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View Poll Results: How long do you plan to hold onto your current car?
Till my car is 2 - 3 years old 11 0.73%
Till my car is 4 - 5 years old 123 8.22%
Till my car is 6 - 7 years old 240 16.03%
Till my car is 8 - 9 years old 221 14.76%
Till my car is 10 (or higher) years old 902 60.25%
Voters: 1497. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 10th June 2020, 17:48   #46
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Re: Your car's age: How long do you plan to hold onto your current car?

Voted for 10 years +. There is no specific time period to sell the car, it depends on various factors.
1. Serviceability from a quality service station
2. Availability of spare parts both from primary vehicle or horizontally diversified product
3. Cost to maintain

My first car was a Wagon R which remained with us for about 7 years. After that, got a Ford Fusion when they were phasing it out and that served for 10 years. Had to part with it due to lack of space. Have a 2013 Safari with about 1L on the odo. Its been 7 years, but still contemplating whether to sell it or not. Living in a city like Bangalore and the area we live in a small car is much preferred. But we have now started walks up to about 3km for purchases and therefore that reason has now been erased.
Some of the new models coming up - the Kosmiq, Taigun, Kicks etc seem to be interesting vehicles to buy. But everytime we look and get into the Storme, all thoughts of upgrade are erased
I guess another couple of years, the cost to service will become higher i feel + ability to service. For e.g. Wheels Wisdom have refused to service the Storme stating there is no credible service provider. So its a wait and watch for the next couple of years probably
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Old 10th June 2020, 17:49   #47
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Re: Your car's age: How long do you plan to hold onto your current car?

Have already used by Brio for close to 8 years and now and it is still an irreplaceable city hatchback which is quick and snappy to drive around. Yet to find a modern hatch which is this diminutive and powerful and nimble and easy to park and easy on the pocket, all at the same time.

My Honda City is just over a year old and will keep it for another 5-6 years at least, unless some irresistible itch to upgrade the City comes around in the coming years.

Of course, both cars are spotlessly maintained and therefore have huge amount of life left in them. Consequently, both can be run without worries and with normal maintenance measures being taken from time to time.
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Old 10th June 2020, 18:00   #48
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Re: Your car's age: How long do you plan to hold onto your current car?

I think many of us are tending towards hanging on to our cars for longer periods.
I sold off my Yeti when it was 8. I immediately bought the Cooper which was 7.5. It will become 8 years old next month. And my other vehicle is a 15 year old Gypsy.
I am hoping one day to get me a W123 or W124 Merc - both nice and venerable cars.
I do feel sad I sold my Yeti because it came to me brand new and maybe I should have just kept it.
But it is also a fact that parking is a pain. And I being just one driver in this house, can never do so many vehicles proper justice. Even more so because of WFH now!

But all said and done there is a lot of merit in keeping ones car for longer periods. Better for the pocket!
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Old 10th June 2020, 18:18   #49
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Re: Your car's age: How long do you plan to hold onto your current car?

My WagonR F10D is 13 year and 1.1 lakh KM old. I purchased an Ertiga ZXI+ last year. Initially thought about exchanging the wagonR, however later decided to keep it as a beater car. Currently WagonR is the daily driver and it does the duty brilliantly and nothing much to worry about parking space, congested roads etc while in Wagon R . Ertiga became the weekend/long distance companion.
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Old 10th June 2020, 18:48   #50
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Re: Your car's age: How long do you plan to hold onto your current car?

Proud of this community . I had expected perhaps 1/3rd of BHPians to vote for the 10 year poll option, but it's like 2/3rd now! I'm sure that part of it is the Covid-19 effect on the economy, yet there is no doubt that today's cars are simply built better, age slower and feel "up to date" even after a couple of years. Take a look at the models we reviewed 7 years ago on this link and you'll see that most of them are competent even by current standards. But again, choosing the right model is key to happy long-term ownership.

