Your Next New Car (1 Viewer)

[KeithAP]

I have 07 Hyundai Sonata (completely paid for) with about 26K on the clock. Unless my finances change drastically, I don't see myself replacing it for 4-5 years. My last car, a Buick Regal GS, I had for 8 years and 110K miles.

I think the automakers are in big trouble and not just from the economy. I read an article several months back that noted that car ownership in relation to licensed drivers in the US was at an all time high. The implication was that even without the economic issues we are all facing, demand was still going to be declining.

-Keith

 

[Brandon_T]

I have a 99' Audi A4 quattro that has 124,000 miles on it. Haven't had to do anything to it other than regular maintenance. I did have a tie rod replaced that was 150$. I love the all wheel drive here in Michigan, and I even towed a guy out of a snow bank with it. I hope to have it another five to seven years.

My wife drives a 07' Envoy that the lease is up on this month. We will not be buying a new car, but are looking at something such as an 05-06 Nissan Maxima. You can get those at a very reasonable price and people seem to be very happy with them.

 

[Francois Caron]

If diesel were an option (too cold in Quebec -- the fuel might turn into syrup), possibly a VW Polo. Almost 1000 miles on a single tank!

To actually reach 1000 miles on a single tank, a Jaguar XJ6 Twin Turbo Diesel!

 

[DaveF]

We've got an '04 Accord with 67k and an '05 Camry with 45k miles. I think we'll drive them to 10 yrs / 100k and then buy new. I hope my next car to be a smaller, more fuel efficient car; but after driving the relatively luxurious Accord, it would be difficult to take a step down in comfort. In my dreamy moments, I hope for a plug-in electric next.

So this thread is full of people with 15 year old, 200k mile cars. I look like a profligate spender in comparison. But our economy and auto industry is built on the new-car-every-three-years buyers and repeat leasers. Where are they? Surely this thread is far from representative.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Our 2005 Saturn Ion 2 (w/ just ~16K miles) recently got totalled, so we're looking into getting a "new" car right now -- probably a gently used, few-yo minivan (either Honda Odyssey or Toyota Sienna). Seems like a good time to shop for one now -- and maybe our old car got totalled at just the right time, if there's such a thing. Nobody was hurt because our car was parked when it got hit (and we were not anywhere near it). The other driver's insurance company just paid us pretty good $$$ for the claim (and all probably went as smoothly as could be).

_Man_

 

[drobbins]

I hope it is far from representative. I am beginning to get depressed and think it is time for a career change. Now maybe if I asked about old the TV was and when the next display will be purchased.

 

[Malcolm R]

27" CRT, about 10 years old and still going strong. No current plans to buy anything new.

 

[LynxFX]

Got an 02 Kia Spectra with just over 60k. Looking at getting an 09 Saturn Sky Redline or 09 Nissan 370z sometime this spring. The Kia is a PoS and I doubt would last to 100k but it has served its purpose. I'm doing much better now than I was last year so definitely time for a new car. It also helps that it is a buyers market and getting invoice or below invoice is pretty easy.

 

[Michael Warner]

My wife worked for GM until a few years ago so we were trapped in that spiral where you had to buy or lease a new vehicle every two years in order to get a company car (essentially two cars for the price of one). So we have an '05 Saturn Relay which was financed at 0%APR and an '06 Saturn Vue which was leased at 0%APR. We're coming to the tail end of the last lease and I'm looking forward to going back to buying used vehicles with cash.

 

[drobbins]

Always a wise guy in every crowd.

 

[Mariners]

I have a 1997 Pontiac Firebird/Trans-Am and i love it.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Hmmm... If the government is gonna bail out these American auto makers, maybe it should consider spending some of that bailout $$$ on subsidizing purchases of new American cars, instead of directly sending all the $$$ to the makers. I'm certainly more inclined to buy another Saturn or some American minivan, if it's heavily subsidized.

_Man_

 

[troy evans]

That's exactly the car I have. Mine's the LX and currently I'm at just shy of 80,000 miles. I love my car The only things I'm getting ready to have done are new brakes and tires. I plan to drive this car for at least 10 more years easy.

 

[nolesrule]

Mine's also the LX. The reason it even has 90k on it is because before the CR-V it was our primary vehicle, and I had a 42 mile round trip to work for a couple of years, and it was used for all our trips. I don't think I've put 18k on it in the 2.5 years since we got the CR-V.

 

[Eric_L]

Funny you should ask - I just had to do that last week...

You cursed me!

 

[Bryan X]

Sorry Eric!

So I guess the answer is they didn't fix that wonderful design. :frowning: I'm so glad to be rid of that car.

 

[Kirk Tsai]

I have a 99 Camry that is miles away from 100k. Like many others here, I have no desire to get a new car in the near future. I just spent quite a bit of money for the 90k check-up, but the car still drives fine.

 

[Paul D G]

We had a '93 Saturn that we finally got rid of about a year and a half ago. It had 150k+ on it and still ran fine, but the AC died the year before and my wife couldn't take it anymore so we replaced it with a used '06 Saturn.

I'm driving an '04 Hyundai Sonata that I bought new. I just hit 50k on it.

Both cars are paid for and we plan on driving them into the ground. I never understood why people trade in their cars every two years and have a non stop stream of car payments for years. I wouldn't be surprised if our kids (7 & 4) end up driving our cars.

 

[Randy_Sh]

No plans as of now...

I drive a 2004 Accord with about 72k. Paid off a couple years ago. No major issues. Wife drives a 2006 Volvo V50 with about 15k on it. We're probably going to pay off her loan balance this year ahead of schedule.

I putter around on weekends in a 1985 BMW 325e. Gets good gas mileage and is fairly fun to drive since its a 5 spd manual.

Prior to getting the Honda and Volvo, I still had my 92 Geo Prism from college and my wife had a 96 Cavalier. Both were good cars for us.

 

[drobbins]

Seems like most everyone here and everyone I talk to has no plan of buying a car in the next few years. But then again I never asked when things were going well either.