Mine's a 1989 Ford Probe with rust on one side and 174,000 miles. It'll be paid for this week.

I don't miss owning a car. Haven't had one for years. Last one was a crappy 80s Ford.

1995 Ford Escort.

Barney Colored (Beat That!)
166,000+ miles. (I think that he rings in the cylinders are going based on the puff of smoke at every startup), but other than tha the engine is a beast (as beastly as a 1.9L 4 banger can be)
Radio no longer works (iPod),
AC no longer works, as the compressor was shorting out the electrical sys (open windows),
Stupid Automatic Shoulder Strap Seatbelt on Driver's side stuck in engaged position (which is good since I just need to pull it over my head and engage the lapbelt for safety)
Rear Defrost button does not remain engaged (I must prop something against it if it's a frosty morning (which are rare here thankfully))
Instrument Panel lights no longer work (using friend's homemade 12V LED "external IP light" )

It's getting close to the end, but the gas mileage (I still routinely get wel over 30 MPG, and my own frugality (a car is my tool, not my status symbol) consistently dissuade me from getting a new car.

Okay, that might have mine beat.

I'm not going to win, but my car is dying nevertheless. White 2002 Subaru Impreza with 120,000 miles on it. It's starting to fall to pieces.

With a Subaru, you'd win even if it were brand new.

My first car, which I got rid of coming up on 10 years ago, was an '84 Subaru Standard Hatchback that my brother sold me for $50. He'd broken the steering lock when he lost his keys and had to hotwire it. We put a toggle switch and a pushbutton on the dash to bypass the keyed factory system. It was originally red, but too many years in the Florida sun (he'd bought it when he was at Nuke school for the Navy) meant that it was a flat shade of orange. When I bought an '89 Justy (I STILL miss that car - 40MPG!), I sold the red bomb to my uncle for $200, and he turned around and sold it the next day for $300. I didn't feel bad. I was surprised to see it still on the road about a year later. You could spot it a mile away - dents in both doors, and a "Go Navy" bumper sticker.

No car. No license.

There's a long time between the times I go "Gee, right now it would be good to own a car" compared to the times I go "Gee, it's quite nice not to have to pay for car insurance and gas"

I like crappy cars. I like cars that keep chugging and chugging and chugging (and chugging). The car I drive now is the first one I ever bought new, and that was in 2000, and I sure as hell hope it's only halfway through its lifespan, because I WILL drive the damn thing until it's dead. No foolish pride or wanting to strut my phallic symbol on wheels. I'm not out to impress anyone, I'm out to get where I need to go. I can afford a new car, but I don't want to afford a new car. Why spend all that money!?

No car payments for me, thanks. I ... want ... FREEDOOOOMMMMM!!!

The car I had before this one was a 19 ... 86? 90? Corolla. Tiny little four-door thing. Blue. Could be crushed by a lawnmower. I loved it. Paid $2,000 for it. The car had 147,000 miles when I bought it. I doubled that. When I bought my new car, the old Corolla was just a click under 300,000 and still going. Gave it to my brother and he kept driving it. It just kept on going! I probably should have kept it.

That was a good car.

Somehow, some way, I've only magaged to put 79,000 miles on my car since 2000. That's pretty awesome.

If I lived in a slightly more urban area, yeah, that'd be pretty nice. Driving can be fun and liberating, but the daily grind sucks.

Lived in a situation for a while that afforded me transportation to and from work right from my apartment, which was right on a downtown main street with a grocery store, two convenience stores, a jazz club, two traditional taverns, a "college" club, a deli, a liquor store, a used paperback shop, a comic shop, and a record shop all within three blocks.

It was awesome.

Today is the first day I'm driving to work since May 5th. I've been riding my bike to work, 35 miles round trip. The weather's been nice, and gas is $3.50 a gallon.

My legs are getting kind of tired, though.

Colombo.

Mine's only two years old - a 2005 Daihatsu Charade - a two-door hatchback with three big cylinders of raw, testosterone charged power. The colour? 'Champagne' (a kind of silvery-goldy metallicy colour).

