So, After How Many Years Should One Replace a *NEW* Car?

[shrid]

The other day when I was thinking, just found out that the Beat was showing signs of ageing. Thinking about replacing it with a Polo, but am : Should I really replace it? It is running quite good apart from the general niggles, rattles etc.

So, according to YOU, after how many years should one get a new car?

Changing technology and ageing car is my problem.

Thanks

 

[incarnation]

there's no time limit to change a car, until and unless you want to change it. If you are talking in financial terms a value of a car is assumed to be zero after 5 years from the date of reg ( This is according to banks). Rest some people say as soon as it reaches 1lac mark its time to change. If you are a business man having huge profits which amounts to huge tax and want to save it. its recommended you buy a new vehicle every year. If you are unhappy with the vehicle i have seen people change cars in a month. Everything boils down to what you want. so you are the best judge to decide when and why it needs to be changed. i have a very very old vehicle which you see in my profile its run 2,24,000 stock engine still unopened engine giving good mileage and service. not spent much on maintenance either apart from taking care of it like it were my own child.lots of them have adviced me to change it, but i want it to be with me all the times. so the point is ultimately it boils down to you WHAT DO YOU WANT?? keep it simple silly

 

[Akash1886]

So, according to YOU, after how many years should one get a new car?
Changing technology and ageing car is my problem.

It depends whether you are looking for a face-lift of existing car or you are entering a new segment or you are looking to buy an upgrade in existing segment.

Life Cycle of a Car:

* 1st owner purchase: Between 6-to-7 years. Until the car is something extra-ordinary.

* If you plan to upgrade to a face-lift of existing model then between 3-4 years.

* If you are switching between segments i.e Hatch to Sedan or SUV then 2-3 years.

Apparently, Upgrading or buying a new car majorly depends upon:

* Requirement

* Finances

* Viable Option

* Available Choices.

Regards

Akash

 

[macsvin]

I do not calulcate much but usually as soon as warranty / extended warranty ends I change my car. I am changing the model, make & color as well every 4-6 years. All my previous vechicles which I sold out were in pretty good condition and had ran for approx 50-60 K on ODO. But IMO (I might be wrong) after a decent usage of 5 yrs and more than 50K Kms your car needs some more maintenance as like in tyres, batteriy cahnge, few niggles etc hence I keep on changing the car instead of mainatining it

 

[shrid]

I do not calulcate much but usually as soon as warranty / extended warranty ends I change my car. I am changing the model, make & color as well every 4-6 years. All my previous vechicles which I sold out were in pretty good condition and had ran for approx 50-60 K on ODO. But IMO (I might be wrong) after a decent usage of 5 yrs and more than 50K Kms your car needs some more maintenance as like in tyres, batteriy cahnge, few niggles etc hence I keep on changing the car instead of mainatining it

As a fellow Beat user, I know the car holds on pretty well. But now the niggles have started : NVH not as good as it was before, coolant overflow empties every week, the remote locking system remotes have a mind of their own (works sometimes), the headlamp leveller switch is out of the spot and under the dashboard, the speakers crackle, the mileage has a drastic drop, and worst of all - There are rattling noises from below the parcel tray. Apart from this, there are scratches, dents, and then just some moths back the L side headlamp low beam gave way and I had to replace it. When I think about it, the older M800 was much more troublesome.

If I show you the roads my dear ran on (one day I will) then you would believe me. IMO it depends on the roads or how it was driven that decides the wear and tear. But the age also is a factor, hence included it.

