How long do you keep you 4wd.

hi rockape
my mazda bravodualcab diesel build date was august 1996 and I bought it new in july 1997 so its 17yrs and ive had it 16yrs and have no plans to quit it yet
no electronics simple to service and only has a genuine 146000km on the odometer has very good 4wd ability goes every where and is in excellent mechanical and body wise no rust or dents condition all round
so why would I want to buy a new one and shell out all that money to buy a vehicle full of electronic nightmares that I probably couldn't service myself
no thanks i'll keep the mazcan
poeple can laugh at me if they want to i wont bat an eye lid
cheers

FB 1968 for about 6 months, then
HK for 23 years, then
XD for 18 years, then
100 series until I die, then
Set of wings because I am a good boy. Just ask me.

Phil

Good question, and one that is interesting me. Just back from the top end of WA. My 60 series has done just on 600000km. Still going strong. Lots of little mods to make life more comfortable, like Honda buckets in the front. I keep thinking I should be looking at a new vehicle. But, I ask myself, why? Absolutely no depreciation on the old girl now. I have a new gear box sitting waiting if I ever need it (been thinking about replacing the one in the truck for 5 years but it keeps going just fine, although a little noisy.
I had no car problems at all over 18000km of touring up north this year. I suspect that I am going to keep it.

I usually get rid of my vehicles between 220,000km and 300,000 km mainly because I get sick of driving them.

Just got a Colorado 65,000 km in 3 yrs. The last car was a Rodeo ... 300,000 in 11 yrs.

VN Commodore ( written off by son) 28 trips Alice to Adl, 6 trips Alice to Darwin, 8 trips Asp to Cairns , Cooktown and the Gulf country ... 220,000 km

HZ Holden ... 220,000 km Alice to the Bloomfield River and Weipa ... 210,000 km ... this car was stolen.

How about that?

Jerry.

G'day RA,

I'm the far side of 60, had only 6 vehicles in my life.
A '68 Toyota Corolla SL - 90000 miles - this one was flash - had a tacho on top of the dash, blacked out rear boot panel and extractors - all factory stuff - radial tyres were an option. And an 1100cc engine!!!!!!!!!
A '71 Mazda Capella RE / converted from rotary to 1600cc - about 200000k's
A '76 Toyota Corona Wgn - rust bucket this one - about 80000k's
A '74 Mazda 929 wgn - great car - 250000k's
A '91 Subaru Liberty Wgn - another great car - 260000k's
A '05 Nissan Patrol 4.2 TDi Wgn - current til I trade it in for a gopher I reckon

I can see no good reason at my age to have all the new bells an whistles. I can fix almost anything that might go wrong in the Nissan (nothing much to go wrong in the 4.2's are there) and it should last til I no longer want to or can travel.

Cheers

Before my Hilux I've just had cheap runabouts. I've done about 40,000km in my hilux, got it at about 60,000km, now its done 100,000km. I plan to keep it until it dies, I hope it lasts over 500,000km, it's a diesel and I treat her well. Depreciation is huge and for me I can't justify the depreciation that would accumulate over a lifetime from changing cars every few years. It could add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Cars are just transport and I don't want them to be my second biggest expense after the house. I'd rather my second biggest expense be camping and fishing.

Hi Rockape

I had my 1991 diesel 80 series from new and put the Old Girl out to pasture after 19 years, mainly because of metal fatigue in engine bay panels, body / chassis mounts etc. She worked hard and stood up to everything I threw at her. She deserves her more relaxed lifestyle and still doesn't burn any oil.

I now have 100 series TD and so far she is every bit as tough at the Old Girl - but I do miss her.

cheers

G'day rockape, i have had my 1998 toyota hzj75 trayback from new,now on 465,000 klms,only real problem was gearbox at 350,000 klm's
Sometimes think about upgrading but a bit wary of all the electrics etc in the new ones. the old girls not using any oil between changes (every 5000k's)so think i might hang onto her and spend a quid on it when the time comes. no rust in the old girl either,not bad considering i live at a place where we harvest salt.

cheers, sparra

Hi Rockape,

My recent vehicles, all bought new include,

2 ltr 4runner. Still trying to forget that one. Can't remember year or milage, just the drama if you happened to come across a hill.

