[aman-bh]

We usually change cars every 5 years or so but recently we've been changing them quite often:

1. Toyota Innova (2007-2009): Had the first generation of this beauty for two years, had to sell it as my father got a job overseas and was moving. We actually lost close to none on the deal, Toyota really holds up its value.

2. Skoda Rapid (2012-2015): Even 3 years felt like a lifetime in a car which was at the workshop more often than home, tired with all the service and maintenance issues we decided to sell quite early. Sold at 45% price which is much less but we just wanted to get rid of it.

3. Maruti Swift (2015-2017): nothing wrong with the car, I personally liked it a lot just had a few issues with the build quality etc. Sold it for a new BMW X1, more than fair trade I would say. Held up its value well.

4. Hyundai Elite i20 (2016-2019): Lovely car, more than lovely interiors and was equipped to the T with features. Wish I had a diesel for the peppy-ness which was missing in the petrol specially when my other car was a swift. Had no reason to sell, but sold it to a relative and bought a BMW X3.

[TaurusSHO]

Our shortest car ownership was a used 2000s Maruti 800 that we only had for 5 months. My dad used to buy and sell 800s often and this was bought in early 2010, when we had our 2007 Estilo.
It was a unique car, it was murdered out (looked like a mini gangster vehicle), had a really nice stereo/music system.

[PrasannaDhana]

Maruti 800 5 speed, bought in 2006. I was in hostel at college 2nd year. My dad bought it as a surprise as a tertiary car (we had a swift diesel and a Sumo).

Little did he know that a family of 6 footers and the maruti 800 were never going to be kind with each other.

Sold it in 3 months after just 1000 km usage.

[sv97]

Originally Posted by aman-bh

We usually change cars every 5 years or so but recently we've been changing them quite often:

3. Maruti Swift (2015-2017): nothing wrong with the car, I personally liked it a lot just had a few issues with the build quality etc. Sold it for a new BMW X1, more than fair trade I would say. Held up its value well.

4. Hyundai Elite i20 (2016-2019): Lovely car, more than lovely interiors and was equipped to the T with features. Wish I had a diesel for the peppy-ness which was missing in the petrol specially when my other car was a swift. Had no reason to sell, but sold it to a relative and bought a BMW X3.

I think you would be one of the few persons who gets such great upgrades after selling hatchbacks even though the swift and BMW have one thing in common they both are driver's cars putting a grin on the face when you drive them.

[codwapeace]

1 year: Kia Spectra. Bought it used and sold it after one year because I was moving back to India "forever".

[anandhsub]

I have owned just one car so far ( even that on my wife's name )

But my Dad has owned several since the 1990s.. The shortest was a diesel Amaze we bought in Oct 2018 and got totaled in an accident on the Chennai-Trichy highway in Jan 2019. Had it just for 3 months. I myself had seen the car just twice.

[Rajeevraj]

Around 1 year. My first car- M800. No reason to sell it other than the fact that I got the upgrade itch after tasting the enjoyment a car brings.

2nd Car was 3.5 years, 3rd was ~2 years. Then I got older and wiser and finally settled on what I wanted- So the current car is reaching 7 years with no immediate plans of a change.

[ObsessedByFIAT]

Here's my list with reasons:

- Fiat Palio ELX 2003: Bought in 2006, used for around 24k and sold in 2009. It had a loan of three years because of which I kept it.

- Ford Figo TDCi 2010: Bought brand new, used for around 42k and sold in 2012. Was travelling to USA long term. Father was not comfortable driving around a diesel car.

- Maruti Alto F8D 2013: Bought purely for father and wife to use while I was away on my assignment. Nine of them used it much. Had clocked around 2k when I returned a year later in 2014. Drive it for another 6k km in 3 months and sold it. Never really liked it for whatever it was.

118 NE : sometime just before I went to USA, I bought a 118 NE to restore it back it former glory. Drove around in it for hardly a 1000 km and sold it off at the same price I bought it for! All of Rs.15000/-

Surprisingly, my Nano XTA has stood the test of time. It has been more than four years and 20k odo. Still going strong and no foreseeable reason to sell it anytime soon. Don't ask me why, but I want to do a golden quadrilateral drive in it!
With the windows rolled down, a steady speed of around 80kmph, one arm resting on the window, other holding the steering with two fingers, some old raj kapoor era songs playing. I drive from sunsrise to sunset!

