Our virtual trip to Cuba brought home the point how most of these cars there are precious family heirlooms, and kept going indefinitely due to the great difficulties of buying new cars or even just buying and selling old cars. The closest equivalent in the Niedermeyer family is my ’66 F-100, now dubbed “The Bruised Banana”, which I will have owned 30 years this summer (top picture: 1993; bottom: 10 minutes ago). And I have a detailed write-up of it and its role in my life and work, coming for its anniversary. Let’s just say I’ve taken a somewhat Cuban approach: it’s a work vehicle and I’ve kept it running with the absolute minimum of expense and work.
But I know some of you have had cars a lot longer than that, like Bill Mitchell. Or a whole lot shorter, like Jim Klein. Where do you slot in? Are you a keeper or trader? And what’s the longest you’ve owned a car, or had it be in the family?
I used to just buy drive and dump when they stopped or required major work to pass inspection but the cars I have now have been keepers the Minx has been here eight or nine years some of which it spent in pieces being rebuilt and my daily Citroen has been here about six years and has attracted another for impossible to find spares.
I bought my Cutlass in 1995, when I was fresh out of high school. Finally took it on a cross country trip in 2013, when this picture was taken. It is currently at the body shop receiving a new color combo. I’ve had a ton of other cars come and go over the last 22 years, but this one is the keeper.
I already mentioned it in the Torino thread, 45 years and counting for our family. It was ordered new by my dad in 1972, he picked every option. It has been driven every year since new but stored every winter. It was daily driven up until about 13 years ago when I took ownership. It has been repainted, but never restored.
Best Torino Ever! Amazing, Bill. 45 years. Such a beautiful car, too.
The “Laser Stripe” as well. I didn’t know that was even available in 72 !
Thanks for the nice words guys. DweezilAZ, the laser stripe remained an option until 1973. The 1973 version was higher up on the body side, and IMO less attractive.
I have usually tended to not keep cars for extended periods of time, although those times seem to be getting longer. I just replaced my ’01 PT Cruiser at 4 months short of 10 years. In hindsight, that was about three years too long.
Longest owned, by far, was my ’64 Rambler American. A hobby car that ended up being more garage-space-sucker than hobby. Owned about a month shy of 22 years.
Nice looking Rambler. My dad had a light blue 64 Rambler American station wagon, but only for 3 years. He would have kept it longer , but we moved to Europe, and he bought a 67 VW microbus, last year of the split windshield. Had that 4 years. But there are other cars he kept longer, like the 51 Plymouth business coupe for 20 years, and a 83 Honda Civic wagon for 20 years. The longest I’ve had a car is about 10 years, a 96 Toyota Tercel.
Oldest vehicle – Suzuki motorcycle, bought new, 1975, still have it. Runs well.
Oldest car – 1984 Jeep Wagoneer (XJ) bought that year as a dealer demo. Still have it, but its only fit for parts now.
I bought 3 vehicles in ’89 to 93 that I still have – ’68 T-Bird, 77 Mark V, and ’81 Fleetwood.
I’ll nominate my wife for our family’s prize for the longest owned car.
When she was born, her parents owned a 1967 Mustang… it was the car that took her home from the hospital. It was her family’s car growing up… she learned to drive on it… she drove it to her high school graduation… drove it to her college graduation… drove it to her law school graduation. She was still using the Mustang to commute to work in the mid 1990s, when the car was 27 years old.
Unfortunately, after 27 years of being a daily driver, and about 300,000 miles, it had too many issues (rust and otherwise) to make it feasible to keep. So, she replaced it with a 1995 Thunderbird, which we still own.
Some of you really need to do COALS on these cars you have had for so long. There are some great rides
My Falcon ute, bought it in 2005 it was 2 years old 30000 Kms, now it has 205000 Kms.
Best car I have ever had, suits all my needs, great highway car.
