[ibabsi]

1. Maruti 800 DX 1996

2. 10 yrs, 88000 kms

3. Top 3 reasons for selling
- Became unreliable (got stalled a few times)
- Frequent repairs (though not expensive)
- Wanted a new car after 10 yrs!

[prithwi-81]

1. 1999 Mitsubishi Galant V6, 1.5 years, 8k miles (Traded in for the Evo in 2003)
2. 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8, 2.5 years, 19k miles (totalled. 2005)
3. 2005 Subaru Impreza WRX STI, 5 years, 48k miles (Traded in for Evo X in 2009)
4. 2008 Subaru Legacy GT Spec B, 2 years, 24k miles (sold in 2011)
5. 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X, 4 years, 12k miles (still with wife in the US)
6. 2010 Hyundai i20 Asta, 3 years, 29k kms (sold to best buddy in Del)
7. 2010 Skoda Laura 1.8TSi Ambinte, 3 years, 22k kms (still in service - daily luxury beater)
8. 2011 Honda Brio VMT, 2 years, 8k kms (still in service - daily beater)
9. 2012 Skoda Laura VRS, 4 months, 4k kms (still in service - track car)

I voted for 10 years (and over). Here are the details of my cars.

FIAT Linea [present car]

1. What was your car make & model and month & year of purchase? FIAT Linea 1.4 FIRE [petrol] Emotion Pack; October 2009

2. How long did you keep it - in years and in mileage? About 3.5 years and nearing 60 k km

3. Top 3 reasons why you sold it: I am stuck with my Linea for more years!

Maruti Suzuki Versa [sold]:

1. What was your car make & model and month & year of purchase? MS Versa Dl; February 2004

2. How long did you keep it - in years and in mileage? 5.5 years and 55 k km

3. Top 3 reasons why you sold it: Upgraded to FIAT Linea

Maruti Suzuki Omni [sold]:

1. What was your car make & model and month & year of purchase? MS Omni; 1992

2. How long did you keep it - in years and in mileage? 12 years and 95 k km

3. Top 3 reasons why you sold it: Upgraded to MS Versa

[saket77]

1. Good Old Amby Mark -II - Don't know when it was bought. Saw it since I opened my eyes. Sold sometime during 1989 or so. Advantage: I was too young then but I can easily mark out the distinct ride quality and the spacious boot as its advantages. Drawbacks: poor brakes, hard to rotate steering would be the major bad points. Reason for selling: Too many Niggles. Went for a smaller family car and it was a used Fiat 1100 D that we could afford.

2. Fiat 1100D (14 years)- Bought used in 1990. Was with us upto 2004 and co-existed with our new zen for almost 2 years in the family. Advantages: Better fuel efficiency than our outgoing car- The Amby. Looked better and more like a regular family car. Great engine, no doubt. Felt more modern than the amby in every department, though is was an old model too! Disadvantages: The car had a low ground clearance (128mm I guess) so, it would damage its silencer everytime it was loaded with 4 adults and luggage. Started giving problems esp. electrical like the battery losing its charge, dynamo failing every now & then. Towards the end of life, it became unreliable. We sold it for a pittance.

3. Maruti Zen (10+, & still going strong): I learnt driving in our Fiat 1100D. Also drove a lot of Ambys and some Maruti 800. Then when we bought the Zen in 2002, It felt like a supercar in terms of pick-up and all. Great car, very reliable, has never left me stranded on road and still going strong. I think I will keep it for long.

An interesting thing happened when we planned buying out this Zen. Someone we knew, offered us a Toyota Sera for the same price that we would put in for the Zen. About 4 lacs. But it looked too flashy; as the main objective was to buy a family car and Sera certainly was not the best of the family cars around! The doors would open towards the sky, of course they were only 2 with a transparent top. The bright yellow color looked nice. I had sometime drool over it but later decided against it. The best thing that could happen was that I got an opportunity to drive a car which was considered a 'sports car' by many of us in those times. Later, I could brag about this achievement to my friends!

Regards,
Saket

[Skywalk]

Ford fiesta 1.6 SXI 2006, done 60,000 till have it and going great guns, no maintenance issues, spare wheel not even used once! will go for another 3 years with no probs!

[coolkurt]

Honda Civic 2007. 75k kms on the odo..6 years and running. Plan to keep it atleast for 4 more years. Brilliant car, no complaints. More efficient than my 1.4 Punto!