1989 GQ petrol manual 240000

1992 GQ petrol manual 275000

1997 GU petrol manual 240000

2002 GU petrol manual 260000

Current vehicle 2006 100 series TD cruiser 345000

I think I will keep this one a couple of more years as it still runs like new.
Hoping to retire in five years and would like a relatively new vehicle to start that phase of life.

Rob

As the old saying goes, 'It's an oldie but a goodie".
I have had my 60 series for 20 years, and I bought it just to go exploring Oz with, not an everyday runabout.
Has only done 260k's, so there is a lot more life in it than in me I reckon.
I have got it all set up with all I need, and can do most work on it myself.
This is one older model there are still plenty of parts around for, and that's a drawback with some older vehicles, but the older ones are easier to diagnose and fix any problems.
Admittedly it's not as comfortable to ride in as a new model, but I haven't got many teeth left to rattle any more.
As others have said, the electronics on the new ones worry me, and I see a fair share of the later model 4X4's looking at the world from the back of a tilt tray around here.
Sadly I will be getting rid of it soon though,.due to a changing lifestyle.

cheers
Dave

Lol Ra!,..Mate," one of my aunts had a straight eight Buick for 38Yrs!! It resided in Guildford at the same address for all that time,That thing would have pulled Eyres Rock out of the ground on idle,. I ,..will never match that,


1xdodge 10yrs 1x Dyna Tipper4yrs

2x Valiants 20yrs and oodles of stuff not worth mentioning!..LOL.


1x Subaru liberty 15yrs

1x 100s Toyo 4yrs
Cheers Axle.
1xLandrover Deefer 13yrs

G'day RA,

Yep, many a happy hour spent under the bonnet of various W, SAR and cab over Kennys......NOT..Lol. Not to mention the odd White, Peterbuilt, Diamond Reos and T.
Did I mention Mack and Oshkosh, now there was an odd truck. Windscreen like a tug boat.
Cars?? Geeze, I'd get RSI typing the list.
4WDs. First a 1965 (I think) Series 2 SWB Landy, cantankerous little barsteward. Don't know what mileage it had when I bought or sold it, the speedo only worked when the mood took it. Never got booked for speeding though, hehehe.
1969 FJ55 Landcruiser best forgotten.
1974 SWB FJ40, great little unit took the family on many a camping trip with Cargill Camper in tow, bit thirsty and crowded for 5 of us.
1989 FJ 73 MWB LE Landcruiser bought in 1991 with only about 20,000 on the clock, sold to my young bloke about 9 years later with from memory around 190,000.
1981 HJ45 Troopy, now that was nearly as slow as the Landy but carted us around the place with no dramas until we went to the south coast of WA along a track where someone from one of the local saw mills had thoughtfully poured sawdust into a creek crossing. I hit it going a bit fast, filled the radiator with sawdust and cracked the head. GRRRR.
1982 HJ45 and 1962 FJ45 utes. Used the HJ45 for a while for work and was gonna be a project with the 1962 one. Why....don't ask....lol.
Current pride and joy a 1991 HZJ75 bought at a government auction in 1994. Can't remember the exact mileage, around 80,000. Replaced the venerable 1HZ engine and H55 gearbox a couple of years back with a 1HD-FT from a 1997 80 series and a H150 gearbox from a 2003 turbo ute when we bought the caravan. The old beast only has about 300,000 k's and going strong. Now retired hopefully we will be putting a heap more k's on it.
Makes me sick just thinking how much dough I have blown on my hobby. (;=)).

Ooops listed the '81 Troopy and the FJ73 in the wrong order, must have been a seniors moment. Hehehe

Cheers
Pop

While there are many who have owned vehicles for long years as noted here I think that that will be an unlikely trend in the future with the modern vehicles especially. With all the electronics and modern features they will become horrendously expensive to maintain as they start to age. In many cases specialist features can only be repaired by dealers.
Many people I have discussed this with say they will only keep their new vehicle whilst it’s under warranty (factory or extended). A classic example is the 200 series – who would be brave enough to own one of these outside of warranty period? I guess if you buy second hand at the right price its OK but I can’t see these vehicles still being popular once they get 20 to 30 years old (as the Landcruiser’s still are).

