[aneezan]

The thought of buying a bigger/better car does come up once in a while, but disappears when i think i will have to let go of one of the 2 we have now. Would love to have them till for 10+ years.

- Alto Lxi(2009) - sold after 5 years and 60,000 KM, then regretted why we did, when we could handle 2 cars.

- Polo Tdi(2014) - currently in the 6th year and 67,000KM and my wife's daily. Apart from the scratches and small dents, there is absolutely nothing that has changed with the car(performance or otherwise) from day 1. Its still the same rock solid tank every time. Have no intention of replacing this, and if it all i did a few years from now, would have to be something similar.

- Ciaz S Diesel(2018) - into the 3rd with 32,000KM. The highway/long trip companion and still in mint condition. Plan to keep it for at-least the next 6 to 7 years.

[acdcnippon]

Voted for 10 years plus. All our cars have been with us for around that time. The only ever car we took out quickly was the Maruti Van way back in 87-88 I guess due to the safety concerns on highway driving. The last car which went in an exchange (Swift '08) did 10 plus. The other two from the stable- Honda is in its 6th year, Gypsy is 10+. All of them suit a certain purpose and yes I do get sentimental about all my cars. Not to mention all my 3 yamahas are ranging from 36 yrs to 24 yrs bracket. 😬

[devansn]

Voted for 10+ years. My Punto is turning 10 years next month and has clocked around 165000 Kms. Although the overall maintenance bills are north of 30K per year for the last 2-3 years, I plan to keep it for as long as possible - since it still drives well - few months back we did a 1200 Km roundtrip without any issues.

[heydj]

I use Rapid Diesel DSG. There is nothing in the market I like better. Bought this in 2015 and till date not found a single car/suv in same price range that meets my need. My requirements with importance %:

1. Solid build quality 30%
2. Adequate space for family of 5 5%
3. Diesel for good mileage 20%
4. Good automatic which is pleasure to use 40%
5. Looks good to me (personal choice) 5%

From time to time I evaluate cars on above parameters and discard all the choices. So yeah will try and use as long as legally possible.

If I ever buy another car then it will probably be used Range Rover Diesel AT.

[stanjohn123]

I voted for 10 years or more. In fact, if there was a "Forever" option I would choose that as well.

1) Maruti Esteem (2004) - Done 72,000 Kms. Very good condition. Have had only issues with my AC. As we speak I need to replace the Suction hose as it has started leaking gas. Apart from this I have rusting issues due to our climate and very less usage of the car. But mechanically this car is awesome and it would be foolish to sell it at it's current market price of 1.5 Lakh Rs.

The car has a peppy engine, good reliability and decent fuel mileage. Also it's so damn cheap to fix if any issues crop up.

A keeper car for sure. Chances of selling - Highly unlikely.

2) 2010 Lexus IS 300 (2010) - Done 45,000 Kms. This is the most loved car in this list. Epitome of luxury, sporty engine. But had to let her go when I had to return to India. Tried very hard to bring her here but financially it wasn't viable. So dropped the idea. Saddest day of my life.

3) Hyundai Verna (2012)- Done 45,000 Km. Excellent condition. Have had issues with the steering rack, which was fixed. Apart from this had a gearshift problem which is partially fixed. Need to replace the slave clutch cylinder as well to get back its buttery smooth gearshifts. Will do it next week.

Love the car's refinement and NVH levels. Torquey diesel engine and good fuel mileage. Definitely a keeper and again very foolish if I were to sell her for current market price of 4-5 Lakh Rs.

A keeper car for sure. Chances of selling - Highly unlikely.

4) Tata Tiago Automatic (2019) - Done 11,000 Km. Excellent condition. Still under warranty. Had fuel pump issues which was fixed under warranty and no problems after that. Love it's peppy engine, good build quality , lovely ICE.

I was not a big fan of TATA cars but I took a risk and it paid off. They are not to the levels of Hyundai in refinement yet but TATA are so damn close.