[roy_libran]

Shortest ownerships for me:

Car: 36 months - Mahindra Scorpio S4+ 4WD
Reason:
Very poor handling and braking characteristics for a car with a reasonably responsive and powerful motor. Pathetic ergonomics for everyone.
When driving over 90 mph it used to feel like the 4 wheels belong to 4 different vehicles! I love involving cars, but that was a bit too involving for me.
Moreover, it was a No-Go off-road despite the 4WD hardware and Pirelli Scorpions, getting stuck in places where my petrol Ecosport and later petrol Nexon would easily sail through.

Motorcycle: 14 months - KTM RC390
Reason:
I bought a Versys 650 because the missus demanded rear seat comfort, although I love(d) riding the manic RC390. Couldn't afford to keep both bikes simultaneously and had to let it go with a heavy heart. I still rue the fact that I couldn't keep the RC. :(

[daredevil]

Its 18 months for me. I bought used Honda City 2012 V AT in May 2018 and sold it in November 2019. However, the reason for selling was just the situation I was in and nothing to do with the car itself. I traveled abroad for a work assignment. I kept it with me as I was not aware how long I would be out of India. After moving abroad, in few months, I was told that I would be there for couple of years. So sold it via online platform.

[Jeroen]

I have owned several cars for just a few weeks/months. As soon as I got my driving license after my 18th birthday I started buying and fixing cars.

In those days (late 70’s), in the Netherlands you could still buy a car for 50 - 100 Dutch guilders.

To put that in perspective; I made NL 35 per week delivering a news paper and NL 35 for working in a toy/hobby shop on the Saturdays.

These cars did run, but as you can imagine were not in the greatest condition. Things were quite a bit more relaxed when it comes to safety, no MOT etc.

At the time I was at naval college. We were allowed to use the college workshops on Friday afternoon to work on our cars. So that’s what we did. Some hours spannering on Friday afternoon to get the car in a condition it would drive you home-college for another week. If beyond repair, or your skills, you sold it onwards, or sold it to a junkyard. And you just bought another one.

It’s all a bit vague as it is such a long time ago. The shortest duration was probably my ownership of one of the two Peugeot 404 I owned. I bought it for NLG 75 and drove it home to have the brakes fail completely on me. I had to brake hard to avoid hitting some neighbourhood children running into the street, right in front of me.

No brakes, pedal went way down, nothing happening. Luckily, I managed to steer the car into the street border and some bushes. No harm done to anybody, except to a tree.

But is shook me up quite a bit, took it to a junk yard straight away. That was all in the space of less than one afternoon.

All our regulars car we keep for many years. Company cars tend to be on an full operational lease, usually 2 - 4 years depending on mileage.

Jeroen

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Shortest was 7 years. Our '99 Maruti 800 which was sold in 2006 -

Rest of the ownerships as below -

Maruti WagonR - 2006 to 2014 - 8 years.
Fiat Punto - 2012 - 8 years and going strong.
Hyundai Xcent - 2014 - 6 years and going strong. No plans of a change.

[Eddy]

All of our cars have seen 8-10 years of ownership and I don't see that changing hopefully.

My motorbike was totalled within 3 months of my purchase, so that remains my shortest ownership but involuntary so doesn't count, I guess.

[Yakuza]

Bought an Alto Vxi BS6 in December 2019 and sold in July 2020 with only 642 kms on the odo, so basically 7 months. At that point in time I had a requirement of a very small car and I bought the car without a test drive. Car turned out very uncomfortable for me as I'm on the heftier side, that's why I hardly drove it.

[BlackPearl]

My shortest car ownership has been a Honda Accord Automatic in USA. I had kept it for just a bit over 2 months and then sold it off as it was too boring to drive. Did not lose any money on it as a colleague bought it for the same price that I had paid.

In India, the shortest period was for an Esteem. It was 1.5 years. Again did not lose any money. Then there was a Palio that we sold in 2 years time as it had a very big accident. Lost a lot of money on it. All the others cars have been with us for more than 5 years.