I have another theory = The difference between the average 2020 car and a 2010 car isn't as much as the difference between a 2010 car and a year 2000 car. We'll discuss that some other day.

Here is to buying great cars and keeping them for 10 years .

Last edited by GTO : 10th June 2020 at 18:51.
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Old 10th June 2020, 19:18   #51
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Re: Your car's age: How long do you plan to hold onto your current car?

Quote:
Proud of this community . I had expected perhaps 1/3rd of BHPians to vote for the 10 year poll option, yet there is no doubt that today's cars are simply built better, age slower and feel "up to date" even after a couple of years.
Much of this is due to you GTO.

Your other thread about 5 year old cars and whether to keep upgrade or swap is also an inspiration. And the beauty of lateral upgrades.

I have no idea why I was such a mutt between 2000-2011 when I too, fell into this “change your car every 3-5 years” nonsense!

I was at the Cooper Showroom the other day.

And my old 2012 Cooper S just has such a heavy build quality and solid feel as compared with the 2020 Coopers in the showrooms!

Same with my Yeti - the doors shut like a vault, when compared with the Brand new Kodiaq which I compared in the Skoda Showroom some 9 months ago.

Now you must please help me find a nice W123/W124 Petrol...I have been dreaming of one of these....

Last edited by GTO : 10th June 2020 at 19:56. Reason: Fixing quote
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Old 10th June 2020, 19:18   #52
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Re: Your car's age: How long do you plan to hold onto your current car?

Voted for 2-3 years old. And surprised to see that I am the only one who went with that option as of now!

My current car is almost into its 2nd year and i have already started the search for my next car. I don't basically need a car from the next segment, but i prefer to drive a newer car from the same segment. Reason being - I consider my EMIs just as a monthly rental for hiring a car!

Since I am living here in Saudi as an expat, i don't want to spend a lot on a car upfront by paying in cash because we might need to leave this country anytime.If i was in India , i might have voted for the 10+ years option considering the atrocious pricing we have in our country!
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Old 10th June 2020, 19:19   #53
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Re: Your car's age: How long do you plan to hold onto your current car?

We have two cars in the family.

One is the 2012 Honda Civic AT, which we bought preowned in 2014. The current odo stands at 87,xxx kms. Had a thought of upgrading next year but have changed my mind. We plan to give it a once over with a suspension overhaul, new tyres, paint touch up and re do the work out upholstery. Will keep it for another 4-5 years atleast. Infact, after seeing the current Civic, I love mine even more now.

The other is a 2016 VW Polo GT TSI bought new. It doesn't run much and has only 18,xxx kms on the clock. The build is solid and every drive is fun. Will keep it till for 10 years atleast.

Plus building a good relationship with Service Advisors is a big plus and have done that at both Honda and VW.

I may add a preowned example of a car I really love to my garage someday but thats just a thought as of now.

Voted 10 years or more.
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Old 10th June 2020, 20:08   #54
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Re: Your car's age: How long do you plan to hold onto your current car?

Minority vote here. Chose to go with option 2. I usually change my cars in ~5 years, and the Compass will be no different.

Think in next 5 years, we will have some good EVs in the market to look forward to.
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Old 10th June 2020, 20:21   #55
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Re: Your car's age: How long do you plan to hold onto your current car?

Voted 10+ years!

Not only you waste money if you buy a car every 5 years, but you also don't utilise your car to it's best potential levels. I am even contemplating to increase the ownership tenure from 10 years to a minimum of 12 years!
  • My Baleno is 2.7 years old - Will keep it easily for the next 9-10 years.
  • Seltos is just a few months old (4 months & 9 days to be precise) - so you must know the answer

Last edited by bluevolt : 10th June 2020 at 20:24.
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Old 10th June 2020, 20:31   #56
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Re: Your car's age: How long do you plan to hold onto your current car?

It depends.

My Etios is currently 9 years old and the Duster is around 1 year 9 months.