A keeper car for sure. Chances of selling - Highly unlikely.

5) Apache RR 310 (2018) - Done 10,000 Km. First bike and love it to bits. Amazing bike which gives you a big bike feel at fraction of the cost and no headaches at all. It is a bit unreliable , being a hidden BMW product but it's a small price to pay.

Definitely a keeper. Not likely to sell.

6) Scooty Pep + (2010) - Done 35,000 Km - Might not be genuine Km's as the scooter was run for many KM's without it's odometer connected. Not maintained properly as it was my wifes scooter. I fell in love with it as soon as I started use it for carrying some materials for construction purposes.

My family insisted I sell her and get a new scooter as even purchasing a used scooty costs only 7,000 Rs. But something got me attached to her so I spent 12,500 Rs rebuilding the engine , fixing new tyres and brakes and the scooter is as good as new now with frequent maintenance done by me on time.

This might be the most foolish investment but the scooter was perfectly salvageable and can run many years if maintained properly also I think I saved some money by not purchasing a new scooter which costs 80,000 Rs now and selling this would just fetch me 7,000 Rs. But I made it perfect with just a small investment.

It is highly unlikely that I will sell this scooter while my in-laws purchased another used scooty for 7,000 Rs and it isn't as sorted as the old one which I fixed.

I think used market is highly unforgiving to any cars that is not a Toyota, no matter how good your vehicle is. So if you are planning for a lateral upgrade, get a Toyota , use it for some years and once you get bored, sell it off at good resale prices and then upgrade to whatever you want.

If you purchase any other brand and want to do a lateral upgrade, be ready to face the harsh reality of very poor resale value which you have to bear or just keep it long term and buy another car, if you have the parking space as well.

[Tachyonites]

Well if this thread had been posted 10 years ago, my answer would have been 6-7 years. Initially, we kept our cars for about 6-7 years and then sell it. Two examples would be my Accent and Zen. Since when we bought the Innova, it proved to be so reliable and the ownership was hassle free, we didn't feel like selling it early. Its been ten years now and boy it looks and drives the same since its first day with us (i mean that in a positive way.) Our SX4 has also completed 11 years but has disappointed us a few times. Well the verdict: Voted for 10+ years owing to the Innova and SX4.
Thanks.

[amit_purohit20]

I have a 2009 Indica Vista TDI. Already its 11 years old, well maintained and driven only 43k kms. The thought of selling a car which has years of life left in it for a paltry sum gets on my nerves. I have already started reading team-bhp threads of how to extend your registration certificate after 15 years.

I wanted to go for pre-worshipped car but the Corona certainty has changed my plans. I did better invest in a pre-worshipped bike (less money required) rather than invest in a car at this juncture of time.

[JishD]

2013 Polo TSI done 43k - drives as good as new , maintenance issues few touchwood (only major expense has been water pump failure) . I usually keep cars for 3-4 years , but can't find logical upgrade options. The only car which appeals is Octavia L&K but it's out of budget. So I think I'll hang on till Yr 10

[Lalvaz]

Originally Posted by devansn

Voted for 10+ years. My Punto is turning 10 years next month and has clocked around 165000 Kms. Although the overall maintenance bills are north of 30K per year for the last 2-3 years, I plan to keep it for as long as possible - since it still drives well - few months back we did a 1200 Km roundtrip without any issues.

Why are the maintenance bills consistently this high for the last 2-3 years ? Any accidents or is 30k the cost of routine service?

I'm using a Swift Vdi with nearly similar odometer readings and age, and my maintenance costs are currently approx 10k per year.

[Annibaddh]

Voted 10 years or more. My i10 is already more than 11 years and going. Vento 1.6 TDi is done 8 and run 99K in spite of limited daily run for the last 3-4 years (rules permitting). Intend to keep it going for a while because I don't think anything in the current offerings matches the quality of the build or the feel of the engine. Love both my car's!

