Want to save money? Keep that car on the road

When my husband and I went car shopping recently, the salesman joked that our 1994 Camry was getting so old we'd soon be sending it off to college. In fact, it had already been to college and come back. When our daughter graduated, I gave her my newer Corolla, took back the Camry and drove it for two more years. It had 165,450 miles on it when we passed it on to our son this month. Consumer Reports says its useful life isn't anywhere near over. The magazine, in a feature in its October issue, says if you've got a reliable car and take care of it, it should last 200,000 miles or more, saving you many thousands of dollars compared to buying a new car every five years.

What kind of car should you get? Consumer Reports says these are the best bets, based on at least three years of model reliability data: Honda Civic, CR-V or Element; Lexus ES or LS; Toyota 4Runner,  Highlander, Land Cruiser, Prius or RAV4. These vehicles are rated as bad bets: BMW 7-Series; Infinit QX56; Jaguar S-Type or X-Type; Mercedes-Benz M-Class (V8) or SL; Nissan Armada or Titan; Volkswagen Touareg or Volvo XC90 (6-cyl).

The magazine's survey of readers found 6,769 who had vehicles with 200,000 or more miles on their odometers, including a 1994 Ford Ranger pickup driven 488,000 miles.

Have you driven a vehicle more than 200,000 miles? Tell about it in a comment to this post.

(Photo credit: Getty Images)   

Comments

[Nan Connolly]

Your point about hanging onto a car for the duration is well taken. There can be exceptions, however. As my teen and tween girls develop busy lives outside the home, they often walk, bike, scooter or find rides to social engagements, study groups, tennis practice, drama club and babysitting jobs. (I built a house within easy biking distance of both their schools.) I found myself driving to work assignments and running errands in a big honkin' van with six empty seats. The Honda Odyssey was running like a top when I traded it last weekend, at 91,000 miles, for a fuel-sipping Honda Fit. But I will pay about 40% less in gas and feel less like an unpopular bus driver as I wend my way around Orlando. This car and I are bonded for life. I am shooting for 175,000 miles. But I wish the next family many happy years in the old silver cinderblock that saw my kids safely thru several cross-country trips and a zillion carpools. Breaking up with your car is indeed hard to do but sometimes it's the right thing to do...

[Helen Huntley]

Kim-The magazine's recommendations were based on three years of "reliability" records, which as I understand it means frequency of repairs needed. Helen

[Kim]

I had a Nissan Pathfinder and put well over 250k miles on it. She drove like a dream and never gave me any problems. I don't know what is wrong with the Titan, I have had one brand new off the lot in 2004 and it drives like a luxury vehicle. I love it. I haven't had any problems with it either. Why do the consumer reports say it is a bad buy? Mine has been great!

[Doug]

Sorely absent here are the "Big Three" US automakers. Imports aren't perfect, but the last American car I bought was in the early '80's. And THAT was a mistake that's caused the wife and I to buy imports every time since then. For us, it's all about quality, and the Big Three just don't come close. It's no surprise they're in deep trouble financially.

[Judy]

I have a 1991 Toyota Camry with over 260,000 miles and still going strong.

Guess you are speaking of late model years on the BMW 7 series because my 2001 740i has been great, proving consumer Reports is right in recommending keeping a good car on the road.

[MH]

Passed down from my sister, my first car was a Benz 300 Turbo Diesel that was as old as I was. At 260K miles, we got rid of it and I got a Honda Del Sol, which I sold with 250K+ miles on it. It was running just fine but I finally wanted to experience a new car. If you take care of it, it will take care of you!