Author Topic: Car Challenge - Years and Miles  (Read 8174 times)

InvisibleStache

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Car Challenge - Years and Miles
« on: March 07, 2012, 08:39:25 AM »
I'm not a biker, but I don't drive much either.

My car is a 1995 Hyundai and just passed the 70,000 mile mark a few weeks ago.

Any Mustachians have an older car with less miles on it?

shedinator

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Re: Car Challenge - Years and Miles
« Reply #1 on: March 07, 2012, 08:56:21 AM »
I'm not a biker, but I don't drive much either.

My car is a 1995 Hyundai and just passed the 70,000 mile mark a few weeks ago.

Any Mustachians have an older car with less miles on it?

How many miles/years are unique to you? That's about 5800 miles/year, but if you bought the car in 1998 with 36,000 miles already driven (something I'm guessing most folks here would do), then your usage/year is below 4000 miles.

 We bought a 5 year old car last year that already had 60,000+ miles on it, so I doubt we'll hit 17 years before 70k, but we've only put 4k on in 13 months.
« Last Edit: March 07, 2012, 08:59:48 AM by shedinator »

onehappypanda

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Re: Car Challenge - Years and Miles
« Reply #2 on: March 07, 2012, 08:59:16 AM »
Damn, that's pretty good. Back when I worked at a car dealership, we had someone turn in a '96 Corolla with 60K on it. I was *thisclose* to buying it but someone got to it first.

I have a 2000 Civic with 114K, but most of those miles are from the previous owner. I put 5-7K mile on my car each year, depending on if I take a trip in it or not. I live in the city so I try to avoid driving mostly because it's a pain in the arse. I've been biking more and more so I think I could even manage to drive it less now.

Bakari

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Re: Car Challenge - Years and Miles
« Reply #3 on: March 07, 2012, 09:08:13 AM »
My truck was built in 1983.

Unfortunately, back then auto manufactures apparently weren't expecting cars to last very long, because they only put 5 digits on the odometer! 
So it has somewhere between 95,300 and 295,300 (or who knows, maybe even 395,300?) miles on it.

Over the past 3 years I have put an average of 5600 miles a year on it (99% work) - so you are putting fewer miles per year on your car than I am.

I've been averaging 25mpg (of biodiesel), which, considering that it is a 2 1/2 work truck that is normally expected to get about 15mpg, is pretty good, but it is lower than I am used to.  I am mostly running without the alternator again, so hopefully that will help. [filled up today, 27mpg, apparently it is helping!]
« Last Edit: March 07, 2012, 04:58:31 PM by Bakari »

Bakari

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Re: Car Challenge - Years and Miles
« Reply #4 on: March 07, 2012, 09:10:30 AM »
That's about 5800 miles/year,

I believe your math is off.  2012-1995 = 17 years

70,000miles/17 years = 4117 miles, not 5800.

shedinator

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Re: Car Challenge - Years and Miles
« Reply #5 on: March 07, 2012, 10:06:46 AM »
That's about 5800 miles/year,

I believe your math is off.  2012-1995 = 17 years

70,000miles/17 years = 4117 miles, not 5800.

True, but 70,000/12=5833, and as we all know, 2012-1995 is 12... or something. I have no clue how I spaced that bad.

So 4117 if purchased new, 2000 if purchased under my aforementioned scenario of buying at 3 years old with standard usage (12k/year). Even better!

InvisibleStache

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Re: Car Challenge - Years and Miles
« Reply #6 on: March 07, 2012, 11:11:42 AM »
The car was bought new by my mom in 95. I started driving/sharing it in 1997.
In-between 2000 and 2003 I drove a beat up Chevy S10 Blazer. "My own first car." My mom drove the Hyundai.
When that truck died, I took over the Hyundai and have been driving it solo ever since. I drive it every day to/from work.

I'm not a complete mustachian badass in any way. My wife has our primary vehicle (SUV - insane snow, kids, etc) which she doesn't drive too much. Just needed to get out of unplowed roads.

I just want to hear about other mustachians who have old cars with low miles.
« Last Edit: March 07, 2012, 11:38:16 AM by InvisibleStache »

velocistar237

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Re: Car Challenge - Years and Miles
« Reply #7 on: March 07, 2012, 11:20:40 AM »
When I had an L.A. commute, I bought an 8-year-old Protege with 45K miles. I put 30K miles on it in 2 years. I haven't had a car for 8 years since, so I've averaged about 3K/year over the last ten years. :)

The Money Monk

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Re: Car Challenge - Years and Miles
« Reply #8 on: March 08, 2012, 05:42:26 AM »
I have a 95 chevy g10 van with 55k miles on it. But I only bought it a year ago, but I have only put a couple hundred miles on it. I only use it for my side hustle of buying and selling junk.


arebelspy

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Re: Car Challenge - Years and Miles
« Reply #9 on: March 08, 2012, 07:28:49 AM »
You guys got nothing on motorcycles.  :D

People buy them, and then they sit in a garage for years.

