How many cars you had in your life?

[Max Rockatansky]

One thing about buying new is that you know it's been broken in and maintained properly (assuming you do so), although of course if you buy a car from a family member you'd probably have a good idea on that as well.

"Broken in" new car?  In what way?  A brand new car doesn't have that many miles on it.

Most cars when new have a break-in schedule usually for the first 500-1,000 miles.  Usually the user manual is very specific on how what RPMs to avoid and not going to certain speeds. 

[Rothman]

One thing about buying new is that you know it's been broken in and maintained properly (assuming you do so), although of course if you buy a car from a family member you'd probably have a good idea on that as well.

"Broken in" new car?  In what way?  A brand new car doesn't have that many miles on it.

Most cars when new have a break-in schedule usually for the first 500-1,000 miles.  Usually the user manual is very specific on how what RPMs to avoid and not going to certain speeds.

Oh, so he's saying that you know that you have broken it in rather than buying it as already "broken in."

[Max Rockatansky]

One thing about buying new is that you know it's been broken in and maintained properly (assuming you do so), although of course if you buy a car from a family member you'd probably have a good idea on that as well.

"Broken in" new car?  In what way?  A brand new car doesn't have that many miles on it.

Most cars when new have a break-in schedule usually for the first 500-1,000 miles.  Usually the user manual is very specific on how what RPMs to avoid and not going to certain speeds.

Oh, so he's saying that you know that you have broken it in rather than buying it as already "broken in."

That's what I assumed he meant.  Most people don't pay attention to the break-in period which can sometimes lead to engine damage or more typically leaks that might void a powertrain warranty.  That kind of problem is more typical of a performance car where someone is more likely to try to drive it harshly fresh off the lot. 

[kphoger]

Not counting my parents' cars while I was still living at home (years are approximate)...

1995 Toyota Corolla (stick), 1999
1988 Toyota Corolla DX (stick), 2003-2004
1999 Dodge Stratus (married into my wife's car), 2006-2007
2004 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT, 2007-2015
2007 Nissan Pathfinder 4WD, 2015-2016
2006 Nissan Pathfinder SE 4WD, 2016-current

[wriddle082]

I've only ever had two passenger cars in my life:

1984 Toyota Tercel (1992-1994) (no power steering)
1994 Toyota Pickup 2wd single-cab (1994-1998) (no power steering, stick shift) (the "˜95 model year was when Toyota started calling them Tacoma)
1994 GMC Sonoma 2wd extended cab (1998-2001) (stick shift)
1998 Jeep Cherokee Classic 4wd (2001-2007)
1995 Nissan Altima (2004)
2004 Honda Element AWD (2004-2007)
2005 GMC Sierra SLT Z71 4wd extended cab (2007-now)

I only drive my current vehicle on weekends, as since 2013 I have had two company vehicles, both plain white work vans:

2013 Ford Transit Connect XL (2013-2017)
2010 Chevy Express 2500 (2017-now)

[formulanone]

All three were bought new.  I see no reason to inherit someone else's problems.

New cars depreciate considerably the moment you drive them off the lot. By buying my 2009 Elantra in 2011 (around 10K on it), I let the original owner take that hit. Car's been fine, I'll probably have it at least 5 more years.

But if you keep the car long enough, my new car didn't cost me much...$1500 a year ($125/month). My company pays me back fifty cents a mile for work usage, about 80% of my driving. So I pay even less, essentially. Makes sense for me to buy new and cheap.

I think folks just like idea of having no up-front major maintenance headaches, or at least the perception of it. You pay one way or another in the maintenance game, though results are quite random for the first 10 years / 100,000 miles; then it's a lot more "anything goes".

[oscar]

^ I agree that the depreciation hit upon driving the car off the lot isn't a big deal, if your plan is spread that hit over 200K miles or longer.

I tend to buy new just to get exactly the car and options I want. In one instance, what I wanted was at a dealer on Long Island, so that was transported (cost me a few hundred dollars) to a local dealer in the D.C. area.

[tolbs17]

^ I agree that the depreciation hit upon driving the car off the lot isn't a big deal, if your plan is spread that hit over 200K miles or longer.

I tend to buy new just to get exactly the car and options I want. In one instance, what I wanted was at a dealer on Long Island, so that was transported (cost me a few hundred dollars) to a local dealer in the D.C. area.

I try to buy cars under 75k mileage. I think it's the best idea. Do under 130K if your budget is low or as a first car. What's the best car brand?

