Cars People Keep for 15 Years or More • Hacker News Board

Re: Cars People Keep for 15 Years or More

#61

Post by brownbat » Sun, Jan 27, 2019, 1:32 AM UTC

Original study has far more details: https://www.iseecars.com/cars-kept-15-years-2019-study

For example --

* Some commenters wonder where the German cars are. Well, turns out they dominate the luxury section.

* Some comments suggest people don't really want to keep luxury cars fifteen years. Sort of validated -- that segment is broken out and has a lower average, but just a few percentage points. Sports cars? Almost no one keeps a sports car. Unless you count the Miata.

* 17.2% of people in the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose area keep a car more than 15 years. That's higher than any other studied metro area.

Re: Cars People Keep for 15 Years or More

#62

Post by mds » Sun, Jan 27, 2019, 1:57 AM UTC

This list from the same site, titled “The 10 Longest-Kept Cars When Bought New” has almost no overlap.

http://www.thedrive.com/news/22665/the-10-longest-kept-cars-...

Re: Cars People Keep for 15 Years or More

#63

Post by chapium » Sun, Jan 27, 2019, 1:57 AM UTC

rmason wrote: post #34

esotericn wrote: post #8

As a Japanese car owner I'm a fan, but a list of 'cars people keep forever' has a huge amount of selection bias, no? The sort of person who buys a new Merc probably doesn't _want_ to keep the car for 15 years. The interior is going to be shabby regardless of what you do, and the car will be out of date / an old style. Japanese cars (at least in standard trim) are the stereotypical low TCO keep it until it stops worki…

In Michigan at least a Merc was always short hand for Mercury. Now I realize they no longer make them but this is the first time I've ever heard a Mercedes referred to as a Merc. They will forever be a Mercury to me - and there were some sweet Mercury's as well ; I owned a brown LN7 with a moonroof and got more requests for rides from pretty girls than any car I've ever owned. https://www.flickr.com/photos/52345709@N…

Its definitely a regional thing. I never heard merc used for anything other than mercedes until i lived in missouri.

Re: Cars People Keep for 15 Years or More

#64

Post by chapium » Sun, Jan 27, 2019, 1:58 AM UTC

yakshaving_jgt wrote: post #7

Is this commentary on the cars themselves? Or is this more a reflection of the types of people who buy those cars? Would the type of person who buys a more exciting car keep whatever car they have for a shorter period?

A bit of both?

Re: Cars People Keep for 15 Years or More

#65

Post by chapium » Sun, Jan 27, 2019, 2:00 AM UTC

WalterBright wrote: post #37

My daily driver (Ford) is 30 years old, my toy car (Dodge) is 47 years old. I've owned the Ford for 28 years, the Dodge for 30 some. I like older cars. I suppose I got it from my dad, who'd buy them new and keep them for 30-40 years.

Take a look ynder the hood and you start to see the full picture. Older cars were heavy and inefficient. Newer cars have far more complexity and a lot more plastics. On the plus side they have some great traction features and are far safer to get in an accident with (in general).

Re: Cars People Keep for 15 Years or More

#66

Post by Spooky23 » Sun, Jan 27, 2019, 2:04 AM UTC

syedkarim wrote: post #45

Spooky23 wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not necessarily. I know people who kept older German cars forever. It’s not very possible anymore. They fall apart and parts aren’t available. My 2003 Pilot was not a utilitarian transport. It was a well equipped car with 80% of the doodads of an equivalent Benz at half the cost. I got rid of it last year, because it had hit 300k miles and key suspension parts were worn out.

My daily driver is a 1994 BMW 525i; 253,000 miles. My dad bought it new. Parts are very easy to come by. It is not fun to drive, but serves its purpose. I vastly prefer our 2007 Mercury Mariner (all wheel drive). I'll never sell either. Just park it in the field for when the kids get older.

I wrote that awkwardly.

I meant that that older cars are more maintainable. IMO it’s more likely that your 1994 is on the road in 2044 than a 2019 model year.

Re: Cars People Keep for 15 Years or More

#67

Post by mobilefriendly » Sun, Jan 27, 2019, 2:12 AM UTC

RickJWagner wrote: post #57

Toyota's obsession with quality is paying off. I love cars, current ride is an 11 year old Toyota product. (Lexus IS F. Heart of a muscle car!) I kept my last ride almost 15 years, I hope to keep this one a good long time, too.

I love my '05 Toyota 4Runner, bought new. No serious issues and gets pretty heavy daily use. My mechanic says it should be good for another 8 years at least. Basically I hope to drive it until self-driving tech is widely available.

Re: Cars People Keep for 15 Years or More

#68

Post by sys_64738 » Sun, Jan 27, 2019, 2:22 AM UTC

My Toyota is only 20 years old. Still goes great so will keep for another five.

Re: Cars People Keep for 15 Years or More

#69

Post by segmondy » Sun, Jan 27, 2019, 2:40 AM UTC

samfisher83 wrote: post #26

I am surprised there are no lexus cars. Those things last forever.

Lexus is pretty much Toyota.

Re: Cars People Keep for 15 Years or More

#70

Post by bsder » Sun, Jan 27, 2019, 3:38 AM UTC

mds wrote: post #62

This list from the same site, titled “The 10 Longest-Kept Cars When Bought New” has almost no overlap. http://www.thedrive.com/news/22665/the-10-longest-kept-cars-...

Yeah, something is wrong with their methodology.

I absolutely do NOT believe that a Prius makes that list.

The first 5-door liftback Prius (what everybody recognizes as a Prius) is barely 15 years old. And, during that time, there were some really amazing incentives from dealers to turn in your old Prius and buy a new one. And big chunks of the early Prii will have batteries that gave out. And a Prius tends to have really expensive repairs after a collision. etc.