The starter bikes my wife and I got (little 250cc Honda Rebels) a few years ago were an 85 and 87, with ~7k miles and 9k miles when we purchased them.  About 320 miles/yr.  ;)

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The Money Monk

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Re: Car Challenge - Years and Miles
« Reply #10 on: March 21, 2012, 12:27:54 PM »
You guys got nothing on motorcycles.  :D

People buy them, and then they sit in a garage for years.

The starter bikes my wife and I got (little 250cc Honda Rebels) a few years ago were an 85 and 87, with ~7k miles and 9k miles when we purchased them.  About 320 miles/yr.  ;)

I got a 2002 Sportster last year, but it had 15k miles on it. So this guy actually used his

zinnie

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Re: Car Challenge - Years and Miles
« Reply #11 on: March 21, 2012, 04:45:50 PM »
My dad sold his 1984 Oldsmobile in 1998 with 12,000 miles on it. He used to drive it to the train station 2 miles away only when it was raining/ snowing/ below zero. The rest of the year he rode his bike. He got rid of it when my grandpa turned 94 and could no longer drive his car, so at that point my dad "upgraded" to a '90ish Ford something with about 2,000 miles on it. My dad's side of the family did not drive much; they preferred to walk.

I on the other hand have 130,000 miles on my 1999 car.

Guitarist

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Re: Car Challenge - Years and Miles
« Reply #12 on: March 21, 2012, 09:10:59 PM »
You guys got nothing on motorcycles.  :D

People buy them, and then they sit in a garage for years.

The starter bikes my wife and I got (little 250cc Honda Rebels) a few years ago were an 85 and 87, with ~7k miles and 9k miles when we purchased them.  About 320 miles/yr.  ;)

A family friend had a motorcycle he didn't use for years. When he was finally ready to ride again, he went to buy a tag and the state told him to pay the back taxes from all those years it never left the garage. I thought that was kind of screwed up.

adam

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Re: Car Challenge - Years and Miles
« Reply #13 on: March 22, 2012, 11:27:57 AM »
I'm about to roll over 100k next week on my wife's 2007 Ford Fusion.  She bought it in 2008 with 12k on it.

I drive 160 miles a day though :(

TheDude

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Re: Car Challenge - Years and Miles
« Reply #14 on: March 22, 2012, 02:48:23 PM »
I have a 94 Saturn bought in 2001 with i think about 120K. It now has about 200K (odometer is broken). Since we moved last April I almost never use it. I just filled up for the first time in about 3months the other day. I kind of want to sell and just become a one car family but my wife wants to keep it as a "backup car".

menorman

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Re: Car Challenge - Years and Miles
« Reply #15 on: March 24, 2012, 09:48:57 PM »
You guys got nothing on motorcycles.  :D

People buy them, and then they sit in a garage for years.

The starter bikes my wife and I got (little 250cc Honda Rebels) a few years ago were an 85 and 87, with ~7k miles and 9k miles when we purchased them.  About 320 miles/yr.  ;)

A family friend had a motorcycle he didn't use for years. When he was finally ready to ride again, he went to buy a tag and the state told him to pay the back taxes from all those years it never left the garage. I thought that was kind of screwed up.
He didn't have the option of filing it as Planned Non-Op?

James

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Re: Car Challenge - Years and Miles
« Reply #16 on: March 29, 2012, 09:03:36 AM »
At the other end of the spectrum, I purchased a 2008 Subaru Outback four months ago with 104,000 miles on it.  That's about 34,000 miles per year!

I'm assuming with my lower than average driving it will go back to normal milage for a 2008 vehicle eventually...  :)

Stack

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Re: Car Challenge - Years and Miles
« Reply #17 on: April 04, 2012, 06:59:39 PM »
I live in Denver and bought my 2003 Forester in Corpus Christi, TX back in 2007.  It had 32k on it and I got it for $12k which is about $4k less that what I would have had to pay in CO (subies are popular here).  It just rolled over 80k the other day.  So that's around 9600 miles a year (I have driven it over 8000 miles of road trips for vacation, plus the drive from TX to CO so that probably skews the average). 

Last summer it was "totaled" by a hail storm and Progressive (my insurance co) gave me $5k to keep it with a few dimples :)  The title wasn't affected, but I dropped the insurance down to bare minimums after that...So I've paid $7k (plus operating costs) for a car that when I registered it the dmv said it was worth $16k.

Its a stick and I average around 26 mpg.  After learning about hypermilling I'm hoping to get it up to 30mpg.  I'm already over my normal mileage per tank with 1/4 of a tank left!

pca

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Re: Car Challenge - Years and Miles
« Reply #18 on: April 21, 2012, 12:20:46 AM »
Folks, I'm new to the forums, and I wanted to say you guys rock!

I've got a 2002 Toyota Celica with about 63k miles on it. I bought it in 2003 with 13k miles, so I've put on about 5.5k a year.  I have to send in special forms when I buy my car insurance, because they don't believe me.

