[Manoj2268]

Ours is a joint family with 10+ members and we had 4 Suzuki cars. We let go of our decently maintained Swift Zxi, Ritz Zdi and the Wagon R LXi due to the same reason. The NGT rules. It was a huge financial impact on us when we had to sell these cars in the Span of 3 months in 2021.

Swift had run 183k(120k+ on CNG) and Ritz had run 220k+ and the Wagon R had run 190k(140k on CNG on a new half engine)

All they needed were regular service and we used OEM parts only.

[sids1811]

Interesting choice of subject.

A. For 1st gen creta which had done 7 years, there were 3 main points.

1. It had already done 250k km
2. It only has 2 airbags and we have extensive highway running.
3. Itch to have a 6 seater / big boot.

B. Our Honda City is 8 years old with only 67k on the odometer. The car is working absolutely fine with no niggles but the new car itch has started biting now and the reasons we justify ourselves with it some new features and suspension ageing. But if you just delay this weekly dilemma by a day and think sanely we realise it can run a couple of years more.

[diwakarmuthu]

Interesting topic. I don't qualify as I hold the cars much longer. My Scorpio is about to enter its 14th year. The itch starts right around year 8 or 9 as you have newer cars and technologically superior cars and you do get swayed to upgrade. The benefits of holding its longer (10 years or more) has its own advantages

[SideView]

Originally Posted by diwakarmuthu

Interesting topic. I don't qualify as I hold the cars much longer. My Scorpio is about to enter its 14th year.

But I am curious to know what finally pushed you to upgrade or for the brave ones to maybe retain the older steeds for longer. (considering you had no major issues)

If you see my query from my main post,I am curious to know what made you hold it out longer and how did you handle major maintenance works.


I was hoping people who hold out for 7-8 years might push it more towards 15 year mark. Seems not the case with majority.

Mods: if you are reading revert the topic header back to “What made you upgrade your perfectly-fine vehicle early or keep it until 10+ year mark.”

[shankar.balan]

This Skoda Yeti 4x4 Elegance 2 litre TDi 2011 model, is the car I never should have sold. I had fully intended to keep it for its entire span. And indeed had done all the preventive maintenance ahead of time. Sadly just as it reached the 8 year mark in 2019, I broke my foot and was not able to drive a manual transmission vehicle at all for one month because my foot was in a big cast. During that time I was lucky my parents were here and I was able when needed to use their AT car.
So with great sadness I let it go around its 8th birthday,in favour of an Automatic Transmission vehicle, which anyway is also an iconic vehicle.
Happily it was replaced by the Cooper S which is an AT and which brand I had anyway always wanted all my life. This one is now 11 years old and by the Grace of God, I hope to hang on to it as long as possible.

[diwakarmuthu]

Originally Posted by SideView

If you see my query from my main post, I am curious to know what made you hold it out longer and how did you handle major maintenance works.

My bad. I would have read it fast that I missed the original intention of this thread. My apologies

Well, my philosophy is "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". Holding a car beyond the 8-10 year mark is dependent on the overall running and for me it is limited to only 8-10 k per year. Hence the need for a upgrade never crossed my mind for the first 10 years. The tech and the overall safety improvements in this space does excite me, but never pushed me into investing the money for a new car as yet.

At one point of my ownership I did think about improved safety and some level of tech to keep me interested, but the lockdown and 2 years of absolute low running made me think again. If there was no lockdown, I may have changed the car in its 10th year for sure.

I personally feel it depends on the car and its maintenance schedule. If you are able to keep it mechanically sound, I feel a good portion of your issues are addressed. In my case, the mhawk engines will last forever if maintained in regular intervals. Touchwood, at 93k on the ODO the engine is still running smooth without issues in stock configuration - No changes. The only work I have done a clutch overhaul, brake / suspension overhaul, rest everything is stock. The AC condenser went kaput sometime back, but I got it changed for 12k approx, so not a major expense in my view for this old car

So from maintenance end, I have not seen a major expense prop up (fingers crossed). For a car this old, it does show some body / paint age. So, I did some touchup 5 years back(not a big expense). I still have some work to be done, I may cover it during my next service or just forget about it and move on to my next vehicle.

[Familyguy]

This thread has got me thinking! I've been looking for an upgrade for my Safari Storme 2015 with 143K on the odo( extremely well taken care of, timely services at the A.S.S, replacement of critical parts). It still drives like a dream, looks smashing, I still give it a glance after parking, and interiors and exteriors are largely in tact. So the more I look for a replacement, more I feel the urge to continue with it and delay the inevitable

The fact that I don't find any car available in my budget( this side of 30 big ones) worthy enough successor complicates this further.

The reasons for feeling the need to upgrade are the usual:
1. The 7 year itch! 8, in this case, which is the time I took for my last upgrade.
2. Age is catching up so an automatic will let my left knee rest
3. Peer/family pressure!

The idea of continuing with the beast and saving lakhs in the process is just too tempting

[harry10]

Honda City diesel - 2014 August model. 135000km on the odo when we sold it off. Perfect condition. No engine issues. No wear or tear except for brakes and tyres etc. Always serviced by Honda on time. Could have run easily for another 5-7 years minimum. Only 1 reason to sell - Stupid NGT rule of 10 years ban of diesel vehicles in NCR. I still miss the space and comfort it provided.

[Cresterk]

It was just uncomfortable. When I bought it my sole concern was flashy gadgets, going fast and how well it handled. 6 years later, all I could think off was how jarring the suspension was and how the 6 speed manual that I was so proud of was now just a pain when in traffic.

[car_guy1998]

We own a Honda City Diesel, which is 2014 one though bought used in 2017 when the odo was at 35k Kms and now, it has run 165k Kms till date.