Guess I have to face up too things failing on it soon, but for now everything works, AC still ice cold, CD player still works etc.
ps. rear suspenion is not this low, ute has a load of crushed rock in the back , couldn’t resist taking the picture.
don’t worry – everything is pretty reasonable to fix on a Falcon pricewise. I’ve had my 02 BA for 6 years now and it’s up to 270000 Ks, but I’ve replaced heaps of wear and tear stuff. Engine and gearbox are made of granite and indestructible though – I’ve had to top up with 1 litre of oil in total between services in all those years (fingers crossed, touches wood)
and remember the Mk1 was the ‘practice’ version not really meant for people to buy 🙂
45 years – 1971 Dodge Charger – My dad bought it new and it was passed on to me which I still own.
30 years – 1987 Chevy Astro – bought it new and I still own it.
I’ve had numerous cars under a year, 68 Impala SS, 69 F100 custom cab, 72 Pontiac Ventura (Nova wanna be), 82 Escort, and a 75 Charger SE to name a few. Our family cars I tend to keep about 5 years. My trucks, well that varied, my 80 I had 9 years, my 90 about the same, the 97 for 2 years, the 99 for 3. Then in 2002 I bought my current truck and fell off the planet. Just never wanted to get rid of it.
In 1974 I bought my 68 mustang coupe after graduation. Then up marriage in 77 I sold it. For my 40th birthday present my wife bought it back. It was severely trashed but I redid the whole thing and still have it. I am 61 now. So I suppose I’m all over the map when it comes to keeping vehicles.
My brother, poor guy, owned a 1989 Pontiac LeMans for ten years. That’s the family record. My record is 8 years on the 1989 Chevy Beretta I bought new.
I came from a family where any car was considered a luxury. Consequently, we have a history of keeping cars until they die – I reckon it’s best for the environment that way. But you need to choose wisely in the first place.
Around these parts, my ’74 Cortina holds the record at 33 years and 450,000km.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/cars-of-a-lifetime/car-of-a-lifetime-1974-ford-cortina-living-beyond-the-design-brief/ . Still can’t believe it lasted that long!
Second is our ’00 Diamante at 17 years, 350,000km. and still going strong. It’s needed a LOT less maintenance than the Cortina ever did.
Shortest was Jane’s ’84 Corona at 5 years and 80,000km before the big ends let go after the oil pressure sender snapped off. Even Toyota can build lemons.
I should also mention “Peanut”, my late aunt’s ’84 Suzuki Swift. She was given to me in ’05 for my daughter as a first car. At 21 years old, Peanut had only done 19,000km. That’s under 12,000 miles. Little old lady? Right.
My daughter soon got the mileage up travelling to university, and eventually bought a Honda Jazz to replace Peanut. About 80,000km by then.
My brother-in-law gave me $500 for Peanut and took her up to their farm in southern New South Wales, where she’s the go-to-town car if the trip doesn’t warrant getting out the Nissan Patrol. She’s also the wider family’s spare car if anyone needs wheels, and has taught three grandchildren how to drive.
I’m not sure of the current mileage, but Auntie Merle’s old Swift is still going strong, still in the one family.
I had my 1987 Cadillac Brougham for 6 years; my mother has had her 2005 Prius since new (so 12 years plus), and my grandmother had a 1992 Honda Civic sedan from new until 2008, when she moved into assisted living (16 years). I hope to have my 1975 Oldsmobile Ninety Eight far more time, as unlike those it isn’t a daily driver.
2002 Dodge Durango. 15 years from new and counting.
By no means a perfect vehicle, and it is not aging as gracefully as some in our fleet.
Not to get all maudlin about it, but we did we raise a family in it. The kids that were babies in it are now driving it. The last child will get their first chance to drive it very soon.
It has taken our family on many adventures, frequently involving boats. We’ve bolted the opposite direction in it in tornadic storms. Two family members came out of major crashes in it, and the Durango itself survived the two vehicles that were totaled when they tangled with it.
It is a family favorite among our kids, and still looks quite dapper from the proverbial 20 feet.
Salt country is not being kind to it, and some cancer is forming. How much longer it will go is unknown. But, I’m rather positive that I’ll be hearing stories about it at family gatherings where grandchildren may roam.
