Why Did You Replace Your Last Car(s)

andre1969

A friend of mine has a Toyota Camry Hybrid, and I rode in it a few times. That thing is a really nice car! And I'm not even a fan of the Camry! This thing was fully decked-out, too, and I'm sure would make a Civic feel like crap, in comparison.

Going from 48 mpg to 34 mpg, over the course of 68,000 miles, the Camry has used maybe 583 more gallons. Even if gas stayed at $4.00 per gallon, that would only come out to around $45-50 per month extra.

Back in May, I saw a used 2008 or 2009 Nissan Altima Hybrid for sale, with fairly low miles, and asking around $22K. It was well-equipped, with Nav, sunroof, leather, etc. I gotta admit, I was pretty tempted, although in my case, I don't drive enough for the fuel economy to matter much. I just thought it would be kinda cool to have!

nippononly

I have been surprised to notice lately that the 2001-2005 Civics were made really poorly. Everywhere you look the 4-doors have the headliners falling down, on cars that are only 5 or 6 years old! I thought we had left that behind in the 70s.

My mother has been most annoyed at her '01 for the last couple of years as the power lock in the driver's door quit in '08, rendering her keyless entry useless and causing her to forget to lock the car some of the time. Many of the bits in the interior of her car have come apart too, starting with the sun visors which shredded and fell off their mounting posts last year or the year before.

It only has 70K miles, but she won't be keeping it much longer, and she has said it will be her last Honda.

Hugo_Stiglitz

My 20 year old daughter is in New England and wants a USED AWD type of car, preferably a hatch/wagon and absolutely not an SUV/CUV. Of course we are aware of the Subaru's. I've had an Audi quattro but I think that would be too much money. She wants to spend about $15K. What would you nice people suggest? I've found it hard to filter search results with awd specified. What's good out there?

Mark

andre1969

I have a friend whose sister and sister's boyfriend both have Civics from that 2001-2005 era. One's a sedan and one's a coupe. I'm kinda curious now, to ask them how the cars are holding up.

As for the headliners, I've been noticing that problem on the 2002-2006 era Camry, for some reason. Not so much the fabric coming undone and billowing down, as the padding behind it dissolves, but more the whole thing popping loose by the back window, and hanging down.

anythngbutgm

Toyota Matrix?

Regarding Subies, my wife and I both have them and IMO they're the best cars of the money if you want AWD. Good power, top safety scores, reliability that is near the Toyo and Honda levels and they are fantastic in the New England weather. I've had snow accumulate up past the rocker panels of my little Impreza the thing just chugs right through it without issue.

hpmctorque

There aren't many models that fit the parameters your daughter is looking for. However, the Suzuki SX4 is a cute AWD hatchback. I'd view it as an alternative to the Subaru Impreza.

snakeweasel

Interesting question. For me the last car I traded in was a 200 Hyundai Elantra Station Wagon with around 175K miles on it. I mst likely would be still driving it today as the car was still running great and had given me no real issues.

What happened was that my wife kept on stating that when we were going to get a new car we she would like to get a convertible. Well it just so happened that last year I spotted a used Sebring convertible for sale at a dealership down the street from where I worked. Price was great, a few grand less than what all the guides said it should go for. So the opportunity presented itsef, the car was priced right, appeared good and rode well so we decided that now was the time.

benjaminh

Our 02 Accord was having some issues, some of which were caused by a branch of a tree falling through the window in a storm. It was fixed, but it was never quite the same. I think the new window didn't quite seal 100% and so we had more road noise. And it wasn't super quiet car to begin with. Plus it was due for a timing belt change, had one lose piece of trim, etc.

Then saw an add for a new Mazda5 manual mini-minivan/station wagon from just $14,900 something. What a deal. Didn't get much for the Accord, but I realized they had to make up for their loss leader a bit.

Anyway, so far we love the Mazda5. The Accord gave good service, but I'm glad we made the switch.

I think the first 8 years of a cars life--if it's a good car to begin with, anyway--are the charmed years. After that it's one thing after another....

