Second Saturday in a row. My car is getting

[no_hypocrisy]

major repairs. This week, strut replacement. It has to be done and a better option than getting another vehicle.

[COL Mustard]

1. I took my car to the repair shop once and the guy said

Take off the radiator cap and drive a new car up under it. You'll be better off.

I've leased for about the past 15 years so my cars are always under warranty and we get new ones every 3 or 4 years and let somebody else worry about replacing water pumps, radiators, etc.

[ret5hd]

4. One of my vehicles is old enough to buy liquor...

the other old enough to buy cigarettes.

My repair bills per year are probably less than a couple months lease payments for one vehicle. But I take nice care of my vehicles.

[Ferrets are Cool]

5. +1

[COL Mustard]

7. Wow. The longest I ever kept one was about 12 years.

I finally got tired of it when I had to replace the radiator ($1000) one month, then the water pump ($450) the next month and a power window ($750) three months later. And that was an early model Saturn (well made at first but turned to crap later). I've leased ever since and don't regret it.

[AngryOldDem]

15. I kept one for 20 years.

My first car — 1988 Chevy Nova. It should have been replaced before then, but I dudn’t have the money and my ex wanted to keep the life support going.

It finally got to the point that it was cruel to keep it alive. The kicker was the night the lights wouldn’t turn off. Still remember my daughter’s then-boyfriend messing with the wiring.

Compared to my later cars, that was like riding around in a crate, but it served me well for many years.

[a kennedy]

2. May I ask what is the make of your car??

[no_hypocrisy]

6. 1999 Honda Accord

265,000+ miles. And it runs great b/c I repair ASAP and do maintenance.

[SheltieLover]

8. Great car!

'05 civic here... going on 300k, with impeccable preventative maint.

[no_hypocrisy]

10. You get it!

[SheltieLover]

13. Getting avg of 47 mpg!

[doc03]

3. I once took my car in and had an alignment. They did the

alignment and replaced a tyrod. The next day I took it to Sears to get new tires. They told me that they couldn't honor the warranty unless I got it aligned and the bad tyrod replaced. One of the reasons Sears is gone.

[LakeArenal]

9. Costa Rica is a bit like Cuba.

There are mechanics everywhere but they don’t have the modern equipment

So we had to sell our 2015 Kia and buy a 2001 Nissan because our mechanics couldn’t get parts for the new one and our mechanic says he can keep the Nissan running forever. Our mechanic’s car is a 1984.

[Dale in Laurel MD]

11. My *new* car is a 1999 Acura 5-speed CL

240,000 miles.

The old one is a '94 Nissan Sentra, just under 350k.

[OAITW r.2.0]

12. 2007 vw Passat, here. Just turned 117K.

6-speed, 32 mpg/hi-way. Runs like a champ. Haven't made a car payment in 10+ years. Just bought new shoes for my baby. What a difference new tires make on handling....

[Best_man23]

14. Good on you getting that done

Given the age of the car, you might want to have them replace the strut mounts too. The strut mounts are at the top of the strut, the part is not that expensive (~$40-50 each) and a good time to replace these is when the struts are replaced so there should be no additional labor if the shop you're working with is honest.

Keep your car going, as right now is not a good time to be in a position where you must purchase a car. Its a seller's market and you're competing against parties willing to pay above sticker (new car) and up to top quality price (used car).

[Bayard]

16. I'm still driving my 1997 Chevy dually

Its a great farm truck. It was a thing of beauty when new. It's been driven from OH to CA, CA to KY, and CA to FL, and back (when the ex stole it), while pulling a horse trailer. I can't even remember how many miles on it.

I don't take it to run errands.