What Do You Drive?

[muggle]

Is there anyone in America with a car dating back over 3 years? All I see on this thread is 2005, 2006, 2005, 2005, 2004, 2006 ... How often do you people buy new cars?

Wanna argue. According to my count for the U.S. :

2006-----1
2005-----3

2003-----1
2001-----1
1996-----2

 

[Poppy1]

1986 Honda Prelude. Also have a 1958 Ford Prefect sitting in a shed, road-worthy, but not registered. We do tend to re-cycle our cars, don't we MonkeyCatcher?

 

[MonkeyCatcher]

Wanna argue. According to my count for the U.S. :

2006-----1
2005-----3

2003-----1
2001-----1
1996-----2

By Americans I meant everyone not in New Zealand ... duh But still, by my count there's:

2006 x 1
2005 x 4
2003 x 1
2002 x 1
2001 x 1
And Shade's Mini look like it would be a recent model as well.

A large majority of you foreign folks have extremely recent cars (cars from the 2000's are considered recent to me ). So again - how often do you buy cars?

 

[abecedarian]

My dh and I have never bought a new car, ever. The 96 van was bought 6 years ago. Dh drives a 98 Toyota truck we bought off a used car lot. Our oldest dd drives a 97 Mitsibishi Mirage we got from a coworker for $1000. DD#2 drives and 87 Ford Escort we got from a friend for $900, and dd#3 drives a 90's model Olds that was given to her free..We tend to hang onto vehicles til they drop dead or should be shot and put out of their misery.

 

[Justin91]

Originally Posted by MonkeyCatcher
Is there anyone in America with a car dating back over 3 years? All I see on this thread is 2005, 2006, 2005, 2005, 2004, 2006 ... How often do you people buy new cars?

My first car was a 1982 Datsun 310 hatchback I bought for $700.00 when I was 16. My next car was a 1993 Ford Escort I bought in 1998 for $3000. The Silverado I bought in 2003, I took over a guys payments that came to $7500, it was so cheap because it was a salvage. My wife drives a 2000 Impala, and she had a junker before that. We have wanted a new car for years and I wanted an Exterra since their release and have saved up for three years now, so I bought it. I have never wanted to pay this much for transpotation...but I did!

In my current job I finally make enough money to actually pick the car I want, not bragging, this is just something I am not used to.

 

[Shade]

And Shade's Mini look like it would be a recent model as well.

Yes, it'll be one week old tomorrow. The paint is still wet (well, it was raining this morning). But this time last week I was driving 1997 Vauxhall Corsa, which was the oldest car of anyone I know. There seems to be a scarcity of older vehicles in the UK too. I think this is because so many people now buy their vehicles on leasing deals: most cars, even prestigious marques, can be got for £200 a month or less on a finance deal with the manufacturer. Of course after three years you have to pay the balance of several thousand pounds, so doubtless many people just take on another new car instead...

A brand new car is of course a poor investment, dropping a couple of thousand in value as soon as you drive it out of the showroom. But it is nice to have a nice shiny new vehicle with 0 miles on the clock and nothing going wrong; plus Minis keep their value pretty well, either because they're made by BMW or because they're still seen as quite cool, or a combination of both.

2005 Pontiac Vibe. The only thing sexy or cool about it is the 30 mpg.

Can you elaborate, cw? Are you saying 30mpg is good fuel consumption? Or have I misunderstood? I don't think I've heard of a car that gets such low mpg! Mine gets 41mpg and I think that's appallingly inefficient and wish I'd bought a hybrid or diesel with 50-60mpg!

 

[curiouswonder]

Can you elaborate, cw? Are you saying 30mpg is good fuel consumption? Or have I misunderstood? I don't think I've heard of a car that gets such low mpg! Mine gets 41mpg and I think that's appallingly inefficient and wish I'd bought a hybrid or diesel with 50-60mpg!

I would agree with you about the inefficiency, but compared to the averages around here of trucks or SUVs that get 10-15mpg, my 30 feels pretty good. We're hoping by the time we have to buy my wife her next car, we'll be able to find a hybrid that 1) holds enough people to fit our clan and 2) pushes 50mpg. Maybe after the current regime is replaced.

 

[curiouswonder]

Is there anyone in America with a car dating back over 3 years? All I see on this thread is 2005, 2006, 2005, 2005, 2004, 2006 ... How often do you people buy new cars?

