We finally let go of our 2002 Odyssey last summer at 240k miles. It was given the DNR from our mechanic a year earlier but limped along an extra year. We also replaced our 2005 Camry at 240k miles last year. Those are likely the last new cars we’ll ever buy. I cried turning in my Odyssey as it held so many memories of the kids’ growing up years, family trips, etc. It felt like a family member after 19 years.
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I guess I technically still have my ‘93 RX-7, so 28 years. But it became a track car and now is a garage queen, unregistered and un-driven for several years.
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Our current cars are a 2003 BMW (bought in 2007) a 2005 Volvo (bought in 2010), a 2008 Jeep (bought in 2020), and a 2013 Mercedes (bought in 2019). All are going strong. I think the most expensive when we purchased it was $14k. Always buy used with lowish mileage and drive ‘em until they’re dead.
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@psychmomma we just sent our 2004 Prius (at 173K miles) to cars for charity. It still ran great, but we moved to cold country and the battery (original) didn’t like it. But yes, the kids learned to drive in that car…
Oldest car so far is the 2002 Ford Expedition with 238K miles on it. Still doing great. Never ever let us down and we took it some sketchy places. Now THAT will be a sad day because that was the soccer mom / camping / kids borrow for skiing car. It is my favorite of all the cars.
We got a Subaru Forester Wilderness. I should post in the car buying supply chain, but we really didn’t have anything to say. Waiting until NOV when it was announced was tedious, but Prius still ran OK. (except for the snow days) When we ordered it, they said end of JAN. Got a call mid Dec that said Jan 14. But actually it came in Jan 21. Now waiting for the delivery of the undercarriage skid plates. It came with one for the oil pan, but have to special order the differential and gas tank protections. Yes, we plan to take it off the hiway. Maybe not off ROAD, but off paved for sure. Still waiting after 3 weeks. And they wouldn’t let us order it until the car came in???
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The car we have owned the longest is also that one that we have driven the shortest. 
Y2K Tundra with about 55k miles on the odometer.
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Nissan Pathfinder, 2002, over 350k miles. Still going strong. The only car we purchased new-new My husband is attached to it so we will never get rid of it, until it dies on its own (or we do :))
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Bought a new Toyota Highlander in 2004. Gave to DD while in college. She finally sold it last year because there was a baby on the way and they wanted the updated security/safety features. (good thing too - give what’s happening in the car market). The 2004 had almost 200K and we sold it for 5K.
When DD took the 2004 we purchased a used 2007 Highlander. It is now in DS’ hands and has been for a number of years. He just said the other day ’ I plan to at least 3 more years out of this car’.
While not driving the vehicles to full failure (at least not intentionally) we do tend to keep them for a heck a long time.
When DD started her first post college position in a CPA firm, several co-workers asked why she wouldn’t get herself a new vehicle since she was making pretty good $$. THEN they found out she was living mom and dad - on top of driving a 11 year old car - they was a lot of head shaking.
Fast forward. She is in a house. No debt. New Subaru paid in cash.
Same for DS…bought a house in one of the craziest markets known to man. No debt. great income and a hefty savings account.
Both have invested in additional real estate.
No one is into cars - known in our family as a necessary, but depreciating asset.
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444k miles.
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H’s car is 1998 Volvo S70, that he loves. We got it used and then when the body was rusting then mechanic swapped the body with another same year and model so it would have the best of both vehicles, body-wise & mechanically.
We drove my 2000 Toyota van until I bought my 2018 Prius Prime in 2019. The dealer only offered me $400 for my van so I sold it to my mechanic’s niece for that price. It was mechanically fine but I was just ready for a change.
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Our 2004 Pilot has been an awesome car! My D22 loves it. My D24 loathes it (she would tell you it smells like our dog and leather is pealing off the seats.). It did break down last year but it wasn’t too expensive of a fix.
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We have had cracked leather seats repaired by car Re-upholsterer. It was surprisingly reasonably (about $100 or $200/seat) and made being in the car much more comfortable for all. Might be worth inquiring if the car is still mechanically sound.
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What a great idea. Who knew?
I have a funny car seat story from friends who like to drive their vehicles a long time. They ordered a truck for the husband. When it got delivered in cold winter weather he immediately regretted his decision to not get heated seats, like their other vehicle. The wife secretly took the truck to the dealership and had them installed as a Christmas surprise. She then secretly turned his seat heater on for their next errand together… had some fun as he started to realize what she’d done.
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I bought my 2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser in 2018, with 92,000 miles on it. It has 119,000 miles on it now, and is worth more than I paid for it. I’ll drive it until it dies. It’s a very simple, but capable machine.
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The longest I have driven a car was my previous SUV, a 2003 Toyota Sequoia. I had it for 10 years and planned to drive it into the ground. It had something like 150K miles and a lot of life left. My husband was adamant that I needed to replace it. I got another new Sequoia, a 2013, which now has around 173K miles due to many road trips over the years. I hardly drive now that my youngest has her license, and this time, I plan to drive it into the ground or pass it on to one of my sons.
H’s car is only five years old with about 50K miles. Our son actually has it at school with him at the moment b/c H is now working from home permanently. Between the two of us, we can share my car for the time being.
Our oldest car is one we bought used about 8-9 years ago, a 2009 Acura sedan. It has been our “kids” car - all four of our kids have driven it when they got their licenses. Our 16 y/o currently drives it and it has 175K miles. With proper maintenance, it should last at least until she graduates high school. At 13 years old, it is the oldest car we’ve ever driven, but not the longest.
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That’s it. I have a maroon one, and my son drives a silver one.
Our kids have given our old cars a noble death. My husband drove a Volvo sedan from 2004-2017 then gave it to our oldest son. It sadly died in 2020. Our son was pleased he’d get a newer car… my husband found him a fully rebuilt 2008 Chevy Tahoe with 300k miles on it 
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There’s no reason not to invest a reasonable amount in an aging car to make it more comfy and a better experience. Sounds like the heated seats were an excellent investment for you.
Once I accidentally turned on the heater seat on my car in Honolulu. It was way too hot until we could figure out how to turn it off again. Phew!
Me too! Longest road trip I ever did was a straight through drive (but with three drivers alternating driving and sleeping) from Long Beach CA to Jefferson New Hampshire. Three and a half 24 hour days.
Oldest car…we had a Volvo that was 12 years old when we bought it for DS to drive. We had it for four years. Not bad.
The longest H and I ever drove at one stretch with kids in the car was South Rim of Grand Canyon to Pasadena CA. I had booked a hotel for us to stop at midway but the kids begged us to push on instead. They were tired of hotels and longed to see our friends. It was a very, very long day of driving but happily not much traffic.
We rarely drive more than 4 hours at a stretch or in a day. We are unused to long road trips as there’s nowhere to drive and our traffic is generally between bad and worse.
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