All I can say is this. I have spent far less a month maintaining my 21 year old LS than I would be spending on a monthly payment and higher insurance rates for a newer car.

Having said that...I'm probably going to buy a somewhat nicer car in about a year if I land a decent job after graduating this December.

 

The last-Generation Yaris (as you note) was an extremely well-built small car. When I reviewed one, I remarked on how solid everything from the basic body structure to the door-closings to the hardware to the actual controls felt. Yes, it was rather noisy and unrefined on the road, but that is pretty much a characteristic of most entry-level subcompacts. The only real annoyances on it, IMO, were the silly center-gauge cluster (a cheap-to-build way of doing both left and right-hand drive versions for various markets), and where they mounted the console/lower-dash ***** on the three-door hatchback version.

 

I just gave up my trusty, 15 year old Legacy GT last week. Now, I'm driving a stupid, 8 year old Legacy GT that I hope will make it to age 9.

 

06 Lexus IS250 its 7 years if i counted right and i plan on keeping it forever unless something happens to it. Good memories with that car.

 

94 Toyota Pickup. 70,000 miles. Got it 3.5 years ago with just 20,000. It's cherry inside and out, I wash it regularly and wax it. Always been dealer maintained and owned by an old person. Drives like new, has ice cold A/C. It will last me indefinitely. I Have ZERO plans on getting rid of it.

 

The oldest car my family has ever owned was the 2004 Lexus RX330 which we bought in 2003 and got rid of in 2012, so it stayed in our family for 9 years. Besides that one, we usually replaced our cars after five to seven years. Our current prime car, the 2008 IS350, is approaching 6 years.

 

it's the economy. If the economy was booming right now, people would be spending money left and right. Many people are still afraid of tomorrow, thus they rather keep the current car since they don't have to pay for it every single month. Plus, everything is going up these days, gas, food, rent. Only our salaries have not changed for the past decade.... So, certain things become less affordable.

 

27 years old and counting

 

The problem is......it's a vicious circle. If people DON'T spend money, the economy WILL either stagnate or get worse. Sometimes, economic recessions and cutbacks happen (or are made worse) because people sit on their money instead of spending it...as you note, simply out of fear.

 

My first vehicle I had, a new '98 4Runner, lasted about 11 years, from high school senior year of '98. I would've kept it longer, but the transmission started failing and missed, which I would blame myself for lack of maintenance. Other than that, everything else was solid.It had a good 178,000 miles when I sold it. So yeah, the build quality of certain vehicles are top-notch and allows you to keep them longer.

 

To be fair though, you do have to admit that this specific case is an outlier. The Yaris is regarded by numerous sources as one of--if not THE--most reliable models ever made, far more so than even a "typical" Toyota.

 

now i see my '06 explorer is a 'youngun' compared to some and the average.

i've never sold a car because it was becoming unreliable, only that i got bored of it. i'm definitely pretty bored with the explorer, but not really drawn to something else yet.

 

Just wait till that new Miata comes out.

 

You are right, Mike, and that is why, when the recession first started back in 2008/2009, governments in Canada and the USA brought in stimulus packages (fixing roads and other infrastructure, Cash for Clunkers, for example), to put some people to work and keep the money flowing; it is useless if you have money but are sitting on it.

But you can really only spend money you have or have confidence that you can easily pay back any loans that you take out. If the recession (at least the on-the-street recession) keeps dragging on for years and years and years, however, like this one has, with some people still looking for work after all these years, people have no money left after the basics of putting a roof over their heads and putting food on the table. Those 2 are the very basics and a new car is a luxury that one cannot afford when wages have been stagnant (or zero) while basics cost more and more each year.

 

We're putting another older vehicle back on the road this week. My dad's 92 F350, which had been parked in the backyard for a couple years, us getting out back into service this week.

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