I had my last car for ten years. When the mechanic said I needed new brakes that would cost more than the value of the car, it was time to reload. Most of my friends buy a new car when the cost to fix the one they currently drive exceeds their monthly payment, (or when they get bored with it) so they tend to swap every couple of years.
Cars are something of an American obsession. I don't get into this game, but your vehicle is the major status symbol in our area. It's not unusual for a family to have 80-100K worth of cars sitting in the driveway. (usually that's two cars)

 

[abecedarian]

I had my last car for ten years. When the mechanic said I needed new brakes that would cost more than the value of the car, it was time to reload. Most of my friends buy a new car when the cost to fix the one they currently drive exceeds their monthly payment, (or when they get bored with it) so they tend to swap every couple of years.
Cars are something of an American obsession. I don't get into this game, but your vehicle is the major status symbol in our area. It's not unusual for a family to have 80-100K worth of cars sitting in the driveway. (usually that's two cars)

We have 6 cars-including the 1927 Model T touring car in the garage, and we still come nowhere close to 80-100k worth of cars out there!

 

[Ronny]

My husband prefers older cars, he had a 6o's Dodge Dart but the gas was too spendy these days so we had to get more practical cars. The Jetta gets really good gas milage.

 

[Libra6Poe]

This is what my car looks like:

2003 Toyota Tacoma - Need a truck for lots of moving.
This is my second car.

 

[Baddie]

This is my ride;


A Ford Focus!

 

[Isabell]

Is there anyone in America with a car dating back over 3 years? All I see on this thread is 2005, 2006, 2005, 2005, 2004, 2006 ... How often do you people buy new cars?

My minivan is 10 years old, and running like a champ. I plan to keep it for a few more years. God willing. I don't like to buy cars often. I tend to drive them into the ground. I'm not much for new, expensive or fancy cars. If it runs, and takes me to where I need to be, that's good enough for me.

On principle, I will never spend more then I need to on cars, and never buy a car that I have to worry that someone could ding it in the parking lot. I have a few scratches on my car because of dumb people, and I don't really care.

 

[Fantasy Moon]

I drive a 2001 Pontiac Sunfire. I was freaking out when I first got in it and the radio still played even after I turned off the ignition. I didn't know there were cars that did that at the time. I've had this one since late 2002. I plan to run it into the ground despite my mother's insistance that I need to buy a new one soon. As if! Why buy a new one when this car still has more years on it?

 

[Marquis Rex]

Since moving to Germany I've cut my fleet down to just two.
I still own my late 1970s BMW 323i (E21) which was the first car I ever bought when I was 17 way back in 1990! It looks quite different to how it did then, with a new redesigned and redeveloped engine and some extras added on. It was the subject of a few magazine articles.

The other car is a bog standard 1995 Porsche 911 Twin Turbo (993) shape.
It has collosal performance and handling security that could only be afforded by a 4WD car!

 

[Marquis Rex]

Is there anyone in America with a car dating back over 3 years? All I see on this thread is 2005, 2006, 2005, 2005, 2004, 2006 ... How often do you people buy new cars?

Actually my observations have found that Americans on the West coast typically will keep and cherish older cars.

It's Europe and especially countries like Germany that just buy new. Every car here in Germany is very very new. It's part of their perverted legislation, geared by the green nutters. They tax old cars off the road in the name of the environment, and yet encourage production of new cars at a collossal rate, thus more heavily contributing to pollution!
I HATE it!

 

[muggle]

Do any of you that don't like old cars have any 1955 or 1956 Ford Thunderbirds that you would like to get rid of.

 

[pontalba]

Is there anyone in America with a car dating back over 3 years? All I see on this thread is 2005, 2006, 2005, 2005, 2004, 2006 ... How often do you people buy new cars?

LOL, both our cars are old.
1988 toyota
1992 jeep

 

[Ronny]

I drive a 2001 Pontiac Sunfire. I was freaking out when I first got in it and the radio still played even after I turned off the ignition. I didn't know there were cars that did that at the time. I've had this one since late 2002. I plan to run it into the ground despite my mother's insistance that I need to buy a new one soon. As if! Why buy a new one when this car still has more years on it?

I had a sunfire before I bought my Jetta and I loved it, I also abused it for a good 6 years or so and it kept on going I still miss it sometimes.

 

[Stewart]

I drive women crazy!