 

[incarnation]

well dear a car is sometimes valued just like your spouse as it takes all the abuse you put it through and after certain point it gives back a few things you gave it( Those are bad road harsh driving. not taking good care of it. Not maintaining the exterior looks properly.) Its like it treats you the way you've treated it. I'm Not sure how many of you would agree with me, But i feel if you show love to your car it gives back that love in terms of its service it provides. sometimes i feel they feel it( i know i sound stupid) but that's how its with me. in the middle of nowhere my fuel gauge gave up and i t was showing half tank indication. so i never bothered to fill it in and i was with my entire family on a trip. The car stopped in the middle of nowhere, i restarted it and to my surprise it switched on again and when i reached the nearest petrol pump which was around 5 km from where it had previously stopped, it again stopped but this time just outside the pump where even if it was switched off the momentum of the vehicle took me near the filling point. so my family was safe and it never created problems. i mean there sure is scientific answer to this im sure. But its feel that you get

 

[ABHY@93]

HEY friends this is my first post on this forum. Currently I am using 2010 DEC make maruti swift zxi .Even we are looking for replacement for it as it has started rattling, got it suspension bushing changed but still ride has deteriorated significantly.IS 4 years normal life for swift or it should last for 2-3 years more??????Will reliability concern be there????

 

[carholic]

@abhy welcome to TAI
Same is the case with many other maruti owners rattling suspension deteriorating is common in maruti .
My wagon r 2011 also has starting showing signs of aging .
By the way maruti can easily be reliable for 5 -6yrs if no reliability concerns are faced by you till now .

 

[gandhi]

i feel if you show love to your car it gives back that love in terms of its service it provides. sometimes i feel they feel it( i know i sound stupid) but that's how its with me.

OT.
May be . But I agree with your point. I feel that all the machines reciprocate the love which you shows on them.

I feel, it's all based on the requirement. The common trend which I have seen is that people used to keep their new cars for 4 to 5 years.

 

[vijay_968]

It's purely RELATIVE. Literally; not as per the explanation in Poll Choice.
A car IS NOT an investment. Also it is for convenience. As long as the owner feels convenient to drive and own it, there's NO need to replace it.

Rattles and niggles from Car and throw it away ? If we compare a baby's behavior with the niggles and rattles in a car, we would realize that the best solution is to rectify the source or problem (sometimes forcefully ). I'll elaborate a bit here. I As a Baby, my daughter always was awake beyond midnight, would wake us up at least thrice on winter nights (that too in Delhi), never liked to be bathed, never liked combing or hair-cut, always refused to eat, and never wanted to go to Play school. Which baby didn't do these? Which father was happy about the friends of his teenage Son ? I think my point is conveyed.

The niggles and rattling appear more due to the owner, IMHO. The problem I had with my Matiz in the initial few months was, I drove it with "Poor roads and pot-holes be damned" attitude. Then I was taught about "Babying the Car" on bad/poor roads. The car then delivered. You guys NEED to believe this: "once I stopped Matiz to locate the source of an irritating sound emanating from the tiny boot AND located a freely-foot-loosing Screw/Nut". What I see mostly is hatchbacks driven without care on poor roads (their way of telling they have 5mm/10mm more GC, I figure). A nicely maintained car can reward its owner, and reward well.

Why fix, if it ain't broke ? But, if one feels he/family can't tolerate the car for whatever reasons, it time to change. After all, what the heck we are going to do with ALL THOSE savings ?

So, It's purely RELATIVE.

 

[shrid]

It's purely RELATIVE. Literally; not as per the explanation in Poll Choice.
A car IS NOT an investment. Also it is for convenience. As long as the owner feels convenient to drive and own it, there's NO need to replace it.

Yes, I've reported it to mods along with the typo
Convenient, to drive, on almost-roads, the car is NOT.

Rattles and niggles from Car and throw it away ? If we compare a baby's behavior with the niggles and rattles in a car, we would realize that the best solution is to rectify the source or problem (sometimes forcefully ).

Yes, rectifying the prob is best. But some things just get...Old. Now, we had a Bajaj Super Excel scooter. Served us well for 16 years. But for the last 2 yrs or so, it just kept getting punctured, clutch wire used to snap a too many times, etc. Even good quality tyres/clutch cable was used but it was OLD. It just kept giving niggles!

The niggles and rattling appear more due to the owner, IMHO.

Yes, flying over potholes is a great way to do that

A nicely maintained car can reward its owner, and reward well.

After all, what the heck we are going to do with ALL THOSE savings ?

THIS IS WHAT I AGREE WITH THE MOST!!

