How Reliable and How long do you keep your car(s) - Stag & Other Makes?

[Tdm]

Having just arranged to take mine and my wife's car in to the garage next week whilst we are away (seat repair on the Stag – local MOT equivalent in the case of the wife's Honda), it struck me how long we have had both cars, and yet we have no desire to change either of them.

Added together we have owned our 2 current cars for 35 years now, and both have been very reliable and not cost a lot to run considering the length of time they have been used on the road both in the U.K. And Tenerife.


Mk2 Auto 1977 Triumph Stag model - acquired (as 2^nd owner) in 1994 so - 38 years old, owned 21 years.

Honda Accord Auto 1996 2.0IES model - acquired (as 2^nd owner) in 2001 so - 19 years old, owned 14 years.


I drove the Stag over to Teneife in 2004 when we emigrated, and the following year (2005) flew back and drove the Honda over as we had been unable to sell it. So glad we kept the Honda as it is a decent size, has a good auto box, and is perfect for transporting family and friends around when they come over, and for picking them up at the Airport as I wouldn't be able to get their suitcases in the Stag.


The Stag now costs me only the Petrol I use plus Insurance, and requires an MOT only every 5 years,
but the Honda needs an MOT every year, road tax costs €94 a year, plus Petrol and Insurance.


How does 35 years ownership compare with how long you keep your car(s)?
Perhaps we should have a Poll?

[Goldstar]

My E39 (2003) BMW 530D touring has been brilliant. Bought in Feb 06 (I think) with 28k on the clock I have only had it 9 years but it now has 185K on the clock. It is still a great drive and has only cost me consumables (brake pads and discs), one relay for the air con and a replacement down pipe for the exhaust (bought a stainless non cat thingy and fitted it myself). It does 35mpg and is "as capacious as an elephants scrotum" as Blackasdder would say. I will keep it until it dies and then try and get another, they are that good.

ps Jeff, the fuel gauge works too!!

[milothedog]

My E39 (2003) BMW 530D touring has been brilliant. Bought in Feb 06 (I think) with 28k on the clock I have only had it 9 years but it now has 185K on the clock. It is still a great drive and has only cost me consumables (brake pads and discs), one relay for the air con and a replacement down pipe for the exhaust (bought a stainless non cat thingy and fitted it myself). It does 35mpg and is "as capacious as an elephants scrotum" as Blackasdder would say. I will keep it until it dies and then try and get another, they are that good.

ps Jeff, the fuel gauge works too!!

That's good, it would be a lot harder to push with a belly full of beer and curry

[mike@thenook]

Had the Stag for 23 years and never let me down, Discovery from new in 2006 now done 97,000 pretty trouble free miles of every type of work, Freelander TD4 2003 model had for 3 years now never had a problem.
that leaves the latest addition a Lumma Range Rover Sport 2014 model, fantastic car and one of only 15 in the country apparently.
we only like two types of car: Stags and Land Rovers!
oh- our daughters Toyota Yaris which was her Grandfathers, 2009 model with 14,000 trouble free miles.
boy has to wait 2+ years until he can drive so the Aston (!) he wants will be a while coming......

[marshman]

Wifes car is a Mazda MX5. Bought it when it was just over a year old - had it for 12 years - over 100,000 miles now - still on original brake discs, battery (now 14 years old!) and exhaust. Disgraced itself for the first time ever last week when it stopped - had an intermittent fault when very hot - traced it to the cam sensor.

We've had the 110 Landy for over 20 years now. Used to be the family transport when the kids were young, now just gets used when we need to move 6 or more people and/or my 3.5ton trailer. 140,000 miles - does need lots of maintenance but only on its second set of tyres and brake pads!

Still got my first car - 1955 Standard 8, bought in 1981 so I've had it for 34 years! Also got a 1963 AH Sprite which I got in 1983, (it was a restoration project then and still is now!).

Had the Stag for about 6 years

Had my last works Escort van for over 10 years and 185,000 miles, only "lost" it because I wrote it off on the M25 - I do miss that van!

"newest car" is a 106 GTi bought cheap on eBay last February, 153,000 and goes like stink.

Roger

[mjheathcote]

Stag (my first car) 29 years this year.
Others generally have been 4 or 5 on average but the Lotus Elise I had before buying my Maserati 3 years ago, I had for 8.
So I don't like to chop and change often.

[GDPR]

Had Stag 8 years, and Vitesse 6 yrs but our MGB roadster auto had been with us for 40 years now, reshelled once, written off once but still going and now used by our 18yr old daughter.

