How many miles have you accumulated? I'm talking 100,000 mile area. My son has 78,000 on his 2015, and I think it might be time to trade and get a new one. The higher the mileage, the lower the resale value.

 

Who cares about resale value if you drive it into the ground? That's my plan unless some unforeseen circumstances happen. The way I look at it, my Fit is paid off. I couldn't care less about depreciation since I don't want to get back into another car payment for my commuter car any time soon.

My Sister-in-law works at a car dealership and she used a similar line to justify buying a new car. She recently paid off her car and wanted to get a newer one before her "equity" disappeared. I laughed at her 'cause I'd never heard anyone refer to equity in a car, something that lowers in value as soon as you drive off the lot. There was nothing wrong with her current car, but I had recently bought the Fit, so she ended up trading a 5 year old Camry for a brand new CR-V.

 

We kept our last two Civics for seventeen years each. The last one had over 300,000 miles on it. By then, there wasn't much trade-in value, just $500. The equity in a car is how much money you can get out of it. If my son can get a decent trade-in/resale for his Fit, that would make buying a new one - with the forward-looking safety features - more affordable. It's still a tough choice, though. Keep what you have with no monthly payments, or start a new round of payments.

I have only 40k on mine, and I plan to keep it indefinitely

 

40k miles is a good time to sell.

 

I haven't been that impressed with those new fangled safety features personally. I haven't tried the Honda ones, but just recently got to try it in a Volvo sedan though I can't remember the model. The dynamic cruise control was linked to the lane keep assist type feature and it felt jerky keeping it in the lane. Also tried the self park, and it parked it crooked in the space haha. Good thing it was rental...

My friends ford explorer will routinely tap the brake on a certain intersection going to work. I guess it gets confused by the environment there. These are all anecdotal I know, but to me I don't want these features intervening. I don't mind safety features like ABS where it's pretty much in the background but I don't want anything applying brake or steering input. Sometimes I DO want to cross over the line because something's in the road. I don't want to have to "fight" the car because it thinks it knows better.

I have only 59K on mine BTW and due for a CVT fluid change.

 

No. I'll keep it indefinitely. I've invested too much in minor upgrades - two fuse panels, sound deadening material throughout, extra 12v outlets, extra wheels, etc. I think 45k is what they consider average mileage for this 2015.

 

Car manufactures have introduced car subscription services. Might be good for some end users

 

I had written a much more complicated answer.
But decided to go with this.

If you want to "reset" and get a new vehicle? And you can afford it? Go ahead. Don't need justification from anyone.

If the vehicle already owned is safe, sound and well maintained? The most economical choice is just to keep driving it.

The decision and choice is yours.

There is no way to reverse or stop a vehicle from depreciating in value.
Yes, next year, when the vehicle would be over 100,000 miles...it's going to be worth less.

Conversely, the biggest immediate loss in value comes when you drive a brand new vehicle off the lot.

 

My Mom is at around 95k miles on her GE Fit. I told her that it's time to decide between trading it in or keeping long term.

In my opinion, cars take a pretty decent hit to value as soon as they roll past 100k miles. They also get more and more likely to need maintenance and repairs.

She's going with the keep strategy since there's nothing in the marketplace that's really interesting to her right now and her Fit is still going strong with zero issues to date. They only potential problem I see her encountering is with the transmission. I don't know how long the GE automatic is good for.

 

having a personal mechanic son helps her decision too gafit.

i don’t have time for messing with old cars. i just buy buy buy new.

 

I think that weighing in on her decision is my opinion that cars are becoming less reliable.

They are improving in all measurable categories except durability/dependability in my opinion.

 

that is so true. my GE was perfect when i sold it 5 yrs in. my GK was crap by the 2nd day of ownership.

 

I picked up my 2013 lexus ct200h for 34k. I'm about to sell it to carmax for 10k. After nearly 6 yrs of ownership, that comes out to a 24k loss of "equity" and from a cost to own perspective .... lets call it 4k per yr out of my pocket, to drive that little car to a total of 120,000 miles

I picked up my 2015 honda fit for about 6k with 25k miles on the odo. If I could get 6 yrs out of it, and the car just blows up on me.... I'll actually be damn happy and not care. cause in the end, 1k per yr out of pocket is damn reasonable.




my opinion = run it to the ground, get your moneys worth. OR as the rest have already said it.... dump it around 40k to maximize your resale value, if that is something you care about

2nd opinion = consider leasing?

 

yah car value is so subjective it is hard to tell which is better.

sure from a money standpoint driving to the ground is great but i would not want the trouble associated with older cars and all the suffering. i always say watever makes sense to u is the best value. i might spend more but i get to enjoy new tech and other greatness associated with better cars. that has more value to me than saving nickels and dimes driving a piece of junk every day.

more like do u have a choice or not is the question.

 

I currently have 89,500 miles on my 2015 EX, and am planning to run it to 200k (which I did with my previous car, a '99 Civic), which at my current rate of driving, will be around the time it needs its first smog check.

My attitude is essentially the one outlined above, that anyone who thinks in terms of maintaining equity in a bought new car is not thinking rationally, because it depreciates so fast. Rather, I'm thinking in terms of running it from new to scrapper, and planning my cost of ownership in that context (for example, if I have it five years and I paid $20k cash for it out of the door, then it cost me $4k a year to own). If, when the time comes, I do get any trade-in from it, that's a bonus, not something I'm expecting and planning for.

However, my work involves high mileage driving, and my family life requires total reliability from my car, too (for example, if my child gets ill at daycare and needs collecting, a car that may or may not start is not an option). So I'm replacing my car just before significant and sustained reliability issues start to emerge, because I'm past the time in my life when I can live with that. I'm making an educated guess that the 6 year / 200K mile mark will be around the right time.

 

True, but it's nice to have someone to blame if things go wrong.

 

07 fit sport manual about to roll 200k miles

 

Mine was built in 2014, other than warped brake rotors, and the recall for the unpainted parts in the door handle, and electronic bugs with the stereo (annoying only), at 102k and on my way to 200k!!!

 

Nice job!!

 

The longer I keep my '17 LX CVT the cheaper it cost per mile driven. The cost of operation should follow the function f(x)=1/x until x=250k miles. That's when the cost of repair exceeds the value of the car and or it becomes unreliable for long trips. . I would be a fool to sell it and get a new one now.