Your car's age: How long do you plan to hold onto your current car?-102674089_4216452758426585_23015339450541410_o.jpg

In Bengal the road tax, we need to pay is for every 5 years. The road tax for the Etios is around 37k and for the Duster it's around 74k.

The Etios is easy on pocket, so if I pay 37k on the 10th year, I can use this car for another 5 years. Toyota's are reliable.

On the other hand, for the Duster, I have an extended warranty for 5 years. After 5 years I can opt for anytime warranty for another 2 years. That gives me a coverage of 7 years. The spares for Duster are costly and it wont be as reliable as the Etios. So my plan is to pay the 5th year road tax for the Duster and sell the vehicle when it turns around 8 years.
Hope by then Maruti will launch a 3 door Jimny in India.
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Old 10th June 2020, 20:46   #57
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Re: Your car's age: How long do you plan to hold onto your current car?

We had Maruti 800, kept for 11 years, Zen which was there for 14 years, Figo in its 10th year, Figo Aspire in its 6th year. I usually keep cars for at least a decade. This time will have to make an exception due to the poor build quality of Aspire. But not in a situation to buy a new car, will hold on for couple of years of possible and buy a new one. Figo will stay for few more years as it is used by parents and is running well. Their running is coming down also. Next car would be something which will have 5* NCAP crash rating. Wish Nexon comes with an automatic other than AMT. The only reason I went the long holding duration was due to GTO's legendary thread.
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Old 10th June 2020, 20:57   #58
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Re: Your car's age: How long do you plan to hold onto your current car?

Wrong time for the poll. Thanks to covid, people have become more conservative unconsciously.
Anyway, I think technological advances in the next few years will make it imperative to change cars faster. Maybe once the new technology ( read green) becomes mature, people will be able to hold onto their cars for a longer time.
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Old 10th June 2020, 21:06   #59
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Re: Your car's age: How long do you plan to hold onto your current car?

We have two cars in the family. A 2015 Hyundai Grand i10 Petrol Manual and a 2018 Hyundai Creta Petrol Automatic.

We may replace the Grand i10 with a small petrol automatic hatchback in the next 2-3 years, but the Creta is here to stay at least for the next 8-9 years. Hoping electric becomes mainstream by then so that we'll have the perfect garage - An electric crossover/SUV with decent long-distance range and a small petrol automatic hatchback as a fallback.
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Old 10th June 2020, 21:24   #60
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Re: Your car's age: How long do you plan to hold onto your current car?

I wish to sell none of my three cars ever*. All are fit and healthy and are very faithful to me, as these have always been.

- The Maruti 800, my first car is already 33 years old. It still runs flawlessly and other than changing oil and lubricants, tyres and doing some periodic checks, its still in fine fettle. It still dons the original Francois white factory paint.

- My second car a 1955 Landmaster came into my life in 2003. The first owner had kept it for 48 years. Sad to say, he skipped his dinner the day it was sold. And more sadly, he passed away at age 80 plus in 2007. He would sit in the garage for every repair being carried out like a typical old timer, sometimes for the full day. Since age defied his abilities, he had to sell the car. No way I will ever sell such a treasure which is among the rare, original Landmasters in the country.

- The third one (though they say small family(with TWO),happy family), a Mahindra Scorpio was bought by me in 2009. It was among the first few batches of the refreshed versions with the torquey 2.2 L MHawk engine. It has been my daily driver and I am very much happy with its performance and reliability. I have undertaken a few long journeys with this and the commanding view of the road it offers is unbeatable. It's fuel economy is too good for the huge 2190 cc engine.This Brute SUV has endured 11 years with me and by 2024, will go for its 5-year fitness test.

No way I will part with any of these anytime.


* unless there is some serious disability that makes them a total loss. GOD FORBID !

Last edited by anjan_c2007 : 10th June 2020 at 21:26.
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