So that means our 08 Accord maybe ready for a new owner by...2016? Still love our 08 Accord. It's so much better than the 02 in every way.

ajvdh

The last car I replaced was a '95 M3. I bought it In June '09. One owner, dealer serviced, all records and only 88k miles. SWMBO and I drove it back from Florida. In February of this year, my son got rear-ended in his car. The other party's insurance paid for everything including the rental car we'd need for the one day my son's car was in the shop.

The fly in that particular ointment was that my son couldn't actually drive the rental as he was only 17. "Dad, since there's no school, can I take your car up snowboarding, and you drive the rental?" "Sure" (he'd driven it up to the mountains before with no ill effects).

You know where this is going: Coming back down, he put two wheels into some gravel and spun it backwards into a several ton boulder. According to the cop, he was probably 5 MPH under the speed limit when he lost it. In other words, no rampant idiocy, just a new driver's mistake.

No injuries, no other parties involved. At first glance it didn't even look too bad. Until you noticed the crease in the roof and that the wheels were pointing in three different directions. And that the doors couldn't be opened.

My insurance co cut me a check for almost exactly what I'd paid for the car (including sales tax). They then raised our rates $100/year, so they'll get it all back in a bit less than a century.

I replaced it with an '04 330 coupe. It's a bit softer in its reactions than the M3 and a tick slower too, but it's much quieter, the interior materials are better and it gets slightly better mileage. Being nine years newer doesn't hurt either.

corsicachevy

I only get rid of my vehicles when most of their usable life has been exhausted. My 1987 Mazda 323 lost its starter (along with a few fly wheel teeth), air conditioning, radio, shocks and had developed a severe case of cancer. I gave it to a kid who limped it around for about 5000 miles and then sent it to the scrap heap.

My 1996 Corsica was quite a war horse that really gave me little trouble, with the exception of the classic GM leaking intake on its 3100 V6. It lasted for 150,000 miles and, out of charity, I gave it to my brother-in-law who was heading off to college. He got rid of it last year with 200,000 miles on the odo.

hpmctorque

How many miles were on the Mazda when you got rid of it?

orbit9090

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Cuz it only got 19 mpg.

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iluvmysephia1

the 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer GTS showed me what a doll she was! :blush:

michaellno

The last two new vehicles we bought were due to trust issues.

First was our '05 VUE. Stopped dead on the road one Sunday afternoon. Wouldn't restart. Had it towed to the dealer - they looked at it and couldn't find a problem. Picked it up from service and immediately drove 'round to the sales side of the building, where we traded it in on the new '08 VUE.

Second was (is) our '06 ION. Daughter's daily driver, used mostly to commute between our house and college (approx. 100 miles each way). In February, she reported that it stopped dead after going over some railroad tracks. She was able to get to the side of the road and it restarted with no problem. Took it to the dealer; again, they couldn't find anything wrong with it - no codes or electrical issues to be found.

Well, the problem happened again in early April, except this time the daughter was on the highway at the height of rush hour. Again, she was able to restart it and drive home with no problems. Wife decided, then and there, that she was not taking that car back to school the following Monday.

We decided to trade in my car ('03 Saturn VUE) on a new MINI for the daughter, and I would drive the ION. Of course, after 5 months, I've not once had the problem with the ION stalling out.

But, the daughter is paying for the MINI, so I suppose if she's happy with what she's driving, then it's all good.

euphonium

"drove 'round to the sales side of the building, where we traded it in on the new '08 VUE. "

Why in the world would you go for another VUE when the previous one was sub standard? Why reward Saturn with another new sale when the previous one was defecient? Are you not buying a later version of an old problem? :confuse:

fezo

I know that the 08 Vue was a different vehicle than the 05 but I thought the same thing.

I replaced the last car because my daughter drowned its predecessor.

michaellno

Why in the world would you go for another VUE when the previous one was sub standard? Why reward Saturn with another new sale when the previous one was defecient? Are you not buying a later version of an old problem?

Valid point, but as fezo noted, the '08 was a complete redesign with a new engine (3.6L that is found in the CTS, among other GM offerings). Also, we had previously test driven the '08 VUE before we knew we'd be in the market for one and the wife positively loved it .. in fact, she commented afterwards that the '08 made her '05 feel "like a truck" by comparison.