[Max Rockatansky]

^ I agree that the depreciation hit upon driving the car off the lot isn't a big deal, if your plan is spread that hit over 200K miles or longer.

I tend to buy new just to get exactly the car and options I want. In one instance, what I wanted was at a dealer on Long Island, so that was transported (cost me a few hundred dollars) to a local dealer in the D.C. area.

I try to buy cars under 75k mileage. I think it's the best idea. Do under 130K if your budget is low or as a first car. What's the best car brand?

There really such a thing as "best car"  brand with a used car.  If you're buying over 100k in mileage you're going to have maintenance no matter what.  To what degree depends on if the owner/s beforehand took care of the vehicle.  About the only thing I would add is that domestic OEM parts traditionally are cheaper over imports but that gap seems to be closing with time.  Even in the domain of new cars there isn't much separation from the worst reviewed cars for reliably to the best.  The age of Pintos and Yugos is long gone. 

[kendancy66]

Starting with cars my parents bought that I used

1964 rambler 2-door coupe
1968 amc 4-door with on the column 3-speed manual that rattled while idling
1972 plymouth fury III
1974 mercury capri
1971 volkswagon camper van
1973 toyota celica

1974 toyota celica, was the car I first insured myself
1978 buick riviera

first car purchased:
1991 honda accord 4 dr
1999 honda civic 4 dr
2000 dodge caravan sport
2006 honda odyssey (the only car I owned that I can't remember how to spell)
2007 ford mustang (I still own this)
2011 honda odyssey
2012 honda cr-v
2019 honda cr-v (I just bought this)

[tolbs17]

I'm in high school, so i'm talking about my parents cars. We've had 7 or 8 cars. I forgot the model of them I think it was

Volvo 740
and a red Volvo 940 i think. see more for my following post back up

[Jim]

Let's see if I can remember the details...

In 1986, I was given a 1972 Buick Skylark by my grandmother when she got a somewhat newer used car.  I don't remember the mileage. It was a light yellow with at least as much rust and primer as original paint.  It didn't last all that long but it got me around.  It was my only car that ran on leaded gasoline.  When it died, we paid a local junk yard a small amount of money to take it off my hands, as it wasn't really worth anything to them.

I believe it was 1987 when I purchased my 1980 Buick Skylark.  Again I don't remember mileage details, but I'm pretty sure I paid $800, all from my savings.  I had this one for a year or two, and I remember when I had it for sale, water had started to seep up into the carpets from underneath when driving in the rain.  I also recall that a large person who came to look at it when I was selling it caused part of the floor to drop some.  I am pretty sure I got very little for it in the end.

Next I bought a Mercury Topaz from my grandmother, which was previously my father's company car.  I'd guess the model year was a 1986 or 1987.  I had that for a few years, and drove it beyond 100,000 miles for sure.

My 1988 Cutlass Supreme came next, bought from a family friend.  This one served me well for a couple years, and got me back and forth as I commuted to college.

In 1994, I got my first new car, a Saturn SL2.  It was very reliable and got over 135,000 miles, including drives to Minnesota and Florida in 1997 and a cross-country trip in 1999.  I sold it to a friend's son, who drove it a little while longer.



In 2001, I bought a new Audi A4, and promptly put a bunch of miles on it starting with my Alaska trip just a few weeks after I bought it.  It had its first oil change in Edmonton on the way there.  The car was mostly fantasic other than some ignition coil problems that were repaired under warranty.  I traded it in with 248,900 miles, at which point it was really time. It had begun to stall at highway speeds and the repair was going to be far more than the value of the car.



I replaced it in 2010 with a 2008 Volvo S60, purchased with 42,000 miles on it.  It also went on many trips and some of my longer commutes.  It was still going strong when I sold it last year with 189,000+ miles, but it was starting to rack up too many costly repairs.



Last fall, I found a 2015 Audi A3 with only about 8,000 miles on it, and that one has been great so far.  I liked the Volvo, but the Audis are so much more fun to drive.

[texaskdog]

12, in 32 years. 

