Thread: How often do you "upgrade" cars?

Brendan,

I think your photos help convey what I was refering to when mentioning Cuba and old cars.

Your message store is full and cannot receive PMs.

The Cuba pictures remind me of Burma when I first visited it in the eighties (no embargo, just very poor due to government policies).

My 110 I have owned since 1993, and the 2a since 1990 or 91 and I have no plans to replace either - should see me out, perhaps another twenty years. Previous car, which I still have, was a 1974 Citroen DSpeciale, which I bought in 1978, replacing a ID19 bought in 1964.

You can make an argument for any length of ownership you prefer, but unless depreciation is tax deductible, short term ownership is very expensive. Depreciation is in almost all cases the major part of operating cost for a car, and is highest in the first year, slowly decreasing after that. The major concrete reasons for changing cars are:-

1. New design improvements that represent a real advance on what you have currently. (This is fairly rare, despite advertising)

2. Parts/service get hard to find or very expensive - this is a real problem with some cars, e.g. P38A

3. You have run it into the ground and it is cheaper to replace it than fix it - if you look after it you would not be in this position, and proper maintenance will save you money in the long term.

4. You hit something and your insurer is paying you to replace it (rarely a good outcome!)

By the time major repairs are needed on a car, depreciation compared to a new replacement is so high that the repairs are almost always a lot cheaper than the changeover cost (It can be argued that spending money on an old car should be judged against the value of it - but the real comparison should be against the cost of changeover to a new(er) one). Of course, you can change it for something that is only a little bit newer, minimising the changeover cost, but you end up paying the difference between selling and buying, and unless you are very good at assessing cars there is a real risk of ending up with even more expensive repairs.

John

Well I've had 3 cars since 1978, so does that tell you something ?

1978 - Datsun 1600
1982 - Range Rover
1998 - Defender

My wife has also only had 3 cars, but she did go 23 years without one



Martyn

Originally Posted by CraigE

Grew up in a 1960s Hillman Hunter wagon. My Grandfather had it from new until he died.

You were lucky..........I grew up in a Triumph Mayflower.......and you try telling the kids of today that and they wont believe you

I couldn't help myself.

I dont believe you!

I've had a few cars,, I mainly change because of intended usage,,
go to work cars.
go fast die young cars,
sleep in the back of cars,
sleep in the back of and TOW go fast cars,
then two disco's

Well I've had the Series III for 15 years - it's the only car I've bought since then, & I've got no plans of getting rid of it. Tragic huh!

I think I might shift to Cuba. Fantastic pics.


Back on topic......

Had the Rangie for the last 10 years, after a brief stint in a Lada (fitted an Alpha Romeo 2 ltr twin overhead cam.... wooo-hooo!!!) but the lada was a little small inside for anything over a long weekend and 2 people.

Before that, was an XC Fairmont, 302 V8 that I probably had for about 8 years. Probably the nicest car I have driven, and all but gave it away to my Brother in law, when he was in a time of need.

He went on to thrash the thing, then flog it off for a small fortune.

I miss that car.


I won't make the same mistake with the 2a.............. I hope.