Couple that with the fact that we got the best trade in value for the '05, the easy sales process that we've had with each of our Saturn purchases (the '08 VUE was the 4th Saturn we'd bought), and the GM Employee discount I qualify for through my employer, made it a pretty easy decision.

3 years and 42K later, the '08 VUE, while not perfect, has been a darn sight better than the '05.

pat85

I traded in a 2003 4Runner V-8 that got 15 MPG both city and Highway. It had full time 4wd. I traded it in on a 2009 Camry Hybrid. I get 34 MPG city and 41 MPG on the highway at 60 MPH with cruise control. My only complait. The 4Runner drove reallywell in deep snow. The TCH with supposedly all season touring tires is a disater in any snow.

hpmctorque

Were you aware of the tradeoff before you traded your truck in? Snow tires would help your Camry in snow, plus help you turn and stop better, for a small penalty in fuel economy over your all-seasons.

berri

If pat isn't in a huge snow area, they might do fine with a top quality all season tire. I've always found that the Toyota's I've owned came with crap tires as OEM. I had an 09 Camry with some lousy Bridgestones. Once I put some Goodyear ComfortTreads on it, it was like a whole different car in winter weather. Pat should go to a website like tirerack and look at winter performance ratings, then just swallow it and put a tire that rates well on the vehicle. In the long run - much happier owner.

fezo

Good point on tires! I remember when I replaced the original tires on our 00 Accord. The OEMs were designed primarily for tread life. Once I put on tires that were performance and comfort tires with traded life as the lowest concern it was an entirely different car and lots better to drive.

andre1969

Part of the problem might simply be that many modern cars sit really low to the ground, so once you get more than a few inches of snow, they seem to start pushing it along, piling it up in front, and end up "snowbanking" themselves. And with FWD it's actually worse than RWD, because as the front raises up and takes weight off the drive wheels, you end up losing traction. RWD, at least, will (usually) start to dig in, and keep pushing you along.

I remember when I first bought my 2000 Intrepid, I hated driving the thing in the snow. I actually preferred my '89 Gran Fury and grandmother's '85 LeSabre. They had much better ground clearance, and seemed to be able to get around better. The Intrepid's only advantage was that it would take off more easily, and less likely to get stuck if you had to stop on an icy/slick patch. But, once the snow got more than a few inches deep that became a moot point. And, once you got going, the LeSabre or Gran Fury were no less likely to lose traction or give me fits when braking than the Intrepid was.

A few years back, when we had a few back-to-back blizzards, I had replaced the Intrepid with a 2000 Park Ave. But, I just left it parked until the snow melted down some, and used my '85 Silverado to get around. Even though it's only RWD, no ABS, etc, it seemed to get around pretty well. And it could also bash through snowbanks that, if you tried that with a modern car, you'd end up losing your fascia in the process! :shades:

stever

The automakers are counting on it.

"New-car sales, which collapsed to less than 11 million in 2009, are expected to surpass 14 million this year. And forecasters believe that they will increase by around a million annually for the next couple of years. In 2015, we could eclipse 16 million vehicles sold, which is near the precrisis peak.

The industry’s buoyancy comes largely from pent-up demand. Many Americans are driving really, really old cars. The average passenger vehicle is now 11 years old — making this the oldest fleet ever — and the percentage being junked has been at near record lows."

The Dinged-Up, Broken-Down, Fender-Bended Economic Recovery Plan (NY Times)

roadburner

Not new, but almost certainly another CPO Bimmer- or perhaps a Cayman S. My son commandeered my wife's X3 so she bought a CPO 328i. I plan to drive my 2007 Mazdaspeed 3 as my work beater until my semi-retirement becomes a full retirement. Once that happens(in @3 years) the Mazda is gone and the hunt begins for something that is actually fast(as well as RWD and under 3500 pounds).

stever

Sounds like current lease deals are being structured for some makes (cheap, in other words) to ensure a lot of good three year old "previously owned" cars by 2015 to help meet the demand.

roadburner

Exactly; my wife's CPO had just came in off a 36 month business lease. And the dealer had several 2011 3 Series that came from BMW's corporate offices or were short-term private leases.