There's no other cars out there I like half as much, so I'll see you all again in 2022!

Sparky

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Re: Car Challenge - Years and Miles
« Reply #19 on: April 23, 2012, 11:37:52 AM »
I've got a 2009 Ponatic G5 with about 13k miles on her. 5k or of those miles are from my parents driving it.

I actually had a good laugh with my insurance agent (also a friend). I'm under the policy as a part time driver, which somehow means in their jargon you drive the car less than 14 times per year. I've started the car myself about 5 times this year. Should I ask for a discount if I stay under that number ? :)

vwDavid

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Re: Car Challenge - Years and Miles
« Reply #20 on: April 23, 2012, 01:06:12 PM »
Bought a pristen 1995 Chevy cavalier from a buddy with 113k kms on it (70k miles) and my wife has put about 6 K on in 6 months. eekk!

Arbor33

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Re: Car Challenge - Years and Miles
« Reply #21 on: April 24, 2012, 05:54:47 AM »
You guys got nothing on motorcycles.  :D

People buy them, and then they sit in a garage for years.

That's usually the case up here in NY. With a shortened riding season, people hardly rack any miles onto their bikes. I worked at Harley-Davidson when I was in high school and only found one exception. This man would take regular cross country trips to California and back on his bike every year. He would go at least once, but sometimes went up to 3 times! The mileage he accrued was incredible. Unfortunately, I had to wash his bike after said trips. So many bugs...

reverend

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Re: Car Challenge - Years and Miles
« Reply #22 on: May 17, 2012, 10:58:47 AM »
I got a 2002 Sportster last year, but it had 15k miles on it. So this guy actually used his

I'd say the opposite. :)  When I lived in Los Angeles and whimped out every winter when it got cold (you know, 60F) I put about 20K miles on each of the bikes per year. The car didn't accumulate more than 10K/year though since it mostly sat.

Then I moved to Denver and the bikes dropped to about 8-10K year because I refuse to ride when it's less than 40F outside. Well, I don't refuse, but it needs to be a VERY compelling argument to ride at that point.  I also slowed down on my driving so the car, despite the lower miles on the bikes, got about 20K/year on it.

Now that I sold the bikes and only have the car, but at the same time moved and at home all the time, the car has had two tanks of gas in it since January.  My mileage is definitely not racking up as it used to.

reverend

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Re: Car Challenge - Years and Miles
« Reply #23 on: May 17, 2012, 11:00:47 AM »
Oh, and I have a '96 Volvo with 208K miles on it. I bought it in 2008 with 142K on it.  Only 16K/year, not too shabby.  (of course, the bikes got their share)

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Re: Car Challenge - Years and Miles
« Reply #24 on: June 04, 2012, 09:07:26 PM »
Greetings everyone, this is my first post ever on this tremendous site I have recently discovered.

1988 Toyota pickup...

76,000 miles on it currently. It runs perfect, I love my truck.

Bought it in 12/2007 with 65,000 miles on it, so less than 2,500 miles/year. One unusual year  (2008) I put 7,000 on it, so even that 2,500 number is a little deceiving.

I bought it for $2500 from an old man who drove it seasonally, and he was a lifelong mechanic. The trucks motor was in impeccable condition when I purchased it.

I wish I was conservative and discipline as some of you guys with the driving, but the real reason why I drive my truck so little is because I have a take home vehicle assigned to me from work. I am allowed to use it for a little bit of personal use, so the truck is for some errands, hauling furniture, garbage, etc. Sometimes, I just start the motor and run it for a few minutes if I don't drive it for a week or more.

I'm in a good spot when it comes to this aspect of frugality.

jbhernandez

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Re: Car Challenge - Years and Miles
« Reply #25 on: June 07, 2012, 07:59:03 AM »
I bought a 1995 Honda Accord in 1998 with 33,000 miles on it. Around 2004 the odometer broke with 187,000 miles on it.  I'm use the car only 3 times a week, but still put on about 10,000 miles a year now. I estimate the car has close to 400,000 miles.

KittyWrestler

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Re: Car Challenge - Years and Miles
« Reply #26 on: June 07, 2012, 04:00:53 PM »
I had a 2000 Honda CRV that was totaled when I hit black ice in 2006 and got crushed between the highway guard rail and a 18 wheeler.. Insurance company paid a heck lot more than its market value so I bought a used but nearly new Toyota Rav4 bottom of the line model with cash.. I drive very little for a long while so it only has 30K mile on it after 7 years of its life. I plan on driving it to the ground.

nolajo

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Re: Car Challenge - Years and Miles
« Reply #27 on: June 07, 2012, 06:12:20 PM »
I've got a small 2003 SUV that I purchased in 2009 with about 23k on it. To date, it still only has 32k. When I told the woman at the DMV as I was registering it what the mileage was, she actually asked me if I wanted to go back and double check!

Considering that a fair chunk of those 9k miles was a cross country move, I put a little more than 2k per year on my car.