers on the Subaru, and realized I could afford it, I signed her over the title to the Altima (it was a great car in perfect running order). She proceed to run that car into the ground within three years from maintenance neglect.

I plan to have a three-year turnover on the truck moving forward, assuming Toyota continues to make them in a stick. My thought process behind this is to have a semi-reliable weekend toy and a dead-solid reliable daily driver.
 
#12 ·
1967 Mercedes 200 4dr 4mt (1978)
1971 F250 (1979)
1971 Mercury Cougar (1979)
1978 Camaro Z28 4mt (1980)
197? Toyota Celica 4mt (1983)
1985 Honda Prelude 5mt (1985)
1978 Pontiac Bonneville (1987)
1990 Dodge Shadow (1990)
1992 Subaru Legacy wagon (1992)
1980 Subaru 3dr 4mt (1993)
1990 Suzuki Swift 5mt (1995)
1998 Mazda 626 (1998)
2001 Subaru Legacy wagon (2001)
1999 Chevy S-10 (2003)
2001 Chevy 3500 15 passenger van (2007)
2004 Subaru Legacy sedan 5mt (2007 still have)
2004 Subaru Legacy sedan AT (2009)
1998 Chevy C2500 Cheyenne (2011 still have)
2014 Subaru Forester Limited (2013 still have)

Motorcycles along the way:
miscellaneous dirt bikes
1978 Kawasaki KZ400
1985 Kawasaki Ninja 600
1984 Yamaha RZ350 2-stroke street

Looks like I averaged 2 years, early on and now about 8.

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk
 
#13 · (Edited)
1929 Ford Model A, bought used for $80, kept for 4 years
1968 VW Beetle Convertible, bought used for $1200, kept for 3 years
1969 FIAT 124 Wagon, bought used for $800, kept for 3 years, gave to my Dad who kept it of another 5-6
1975 VW Scirocco, bought new for $5500, kept 11 years
1981 Dodge Colt hatchback (Mitsubishi Mirage), bought used for ~$2000, kept of 3 years
1988 Ford Ranger, bought new for $11,000, kept for 11 years
1997 Ford F-150, bought new for $22,000, kept for 8 years
1958 MGA Roadster, bought used for $16,500, still have (16 years so far)
2002 Subaru WRX Wagon, bought new for $22,000, kept 13 years
2008 Subaru Outback 2.5 XT Limited, bought new for $30,000, just sold after 8 years
2016 Toyota 4Runner, bought new for $39,800, have had 3 months.

So an overall average of 8 years per vehicle, but an average of 10 years for the vehicles I've bought new.
 
#14 ·
i had the following between the ages of 14 and 17. i dont remember the exact time frame of each:
1989 honda accord
1998 honda civic
1999 honda civic

2006 subaru wrx - will be 10 years in september
 
#15 ·
Ok, I'll play. Had to think about this to come up with the list that my wife and I have had since we first got together in 1984 (the Opel was hers). Kind of fun to remember all of these beasts. Wish I still had a couple of them, especially that first one...and third one...and fifth one.

Looks like the average is around 5 years. The Pilot works too well as a utility-everything vehicle and is too expensive to replace, so we'll drive it until it just doesn't go anymore. I hope the WRX is a long-term keeper too. Loved that A4, but it just wasn't built to last long term.

1972 Datsun 510 2dr Sdn, 4mt (1983-85)
1974 Opel Manta 2dr cp, 4mt (1984-88)
1977 Toyota Celica GT Liftback, 5mt (1985-89)
1986 Mazda 626 2dr Sdn, 5mt (1988-94)
1981 Toyota 4X4 PU, 5mt (1989-94)
1994 Isuzu Trooper, 5mt (1st new car, 1994-1999)
1998 Subaru Legacy, 4at, (1998-99, sold it to my dad)
1999 Audi A4 Quattro, 4dr Sdn, 5mt (1999-2006)
1997 Ford Expedition, 4at (1999-2004)
2004 Honda Pilot, 5at (2004-present)
2006 Mazda 6 wagon, V6 6at, (2006-2011)
2011 Subaru Forester, 5mt (2011-2016)
1992 Mazda Protege, 5m (2012-present - kid car, fun to drive like a 4dr Miata)
1998 Subaru Legacy 4dr Sdn, (2015-present- kid car, bought back the same car I owned 98-99)
2016 Subaru WRX Premium, cwp, 6mt (2015-present)
 
#18 ·
I'm way too lazy to sit down and try to figure out when I bought the various cars, trucks and SUVs that I have . . . especially since most were bought used . . . and I cannot remember the exact model years for many of them.

The one thing I do know is I tend to hold on to them for a fair amount of time . . . certainly well past the time when the car loan is paid off.

OK, two things I know . . . when I sell them typically there isn't that much value in them as I've nearly driven them until the wheels are ready to fall off. The one good thing about this approach is that it allows me to sock money aside for a down payment on a new vehicle when I'm ready . . . well that and when you're selling a vehicle for $1,000 or $2,000 there are a lot more prospective buyers vs. selling a car for $7,000.
 
#19 ·
I assumed it was pertaining to cars purchased new. I've only bought one, the '03 WRX that I still have.

I just got some por-15 to try to stop the rust in the rear quarters.
 
#23 ·
1972 Datsun 510 2dr Sdn, 4mt (1983-85)
1974 Opel Manta 2dr cp, 4mt (1984-88)
1977 Toyota Celica GT Liftback, 5mt (1985-89)
1986 Mazda 626 2dr Sdn, 5mt (1988-94)
1981 Toyota 4X4 PU, 5mt (1989-94)
1994 Isuzu Trooper, 5mt (1st new car, 1994-1999)
1998 Subaru Legacy, 4at, (1998-99, sold it to my dad)
1999 Audi A4 Quattro, 4dr Sdn, 5mt (1999-2006)
1997 Ford Expedition, 4at (1999-2004)
2004 Honda Pilot, 5at (2004-present)
2006 Mazda 6 wagon, V6 6at, (2006-2011)
2011 Subaru Forester, 5mt (2011-2016)
1992 Mazda Protege, 5m (2012-present - kid car, fun to drive like a 4dr Miata)
1998 Subaru Legacy 4dr Sdn, (2015-present- kid car, bought back the same car I owned 98-99)
2016 Subaru WRX Premium, cwp, 6mt (2015-present)

And a new one to the list:

2008 Subaru Impreza 2.5i 5dr, satin white pearl 5mt. This one is for my 21 yo daughter and replaces the '92 Mazda Protege that served us well for 4 years, just about average. I love that she is a fan of manual transmissions - it prevents her college roommates from using her car since she is the only one who knows how to use a clutch! View attachment 269642
 
#25 ·
I'm planning to keep mine and will end up as a weekend car some day unless something changes financially such as a baby lol.

I haven't had many cars...in fact the last two vehicles were both totaled. One because I lost control and the last Mazda I hit a huge buck head on -_-
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top