Very OT - A bank most of our money is is now encountering a crappy situation, and cannot give the money back. And now, after 22 yrs of marriage my mother has agreed that you won't take with you anything after the Yamraj's invitation and you should spend a li'l bit more.

And now I'm almost promised a Polo when the money gets released

 

[vijay_968]

Yes, I've reported it to mods along with the typo
Convenient, to drive, on almost-roads, the car is NOT.

... THIS IS WHAT I AGREE WITH THE MOST!!

Very OT ... my mother has agreed that you won't take with you anything after the Yamraj's invitation and you should spend a li'l bit more.

And now I'm almost promised a Polo when the money gets released

Was there a typo ? I didn't notice. Me stupid as usual.

I try my level best to be a conjuse . What I wrote was based on "how and why I decided to continue with my Matiz", when almost ALL my friends were ridiculing me. I've also successfully stalled my friend from changing his Waggy for past 4 years (that chicklet box never leaves Bangalore. Why change it). If new acquisition can be deferred, one can invest wisely to BUY BIG later.

Glad you agree with my funda. Point is, for the first car we SHOULD buy what we NEED to buy. What we WANT to buy is for the 2nd onwards .

About Polo: Why not go for one of the GT twins ? Our thoda non-cooperation / staring at ceiling / eating very less (Mom's can't withstand it) and lot more chamchagiri (Dad's always fall for it; I do every-time) might make you drive smiling ear-to-ear with a GT.

 

[Lameassonwheels]

It's purely RELATIVE. Literally; not as per the explanation in Poll Choice. A car IS NOT an investment. Also it is for convenience. As long as the owner feels convenient to drive and own it, there's NO need to replace it. Rattles and niggles from Car and throw it away ? If we compare a baby's behavior with the niggles and rattles in a car, we would realize that the best solution is to rectify the source or problem (sometimes forcefully). I'll elaborate a bit here. I As a Baby, my daughter always was awake beyond midnight, would wake us up at least thrice on winter nights (that too in Delhi), never liked to be bathed, never liked combing or hair-cut, always refused to eat, and never wanted to go to Play school. Which baby didn't do these? Which father was happy about the friends of his teenage Son ?I think my point is conveyed.

and second your thoughts! Talking about me, I have an emotional connect with the things I use, be it car, phones!. I have a big pile of old phones, and even my decades old tricycle kept intact at my old place (I am not trying to glorify it by any means, sometimes even I feel its a bad habit ). As we can never term our elders in family ugly even after they turn old, start to have wrinkles and grey hair. IMO to a great extent we are responsible for any state of our vehicles, be it good or bad, and we must take care of it. As they say in a TV ad "Tedha hai par mera hai (Its not perfect, but its mine)" logic applies here as well!. I can never think practical about it, the way "after all its just pieces of metal and rubber put together".

there's no time limit to change a car, until and unless you want to change it. so the point is ultimately it boils down to you WHAT DO YOU WANT?? keep it simple silly

This is what I wanted to convey with all those long lines of text I wrote above!. Simple .

 

[shrid]

Was there a typo ? I didn't notice. Me stupid as usual.

I think this is the time I can legally bump up, so here goes.

In the third poll option, it should be

> 6 years. Cars are designed to run for a long period, keep using it
But I have entered < (lesser than) instead of > (greater than)

If new acquisition can be deferred, one can invest wisely to BUY BIG later.

That's true, but not in my case. E.g. I don't like the looks of Vento as compared to Polo. So I need no bigger than a Polo

Glad you agree with my funda. Point is, for the first car we SHOULD buy what we NEED to buy. What we WANT to buy is for the 2nd onwards.

So this is the right time to go for what we want

About Polo: Why not go for one of the GT twins ? Our thoda non-cooperation / staring at ceiling / eating very less (Mom's can't withstand it) and lot more chamchagiri (Dad's always fall for it; I do every-time) might make you drive smiling ear-to-ear with a GT.

I am given 8L from my mom and I can take the remaining 1.5 L from my Dad and thunder down the streets!!