[allniter89]

1964 Mercury Comet we drove from DE to AK.
1966 Ford Falcon with 3 on the tree.
1971 Mercury Comet
1969 Chevy Chevelle. It came with a 6 cylinder (grandads' car) I was going to put a 351 in it but got t-boned & totalled car.
1971 VW Bug. Rolled it in a soybean field on my 21st birthday, no one was hurt so we just rolled it back to 4 wheels & partied on.
1973 Ford Galaxie
1976 Ford Galaxie s/w
Yamaha 350 motorcycle. Rode it year-round in DE, one winter on my way to work rain changed to sleet but the roads stayed wet. My raincoat was frozen covered in ice, it was difficult to get off the bike.
1974 Plymouth Satellite. It was the taxi I drove for 5 yrs. We drove it from DE to FL with stops in Detroit & Rockford, IL pulling a large U-Haul trlr jammed packed with our furniture & stuff.
1982 Nissan Sentra 1st brand new car
12 cars in 36yrs
1988 Toyota Corolla
2000 Buick LaSabre

[tolbs17]

1973 Ford Galaxy
1976 Ford Galaxy s/w

You mean Galaxie? Because the Galaxy is a much newer car that's an suv.

[ce929wax]

I have had the following:
1979 Dodge Adventurer 100 (or 150?) from 2002-03
1993 Ford Mustang 2.3  2003-06
2005 Kia Rio 2006-10  (first car I bought relatively new)
1995 Pontiac Grand Am 2010-11
1997 Honda Accord 2011
2007 Saturn Aura XE 2011-17
1999 Ford Ranger 2019-?

I'm buying the Ranger from my brother.  He has had it about two years.  It has some issues, but it gets him to and from every day.  He is selling it to me, because he is getting ready to buy his wife a newer car and start driving her old car.  I'm getting the family discount on it. 

[dlsterner]

In my case, with approximately 40 years of adulthood, surprisingly few - just four!

All purchased new, all (except the current one) driven until they basically died.

1981 Plymouth Reliant K   about 57,000 miles; some idiot ran a stop sign, hit me, and totaled it  (nobody was hurt).  Was starting to fall apart anyway; cheaply made.
1990 Plymouth Laser   about 128,000 miles; driven until it died
1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse   about 247,000 miles; driven until it died
2015 Hyundai Sonata   about 75,000 miles and counting.  Outside of normal maintenance it has yet to require any unscheduled repair - super reliable so far

Best looking and the most fun to drive - the Laser.
Best technology features - the Sonata, and not even close.

I did have a well used 1968 Cadillac Coupe de Ville while in college in the late 1970's (belonged to parents).

[corco]

In order:
1997 Jeep Wrangler (2003-2007)
This was actually my parents' car but I was the primary driver through high school and took it to college with me freshman year. Four cylinder 5-speed manual. A fantastic car for high school - fun to drive, great in the very snowy climate I lived in (though the soft top was less than ideal at times), popular with the ladies, but with a 4-banger it was too slow to do anything really stupid. I do credit this car with making me really appreciate that it's more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow though.

1976 Subaru Wagon, 4 Speed Manual (2006)
This vehicle was on its very last legs. purchased as a joke for $200 with some friends during the summer following senior year of high school. We had the car for a total of a week as we jumped it and destroyed it. I had the title in my name. In hindsight I feel guilty about what we did to that car because the 1976 Subaru is quite a rare beast and I don't think we appreciated what we had at the time. It was a total rust bucket though so probably not actually restorable anyway.

2002 Jeep Liberty (2007-Present)
I inherited this vehicle from my uncle who passed away in 2007. I've had it ever since. It's life highlights were being stolen in 2011 and taken for a rally through the Arizona desert and a trip to Alaska up the Dalton last year. It's been my rock through most of my adult life. It's been in second car duty for most of this decade so only has 138K on it. I expect to keep it for a long time because it's cheap to keep around and a new vehicle with its capabilities (towing a decent amount of weight, real 4WD with low range) is insanely expensive given how often I actually need those features.

1990 Dodge Colt (2007-2008)
I bought this vehicle for $600 as gas was getting really expensive in Seattle. Great car - four on the floor, no power anything (even manual steering), had a rolled back odometer. The car was bulletproof though and like driving a go-cart. I sold it after almost two years before I moved to Wyoming for $800.

1997 Ford Escort (2011-2012)
This had been my grandma's car but she stopped driving so it was just sitting up in Idaho. When my Liberty was stolen I used this vehicle most of the time and parked the Liberty in a secure location as it was getting fixed. It was a car - automatic transmission and no guts whatsoever. Even though I lived in Tucson I almost never ran the A/C because the car would barely move with it on. As I left Arizona I gave the car back to my parents, who promptly sold it.

2001 Honda Accord (2013-2015)
Another free vehicle - a very close family friend passed away and I ended up with it. It was a great roadtrip car - I got it in 2013 with only 72,000 miles. It was a 4-cylinder automatic. I put 50K on it over a couple years before trading it in.