Before that, I drove a 1981 Honda Civic (metallic brown), and my first car was a 1977 Ford Escort (duck-egg blue). I drove both those cars until they were falling to bits, and expect to do the same with this one.

I had 3 crappy cars before I was able to afford a new one. Now I am on my second new one.

I don't miss those days at all. Where the car won't start, or you have to hit the carburator with a hammer to get it to go, or where you have to keep your foot on the gas and brake at the same time at a light to stop it from stalling.

I broke the K-Frame on my first car. fixed that and then the engine seized a year later (1986 mitsibishi galant) Died at 150,000

Second car leaked so much oil i had to put in a quart every 3 days. one day it would just not go. they said 1,200 to fix i said no way (1987 Mitsibishi tredia) died at 170,000

Third car 1990 Toyota tercel, the engine on a cold day just popped. The door would also pop open if i put the window down too far. died at 130,000

4th car was a leased Chevy Cavalier 2004

5th car is my current 2007 chevy impala

I've been much happier.

I walk to work, so I don't drive every day. When I do drive, it's usually our second car--actually a car that's on loan from my dad, since we can't afford another one. It's a 1990 Colt with over 300,000 miles on it. There's no longer any air conditioning, it rides like a log wagon, has manual steering and transmission, and gives your ears little protection against road noise. But it still gets good mileage and it still runs reliably.

I call the car "Old Man" instead of "Old Girl," because there's nothing the least bit feminine about it. On the other hand, it's not macho like a sports car or muscle car. If it was a human being, it would be an elderly fellow who had spent his life doing necessary but unglamorous jobs like building maintenance. I think it has been a great car. The only thing is, at this point I'm pretty sure it's living on borrowed time. When I have to drive a long way, I'd rather use our own car.

I have a dilemma. As I said, my crappy car will be paid off this Friday. I'm very happy about that. My car payment has only been $130 a month, but it will be nice to have that $130 for other things. Like, oh, say, GAS for my car. Now I find out that for $99 down and $129 a month, I could start paying on a much nicer, and probably more reliable car. I'd probably be paying for the next three years.

So, do I bask in the wonder of a car payment-free life for a bit and drive my car until it's dead? Or do I suck it up and start new car payments on something less likely to die as soon?

There will still be cars available to purchase when your current one dies. I say keep the car and your money.

Now I find out that for $99 down and $129 a month, I could start paying on a much nicer, and probably more reliable car. I'd probably be paying for the next three years.

So, do I bask in the wonder of a car payment-free life for a bit and drive my car until it's dead? Or do I suck it up and start new car payments on something less likely to die as soon?
****
Tough call. Will you have the dough when the old one inevitably breaks down? Is the new used one that less likely to break down, so payments are worth it?

I traded car payments for the security of "knowing" my new car would likely not seriously break down, thus eliminating the pain of that process, gaining reliability, and not having to come up with a lot of dough at once. But i gained that payment.

The former. In my mind, no question it's the former. Even if you do so only for a year, that's a year without a car payment. You have your entire life to make car payments. If you can not make some for a while, do it. If and when the time comes that you feel you need to buy/lease again, no sweat, take on payments again. But me, I'd rejoice in being payment-free while you can.

As long as maintenance costs on your current vehicle total less than what your car payment would be, then you're saving money. Plus, if you can save that $130 per month for just ten months, then that's $1300 to put down on a new vehicle. You should always put down as much cash as possible so that you won't be upside-down in your car loan.

I must agree with Eric. It's so liberating to find one's self suddenly without a monthly car payment...and mine was almost triple what yours what, Matt, once I paid off my nifty-keen 1997 Honda Accord a little over a year ago.

I will drive my car until it dies. It's a Honda, for Cruise's sake, in presently terrific shape with less than 80,000 miles on it. I could probably go another 80,000 if I keep the fluids up to speed.

Run that baby 'til the wheels fall off, I say.

I walk everywhere, or have someone else drive me.

There are reasons for this, first is I don't have a license, second is carbohydrates are cheaper than gas.