Fiat Grande Punto 1.4 2009. 34k kms on the odo. Almost 4 years...will keep it for atleast 3-4 years till it starts pinching the pocket

[rockporiom]

1. Maruti 1000, 15 years, 4,00,000 Kms (body and engine was giving way)

2. Maruti zen, 4 years, 50,000 Kms (did not suit family needs)

3. Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire, 2 years, 40,000 Kms (still alive and kicking)

4. Suzuki Kizashi, 2 months, 1300 Kms (still alive and kicking)

[GTO]

Just realised I've voted on the poll, but not replied on this thread.

I usually own a car until it is 8 to 10 years old. Thus, if I buy new, I'll keep it for the full 8 - 10 years, but if I buy used, it might be shorter (e.g. buy a 3 year old car and use it for 5 - 6 years, thus still keeping it till its 8 - 10 years old). The latter saves me a lot of money as I've already let someone else take the initial depreciation hit. And for lesser money, I can upgrade more frequently too.

[tortoise]

Forde Fiesta 1.6 sxi kept for 10 years 6 months and odo crossed 102000 when sold.

Sold it primarily to get it replaced it with smaller i10 automatic.

[supremeBaleno]

Till a minimum of atleast the government decided initial car life of 15 years, if not more. And this is always with new cars - don't like buying used cars.

'85 M800 sold in 2004 - 19yrs
'99 M800DX sold in 2013 - 15 years

2005 Baleno (12yrs) & 2007 Swift (10yrs) still in use.

[RickyC]

I drive a 2007 Civic 1.8SM/T, done a measily 35k, in mint condition.
Don't feel like parting with it but now finally making up my mind to let go of it.
A great, trouble free experience..

[Blue_Pearl]

1. Alto (standard) Used it for 9.5 years with 53k on odo. Sold it because it didn't have basic things like ac, let alone other features. The car was bought by my parents in Sep 2004 and I used it in my college life and during my initial (struggling) career.
2. Replaced alto with Celerio Zxi(abs) which has all the goodies. Bought it in the same month when it was launched, that is, Feb 2014. Still using it with 46k on odo and planning to keep it at least for 3 years more.

[RevJ]

Starting from oldest to newest-
1. What was your car make & model and month & year of purchase?
Maruti Suzuki Zen Lxi- 2002 March

2. How long did you keep it - in years and in mileage?
5 years, 65,000KM

3. Top 3 reasons why you sold it. -
1. Frequent Maintenance(relatively cheap)
2. Needed a bigger car
3. Not so good in highway runs (trips to native place near to Munnar were cumbersome)

1. What was your car make & model and month & year of purchase?
Tata Indica Zeta 1.4 GLX, 2007 April

2. How long did you keep it - in years and in mileage?
2 years 15,000KM

3. Top 3 reasons why you sold it.
1. Not economical
2. Fiat Punto came out
3. The first car which my father owned was a Fiat Premier Padmini, so he wanted another new Fiat

1. What was your car make & model and month & year of purchase?
Fiat Punto 1.3 MJD Emotion, 2009 October

2. How long did you keep it - in years and in mileage?
6 years, 138,000KM

3. Top 3 reasons why you sold it.
1. Expensive maintenance kicked in on 6 th year ( A/C and second time suspension changes)
2. Needed a sedan
3. Was somewhat getting outdated but still a looker.

CURRENT ONE

1. What was your car make & model and month & year of purchase?
Skoda Rapid 1.5 TDI Ambition

2. How long did you keep it - in years and in mileage? 2 years in still going on 50,000KM-till date

A used Skoda Octavia L&K served for 4 months after Punto was sold, with 180,000KM on Odo. Sold it because it was just a temporary ride.

[m8002?]

1. M800 5Speed Bought 2004
Bought used from TrueValue. Used for 2 years and 10K kms. Obsolutely no issues. Then exchanged for upgrade to Sedan.
2. Baleno Lxi Bought 2006
What a car!! One of the most underrated cars at that time. Thanks to t-bhp for having me pointed me to it. Owned it for 11 years and 115K Kms. The only components replaced was battery at 60K and the clutch at 90K. Sold with a heavy heart in 2017.
3. Creata E+ CRDI Bought 2017
Still in use.

[kozhissery]

I am just on my third car in my life.

I have voted for 8+, but I think need defines my car change pattern.

1. M800 AC: My first car. Sold it after 30 odd months. I never thought I'd be clocking more than 5000 kilometers a year and I was proved wrong. Petrol bills were too much, so upgraded to a diesel car
2. Swift VDI, ABS: 8.5 Years, 1,70,000 Kilometers. Sold because it started to become unreliable.
3. Current Car: Honda City, Just 23,000+ kilometers (Pre-worshipped, was just 6 months old and clocked below 7000 kilometers when acquired).