[Shreyfiesta]

What a lovely thread this is!

Voted for 10+ years.

Following are the cars that we have in our garage :
1. Maruti 800 DX 5 Speed MPFi (2000)
This is in fact the first car that my dad bought with his own money. He was actually brought up in a middle class family, so he never thought that he will be able to buy a car in future. Because of this, my father is still having some special kind of attachment with this particular car. Even after 3,23,000kms on odo, he refuses to sell the M800 and wants to keep it in top-class condition.

2. Ford Global Fiesta (2011)
After the M800, an Ikon and a Lancer came home but both of them were sold within few years of usage due to various reasons. We bought this rare global sedan as a replacement for our Lancer in December 2011. For the truth to be told, the current odometer reading of our Fiesta is just 43,000kms as my dad is having four other cars for official as well as daily uses. We are actually planning to replace it with a more powerful and spacious petrol sedan soon.

[DaptChatterjee]

Voted for 6-7 years. My Dzire VXI AGS has traveled just 4K kms in 2 years. Upgrade to better audio HU including touchscreen, alloy wheels are on cards. Have already repainted it at Heera Motors after some scratches. Unless the infamous Maruti rattling forces me, I'll keep it for longer.

[alphadog]

I am more of a bike than a car person.
A car has to be comfortable and get me & my family, from point A to B safely. I am not too fussed about outright performance or snob value.

I have an almost 3 years old Tata Hexa and a 6 year old Nissan Micra. They have done only around 35000 and 15000 kms respectively. I have voted a cautious 6-7 years, but by the looks of it, I might end up holding on to the cars for close to 10 years.
My Jeep is 2002 vintage, so a good 18 yrs old. I plan to hold on to it as along as the rules will allow.

Also, in the post-covid era, I think this might be the new norm.

Cheerio!

[Sachin V.W.]

Voted for 4-5 years.

My 2006 Swift petrol I used for good 13 years. Replaced it with Baleno in Jan 2020 as she was showing her age. Baleno Alfa petrol was chosen for more practical approach with budget conscience mind considering low running of 600-700 kms per month. Even with practicality, me and my wife couldn't resist temptation of joy of driving manual transmission till our knees supports us.

But as we both will cross half century of our lifespan in next 4-5 years, have planned to go for a good AT sedan or CUV for peace of mind driving for both me and my wife.

[SoumenD]

Voted for 8-9 years as that's the longest we have seen a car in our family. Since we use it for long duration, haven't looked at used market yet. We buy new hoping for a peaceful ownership. I feel if the car serves your purpose there's no real need to change it. Often it's more of a 'want' that compels a lot of us to give in and make that purchase.

2010 Zen Estilo was our first family car in which all of us have practically learnt driving or polished( I learnt in my uncle's M800) our driving skills. Post dad's retirement he sent the car to me, however it saw very less running. ~40k kms in 8.5 years. Would have kept it further if not for the need/want(still wondering) of an automatic & ofcourse that itch to have something safer(need) with modern features(definitely want) like touchscreen with AA/AC, paddle shifters, ACC, electric ORVMs, steering mounted controls etc. Exchanged it for the Jazz.

2013 Honda Brio is used back home now and has seen a decent 70k kms on odo in 7 years. Being a Honda it has held up well and we are looking to upgrade to some compact UV(Ecosport/Seltos) next year once this completes 8 years & the pandemic effect subdues.

2019 Jazz VX CVT, my current ride is here to stay for similar period atleast. The very reason for selecting it was the time-tested & reliable engine+gearbox combo and ofcourse our satisfactory experience with the other Honda (brio). As of now at 10k kms in 1.2 years it's just breaking-in and hope this serves us for similar period or more.

P.S: Estilo and Brio were mid variants. An important lesson learnt from those experiences was, if u intend to keep cars longer always go for the top variant with all possible features. Else within sometime you start craving for those. Hence in case of Jazz went for top variant( VX exclusive edition)