2015 VW Golf (2015-Present)
My first new vehicle purchase. It's one of very few Golf 7 three-doors in the states that is not a GTI. It's got a 1.8 liter turbo and 5-speed manual though so is fun to drive. It's the absolute perfect roadtrip car for one person, a ton of fun to drive, and gets well over 40 MPG on the highway, so I intend to keep it for a very long time. It'll be paid off in a few months too so that will be awesome.

[jp the roadgeek]

Got my first car in July of 1992.  The list:

1983 Buick Lesabre (The Boat, V8, rear wheel drive)  July 1992-August 1997
1997 Chevy Malibu (Nothing but trouble.  Steering system made constant grinding sound).  August 1997-December 1998
1999 Chevy Lumina.  Drove it like crazy.  December 1998-July 2003
2001 Chevy Impala: Traded in the Lumina after the alternator blew out on it.  July 2003-November 2004
2005 Chevy Impala: Decided to get a new one when the 01 had problems.  Had a Ford Excursion as a rental. November 2004-February 2010
2008 Ford Edge Limited: Wanted an SUV with AWD.  February 2010-present

[TheStranger]

My first car was my dad's 1996 Toyota RAV4, drove it to pass my license test in 2003, then it became my full time car in 2007.  Had it for only seven months before I got rear-ended hard on Howe Avenue in the Sacramento suburb of Arden.  Put about 10K miles on it when I had it.

Next car - inspired by my best friend who had a Ford Focus at the time - was a 2004 Ford Focus with Zetec engine.  Had it for 3 years before it was totaled when an older driver who wasn't wearing his glasses blew a stop sign in midtown Sacramento and I ran into his Buick.  I put probably 75-80K on that car.

After that, my dad helped get me another Focus, this time a 2009 model.  Got it at 43K miles, it's currently at 161K miles.  I still have it and got it smog checked yesterday, but that's no longer my primary car.

In 2017, inspired by the idea of "cheap fun V8 craigslist car!" in my head and also by growing up watching NASCAR, I got a 1997 Ford Thunderbird that was at 82K miles.  As others in this thread who've bought used can attest, maintenance for older vehicles can be tricky if the previous owners cut corners, and the first few months I had it, it was definitely a lot of backtracking.  But it is also the car I have enjoyed the absolute most (aided in part by the TCCOA community on Facebook) due to its torque, handling, plush leather seats, and spaciousness.  Currently in nearly 2 years of ownership, I've gotten the car up to 111K miles so far.

DSC_2247 by Chris Sampang, on Flickr

[PHLBOS]

2011 Ford Crown Victoria LX (2016-present)
2007 Ford Mustang Pony Package convertible (2007-present)
1997 Ford Crown Victoria LX (1996-2016)
1976 Ford LTD Landau coupe (1993-2010)
1989 Chevy Caprice Classic sedan (1992-1996)
1985 Mercury Grand Marquis LS sedan (1988-1992)
1976 Ford LTD 4-door pillared-hardtop (1985-1988)
1974 Chevy Impala 4-door hardtop (1984)
1969 Ford LTD Brougham 4-door sedan (1982-1984)

[Henry]

So far, I've owned four vehicles since I graduated high school in 1988:

1988 Olds Calais (1988-94)
1994 Ford Explorer (1994-98)
1998 Chevy Tahoe (1998-2019)
2019 Chevy Equinox (2019-now)

[Eth]

I've had just two, unlikely to change soon:

2000 Ford Taurus (2006—09; don't remember mileage)
2010 Mazda 3 (2009–; currently 68k miles)

[roadman]

A total of five:

1975 Buick Century wagon - willed to me in 1987 when my father passed away
1984 Ford Tempo sedan - bought used in 1987
1988 Honda Prelude SI - bought used in 1993
1999 Ford Contour sedan - bought used in 2000
2012 Ford Focus sedan - bought used in 2014

[akotchi]

Six cars altogether that I have owned and operated.

1987 Pontiac Sunbird -- bought new in May 1987, traded in
1994 Geo Prizm -- bought new in October 1993, met an unfortunate end
2001 Saturn L200 -- bought new in January 2001, met an unfortunate end
2009 Hyundai Sonata -- bought used (from rental fleet) in January 2009, my son now has it
2009 Hyundai Genesis -- bought used in October 2013, low mileage, traded in
2016 Hyundai Genesis -- bought new in December 2015

The first three I put on over 130k miles.  The Sonata, between my son and me, has about 120k on it and is still kicking.

I traded the first Genesis in when the new model went to all-wheel drive.