We usually don't retain our cars for more than 4 years but somehow this is the only car, which we had retained this one beyond that (gonna complete 6 this July).

Reasons for holding onto this one:

1. Mileage- Even now it gives no less than 17-18 Kmpl in city traffic and 22-25 Kmpl on highways depending on driving style

2. Rear seat comfort- My parents are still happy with the comfort and space it offers even after 6 years of ownership

3. Lower maintenance costs- Last service (150k Kms service) costed us less than ₹10k and this car is literally cheaper to maintain despite being a 9 year old car

Also, we had spent nearly ₹2L on this car in the end of 2022 getting it repainted from top to bottom, suspension overhaul last year during this time (did 30k Kms till date) and others. And, recently, replaced its tyres to MRF Perfinza, which has run nearly 10k Kms already in 2.5 months since installation and battery as previous one had gave up. At the time of restoration, the odo was at 145k Kms and now, it has run 165k Kms (did 20k Kms in almost 6 months post restoration).

Moreover, covid and house purchase was also one of the reasons why we had retained the Honda City till date. And, according to my parents, especially, my mom, feels that spending on a new car is a waste of money. But, even after getting these things done on City, still there is an itch for getting a new car replacing the City as this car is mostly driven by mom, whose age is 53, for her 20 Kms commute to office and somehow, I'm pestering her to get an AT as she is suffering from leg issues though she can still drive a MT car even now.

Note: She has been driving cars since 2 decades and drove only MT cars till date and she loves driving herself and doesn't rely upon others except on occasions, where she needs to visit hospital or shopping, she prefers taking our chauffeur. In terms of transmission, she is bit old school and does my dad but somehow he got convinced in getting an AT this time after he was told by our chauffeur about the convenience of having an AT car and drove AT cars like i10 and Celerio in recent times and he got impressed with the convenience it offered though it would take time in getting used to it as he also had driven MT cars till date.

The reason I wanted to sell off the City is its already close to 10 years and anything might happen in future, which leads to more expenses. The foreseeable expense I'd be seeing is timing kit replacement as well as oil sump replacement, which is due for replacement during next service, which will be done in another few weeks I guess and it might cost nearly ₹50k. But, still my folks, including myself, are mentally prepared to spend on this car.

And, the replacement for our City Diesel would be Verna (loved the DCT), City CVT (only if Honda is keen on staying here in India), Sonet D AT (one of my favourite engine+transmission combo) or Venue DCT or an EV if new as an EV would suffice her daily usage of 20 Kms while in used, a well maintained MK6 Jetta TDI AT or a MK3 Octy TDI AT is what I want due to the sheer driving pleasure it offers and 2.0 TDI, which is a monster. Hope, we will replace the City by this year end or next year and get any of these.

Apart from this, we had 2011 Innova VX, which was bought used again in 2016 and sold it off last year as the maintenance was piling up a bit despite being an Innova but the engine was still strong even after doing close to 2L Kms on the odo and, somehow, wanted to upgrade to an AT so that my dad can drive regularly. We almost bought a new car an year ago, but, somehow couldn't due to some reasons and in the interim, had bought a 2022 VW Taigun 1L TSI MT from someone I know as he had bought this as an extra car since he had other cars for daily commute, and was told to use it until we get a new car. But, somehow, ended up using it for nearly an year and did more than 30k Kms on the odo and returned back to him.

[bladegradev8]

It was the first big car in the family after the prestigious 1995 Maruti 800.
We had to let go of the perfectly fine 2007 Sx4 after it reached the 15 year mark due to the new vehicle scrapping policy in NCR.

Unfortunately 2 more of our cars are not too far away from the culling despite being in impeccable condition.

[knightfurry]

Undoubtedly the most stupid decision I made was selling my Ecosport Diesel MT. We had got Compass 6 months ago and the car was sparsely used. It was still washed everyday and I did use it on alternate days for shorter commute.

On a chilly January morning, one of my acquaintance came home with the whole family and asked for the car. We were in a fix as his kids were super excited to see the car and they really needed one, with a heavy heart I agreed. I was so heartbroken that I didn’t even handover the key to him, it was my FIL who did it.

[ImranHyd]

Only reason why I had to upgrade from perfectly maintained Vitara Brezza to Kia Carens was increasing family. The 5 seater was not sufficient on long drives. My friends still find it difficult to understand why I had to sell off a very well maintained car.

[07CR]

Honda Amaze 2013 S IDTEC. Yes it wasn't a perfect car per se, since the diesel was extremely unrefined and the car had poor noise insulation. It wasn't well equipped either.

But boy did it manage the following spectacularly-

1) Great steering. Just point and shoot. Second only IMO to the ecosport on this side of 20L.
2) Excellent driveability. Almost no turbo lag, made it very easy to drive in city too.
3) Great low end and mid range.
4) Stupendous mileage. Frequently got 22-25 KMPL in Pune city traffic. If driven at 80-90 KPH, it would give mind numbing numbers at 27-28 kmpl!
5) Spacious, man maximum machine minimum at its best! Excellent leg room and a good 400 L boot.
6) Reliability. It never visited service center in its 7 year ownership apart from routine annual services.

[autobahnjpr]

I sold off my frugal, ready to go anywhere, reliable Dzire Zdi as it was completing 15 years and being a diesel car, there was little chance of re-registration. I keep my cars as long as I can. I kept my Zen for 14 years and sold because re-registration was nearing and I was moving to another city. I wanted to keep both the cars but had to let them due to reasons beyond my control.

I also have a 11 year old Honda City ivtech 3rd generation and want to replace it due to its low mileage but it runs less and is not heavy on maintenance. Thus I intend to keep it for at least next 3 years and try to replace it with something else before completion of 15 years.