My previous car was driven for 9 years and had roughly 150,000 miles on it when I bought my new car. It had become where the car was no longer reliable for my lengthy commute and the repairs were piling up so we decided to replace the car.

When it comes time to replace my wife’s car, we will likely evaluate the new/used decision based on whether she wants to stick with a truck/SUV that we can use for towing or go with a smaller car.

I also prefer to buy cars new and drive them 10+ years or 250,000 miles, which ever comes first. What’s nice about new is that the first 3-5 years are pretty repair free.

I have bought good used cars at 4-7 years. While I could get a higher end car, often the car would need some repairs, other than routine maintenance, in the first year.

Here via Carnival of Money Stories.