Moderns have been Hondas for years, our current CR-V has done 120k with just servicing, our previous one did 127k with just servicing and an auto box rebuild (only £200 in parts and fluid as I did it myself) before we sold it on (and its still going!).

[V Mad]

As for moderns, I had a reliable Vaux Calibra which I would have kept, but was trashed by joyriders. Since then I had not found a reliable modern until the BMW E39 I now have. I really like it, and am expecting to keep it until something major breaks (in fact I liked it so much I bought two!).

My old Sunbeam Tiger has been with me nearly 10 years now, and has been brilliant. My current stag is the best one I have had, so hopefully thats a keeper too.

[Mike Stevens]

1949 S1 80" LandRover since 1975 (40 years!)
Stag since 1987 (28 years)
1996 Jaguar X300 since 2005 (10 years)
2.5PI saloon since 2010 (only 5 years)
Wife's V70 since 2007 (only 8 years)
Plus a few other which are somewhat irrelevant!

So we sort of change our cars like I change my socks.....

Cheers,
Mike.

[Ian F]

Up until 2 years ago I had company cars and changed them every 3 years or 120k miles, had some good ones including Citroen BX, Renault Laguna Diesel and Audi A6 Tdi, but best was my gaffers V70 T5, I took it over at 125k miles and was annoyed when they took it off me at 195k - I wanted to get to 200k miles with no problems at all other than consumables.

Since worked for PSA group company and had all manner of Citroen and Peugeots, but only allowed to keep them for 9k miles, so just got used to it and had to change, had 3 cars in one year! Last 2 years I bought a Fabia as a stop gap, ran it for 9 months and 12k miles for about £500, sold it on and bought my current 508 SW, so only had it 15 months. Stag is longest I've kept a car at 7 yrs. Wife swaps hers every 3 years, doesn't like MOT's!

[Guest]

Stag is almost 9 years with me. Had an ST Focus for 6 1/2 years until we traded it in for a Range Rover Evoque last year. Don't plan to keep the RR more than 3 years until we trade it in, but I tend to get attached to cars!!!!

[uzbek]

Generally change our modern cars every 4years approx., and always buy new. My wife has had a succession of ultra reliable Hondas, not one unscheduled trip to a dealer over about 20 years I can recall. I have been a bit of a brand tart but now about to buy my third Volvo, a V60. No reliability issues with them ever and so, so comfortable for a man with a bad back.

Worst cars-Alfa Romeo 147 and Lotus Elise. Both appallingly made and a series of faults for start to finish. The Alfa was just shockingly poor-as was the dealer service. Never again. Funny, both brands are struggling.

Had my first stag 3 years in 1990-did 45000miles in that and more or less slaughtered it. Current is 2 years and counting.

Bruce

Anyone else notice that Stag owners seem to favour sensible reliable brands for daily use such as Honda and Volvo. Wonder why!

[milothedog]

Probably a 4 month old Rover 618SLi in 1998 had that for about 5 years and never had a problem with it (Honda engine) had the current bike from new (2006) and the Stag since 2009. The bike and Stag are keepers.

Throughout my life though I have had in excess of 50 cars and 20 + bikes, in younger days I would buy something (may have been a PX that came in at work) run it for a few weeks then repeat the cycle. Always made money on them until we started buying nearly new. The first nearly new was a Rover 416 SLi on an N Reg great car about 10 month old when we got it but was the first car we ever sold for less than we paid.

Ian.

[Tdm]

Anyone else notice that Stag owners seem to favour sensible reliable brands for daily use such as Honda and Volvo. Wonder why!

So the Swedes were and still are good at making sensible cars and winning the Eurovision Song Contest,
the Japanese are good at making reliable cars, bikes, and shrinking trees,
and Triumph were good at making great looking and great sounding sporting and certain family cars.

[uzbek]

So the Swedes were and still are good at making sensible cars and winning the Eurovision Song Contest,
the Japanese are good at making reliable cars, bikes, and shrinking trees,
and Triumph were good at making great looking and great sounding sporting and certain family cars.

...but the two of our Hondas were built in the UK, and Volvo is Chinese owned and was built in Belgium!

Interesting how we see some marques as still having national characteristics. Lots of marketing behind that too-Volvo certainly don't shout about Chinese ownership (at least in the west) nor does JLR about Indian ownership etc. I think it is still a hangover from the bad old days that Honda/Nissan/Toyota don't actually promote their cars much here as buying british and supporting UK jobs.