Can anyone beat this record of ownership…..my uncle has only owned 3 cars in his life and the current one will see him out (he reckons). His first car was a Ford Mercury (late 1940’s); then a Fairlane 500 (early 1960s) and then in early 1980s he bought a 1979 XD Falcon s/h (cast iron head). Still going strong and his last car probably…he is in his 80s now).

Cheers

Gday RA,
I usually don't keep vehicles long - I keep them until I get bored. Longest I've kept is 8 years (the HDJ79). We've had a lot of really great vehicles, most of which I sold in perfect nick. Here's the ones I remember fondly:
1969 Cortina 440 (first car and a ripper until written off), 1970 Corolla wagon (50,000miles of trips around australia), 1969 2A Landrover (honeymoon on fraser Is), 1989 Starwagon (fitted 4 kkids and lots of camping gear) 1976 FJ55 (back into 4wding with 4 kids), 1984 HJ47Troopie (so much room we'd sometimes take another family with us), 1986 HJ61 sahara (first 4wd with grunt), 2002 Prado (4 years of great trips with 4wd club), 2002 HDJ79 (ultimate touring setup but again I got bored and needed a new project), now 200series (who knows how long I'll keep it but 2 of my adult kids have got their eye on it!)

.........Until your ability to buy a new one out strips your trust in your current one.

I bought my trusty GQ wagon xmas 97 ,it was 6mths old X Nissan company car
still got it 17 yrs ,got 143k on it .still goes well ,but its a petrol so its on borrowed time now as I,m looking at a diesel GQ coil cab , from a friend who is gunna retire soon its got 150ks on it .
mechpete

I had a 2003 GU Patrol, fantastic 4x4. I traded it 2 months before the 5 year warranty expired. There were so many reports about the 3.0 litre motor that made me nervous.

I'm currently in a luxury 4x4 that will ultimately cost me a fortune in depreciation. In hindsight I should have kept the Patrol and taken the risk!

Next new 4x4 will be in 2014/2015 - probably a Prado. I plan on keeping it for over 10 years as I'm sick of losing so much each time I swap.

I like to change my 4bys over regularly to ensure a good resale before they are due for any major maintenance & not too scratched or dinted from offroad use. For me it's usually around 150 to 180,000km although I had to get rid of my Jeep Wrangler before 100,000 as it was becoming a serious liability. I've come to the conclusion you never own a Jeep out of warranty!
By swapping them every 5 years or so it means I'm always driving a newish car, always have a reliable car capable of any remote desert trip & ensures that I rarely have to pay for any major breakage instead passing those problems onto the next owner.
And that's the game with selling cars really, knowing how long they will last & selling them for a good changeover before they break/wear out.
Cheers Craig.............

Respondants seem to fall into three main categories..

Those that are too frightened to own a car not covered by warranty & therefore
update regularly. They console themselves with the theory that the supposed higher
resale value makes up for the belting they take with depreciation, whilst still enjoying
the latest in electronic gimmikery etc & the joy of always driving a new car that, hopefully, wont need expensive repairs. They may do high Km's.

Then there are those that buy new & drive for 10 years or more. Their depreciation
is much less on a yearly basis, & with good maintenance they hope to avoid any serious repair costs. They may do lower Km's & perhaps don't use the car as a daily
driver.

Then there are the ultimate risk takers..those that buy a car five to eight years old &
drive it till its dead, ten years or more. Their depreciation is very low, & so is their
capital cost, but the risk of expensive repairs is high. They may have some mechanical
skills, & are prepared to research their purchase & back their judgement. They, also,
will probably have another daily driver. The successful ones have by far the lowest
motoring costs, & can fund repairs from the big savings already made, but have to be
happy with an older car with less mod cons.

I'm more than happy to be one of the latter group, but the joy of it all is that we
are free to make the choice that best suits us....cheers...oldbaz.

Had my Maverick for 19yrs and it's still in the shed up the back and licenced and going. Now let's see what happens to the Dmax I just purchased.............rgds

well my troopys an 85 model i have had it for 14 years and it has just ticked over 650000 km but my old man brought a 69 crown wagon new and put 745,000 miles on it before he departed gotta love them old tojo's

Not a 4 x 4 but this 1-2 year old still has the Rolls he was given as a graduation present 82 odd years ago