S/O Car Shopping - buying your "last one"?

I think a Toyota will last forever. I know several people with 4Runners that are at least 15 years old

We like to joke (knock on wood) that everything non-important in my Toyota (circa 2004) will have fallen apart but the engine will still be running. I can't say that about both our Fords...

the longest i've ever kept a car so far is around 10 years. even when purchased brand new. i really like my current car and don't drive it excessively so i'm hoping to take this one to about 14 years before buying my "final" car.

I just purchased an Autumn Green 2024 Subaru Forester with the hope that it will be my last new car. I traded my 2017 Hyundai Tucson (40,000 miles) in on it (didn’t care for the ‘24 Tucsons) while it still had a good trade in value. So far I am really liking the new car, although slowly adjusting to all the bells and whistles that all the new cars seem to have. I’m 72, have a 3-mile commute to work, and I will probably work another year to pay it off before I consider retiring.

Dh has my old car, a ‘98 Buick Century which still runs good, and a 2000 Dodge truck. Hopefully we’re set, vehicle-wise.

Agreed. We’ve had 2 or 3 get to 300,000 miles, and that’s when we couldn’t often afford maintenance when needed. My Highlander is just over 100,000 right now, has had all of it’s maintenance when specified, and might as well be brand new. 

I think a subaru outback would fit your needs.. can last a very long time, hauls people well, and carries a lot for trips. and it is has all the bells and whistles. it handles snow and such very very well.

  Toyota/Lexus are built to last.  I'm currently driving a 2015 Lexus GX that I've had over 9 years and it's hands down the best vehicle I've ever owned.  Other than routine servicing, I have had no issues with the car.  It only has 43,000 miles on it and I could see it going for another 10 years easy.  I see 15-20 year old Lexus & Toyota SUVs (larger ones) around here all the time.  It's also been much less expensive as far as upkeep than my Ford Expedition (had it 12 years) ever was, and mainly because things just don't break on it.   

DH has been trying to get me to trade before he retires (within the next 2 years when he turns 70) but I'm not quite ready.  When I do it will be for my "final" car so I want to get exactly what I want.  Currently holding out for the redesigned Lexus GX or the new Toyota Land Cruiser as I really love the retro styling of them.  

Good luck with your decision!

Toyota or Lexus.
We had a 2008 Lexus with about 225K miles on it.
Still looked great and ran great.
Traded it in on another Lexus in 2020 and DD and I both traded ours in on a Lexus in the past two years. 
They will last a long time with regular maintenance.  

Cars are going through lots of changes now, with hybrids on the rise and over next few years will be all electrical, including much of the control panel. So I don't think this is the time to buy your last one, personally, or you will have a dinosaur in a couple of years.  

But it's a GREAT time for buying a tv. Not much new on that horizon.  :-)

I don't think it's very likely that cars manufactured today will last 20 years. Not because they are poorly made but because there is lots of technology in them and that kind of electronics and circuitry just aren't as durable as "old fashioned" cars that didn't rely on anything like that.

But that kind of technology hasn't just given us bells and whistles, it's helped make them exponentially safer than they used to be, so it shouldn't be denigrated.

We have owned a couple of cars that have gone over 100,000 miles - an Acura, and a Toyota. Our nephew is still driving our old 2002 Toyota and that one has over 100,000 miles on it. Toyota/Lexus has a good reputation for lasting a lot of miles, same with Honda's.

Our last new car will be bought in 2034, that is one year before all new cars sold in California has to be electric. But who knows, we may have gone the electric car route by then. But right now, we don't want an electric car. So we are trying to see if our current cars will last another 10 years. One is a 2015 and the other is a 2018. They are both Honda/Acuras, so they should last.

Yep! My Camry and DSO's Hi-Lux are both 2009 models, so 15 years old, and still going strong. DSO's car has done 386,000km and mine has done about 240,000km. 

My next car will be either a hybrid or an EV. Petrol cars will be phased out here in the next 10 years, so I don't see the point in buying anything other than a hybrid or EV. I can't afford one at the moment, they are ridiculously expensive still. I will keep my Camry until it dies, or until I can afford a Hybrid / EV. And I keep my cars for a loooong time, so I assume that my next car will be my last car. 

I have had 5 Subarus (we currently have a 2010 Outback with 170K miles on it) DS drives it at school but he has been told to not drive it long distances as it keeps having issues and when a Subaru has an issue you can better believe it is going to be a costly fix. Also, a lot of the things that come standard on most all other cars is always an extra expense with Subarus. Their eyesight technology is also very outdated compared to other car manufacturers. My son knows all about this stuff so I trust what he is saying (he does have the research to back it up). I have always liked my Subarus with the exception of the Forrester (it was a piece of crap). We currently have 2 Hondas (CRV and Civic) and a 2023 Toyota Corolla that we bought for my DD (she would drive the Subaru back and forth from grad school to home and it made me really nervous so we got her a new car).

Of all the cars brands, Toyota is the cheapest to maintain. We have never had any real issues with them in the past. Hondas are okay. They are reliable but we had a huge issue last year with my CRV and couldn't drive it due to a defective part. They told us it would be 6 months before we could get the part but wouldn't give us a loaner car. That was Honda USA. It ended taking about 6 weeks to get the part but my beef was that is is a known issue and Honda doesn't want to do a recall on it. So, if you aren't willing to stand behind your cars, I don't want to deal with you. So our next car will be a Toyota.

As for another car lasting 20 years, it is possible if you don't really drive it but I would say you would get maybe 15 years max on a car.

Man I'd love to get my hands on that truck!   I want a Toyota "mini" truck so bad.  I need a small truck for hauling small amounts of lumber or oversized household items and I just do not want a huge truck.  

I just don't understand why mini trucks have not become a thing again like they were in the late 1990s early 2000s.