1963 Corvette convertible, bought used by my Dad in 1967. Still in the family…in my garage, now. Fifty years or so.
Second place is nowhere close, a 1976 Dodge Aspen bought new. In 1998 I was offered really silly money for it (ran perfectly, garaged all its life, looked virtually new). 22 years.
My current longroof 510 is the record holder at 18 years in my possession but It’s my toy. Most daily drivers were as little as 1 year for the 1994 Mercury with a rod knock that developed 6 months into my ownership and a strange transmission issue since new to 10 years for the only vehicle I ever bought new which was a 1993 Nissan KingKab. I would have had the truck longer if the cop that hit me had only followed procedure. Too much adrenalin I guess. Shut the siren off and accelerated through a red light, wrong side of the road, from a block away. Bang! Blind intersection, I saw a black and white blurr tear the front end of the truck off the frame as it zoomed on by.
Wait a minute. The 89 Corolla that my mother passed on to me was in the family for 20 years. I only had it for four years but replaced it when it looked like I would be commuting 100+ km/day. At 325K km it was perfectly happy with a 10km/day commute and could have gone on a few more years. Stop and go on the 403/401 parking lot would have killed it in short order.
I still have some Datsun parts pulled from parts cars way back in the 1980s but that doesn’t count though. I have a hood and fenders for a 510 that I picked up from an old racer in 1996. They have been in dry storage since being removed in 1975 when a race car was built. Ok I’ll admit that I have a problem.
As I have gotten older (currently age 46), I have become a keeper. My usual method is to buy a relatively inexpensive new or late-model used car and keep it as long as possible. Usually my wife gets the car when it’s new, and passes it on to me the next time we buy a new vehicle. Our record holder is a 1999 Jeep Cherokee XJ base model that we bought new in February 1999 and had for more than 14 years, until the fall of 2013. We had the Cherokee for more than nine years after the point when the loan was paid off.
We also had a 1995 Ford Escort that we bought new in February 1995 and had for a few weeks short of exactly 12 years, until 2007. We currently have a 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer EXT that we bought in February 2007 and have now had for more than 10 years.
None of those are the overall record holder for my family, however. That title goes to a 1989 GMC S-15 Jimmy that my dad bought new in the summer of 1989 and had, if I recall correctly, until some time in 2013. Towards the end, it was in pretty ratty condition, and wasn’t driven much, serving as kind of a mobile dumpster. He would keep it parked in the garage with back window open, would throw trash bags in the back of it, then would drive it to the transfer station once a week to get rid of the trash. Up to that point, my parents hadn’t kept their cars for an unusually long time, and my mother continued to get new cars regularly, but as my parents aged and no longer had as much disposable income, I guess my dad felt that he couldn’t justify getting a new vehicle to replace the Jimmy, and he just kept it indefinitely.
My dad’s ’84 Dodge Power Ram has been with us since 1990 which would make around 27 years. He’s a Ford man, but that rig has been there since I started driving it in HS. Yup, I give him the expected level of grief over that pretty often. COAL here: https://www.curbsideclassic.com/cars-of-a-lifetime/coal-1984-dodge-power-ram-the-seed-of-mopar-mania-is-planted/
Me personally, it was my ’00 Jeep Wrangler TJ. Bought myself a late 29th birthday present in April 2003, sold in May of 2013 so I could buy my Rumble Bee. Of everything Ive owned, it was one of the best fits for me. And it was reliable as an anvil. The radiator sprang a leak needing replacement (there was a bad run of them around 2000) and a track bar bushing turned to mush causing the infamous death wobble. Outside of that, I put nearly 100K on the thing including moving cross country dragging everything I owned in the world behind it on a 4×8 foot Harbor Freight utility trailer. Good times, and I miss it all the time. Sunny days, camping trips and an unexplored dirt road bring those pangs on very often.
1968 Cougar: bought April 20, 1968 so 49 years and counting.
1968 Mustang: bought May 1983 so 34 years and counting.
All others under 15 years or less.
Shortest was 1980 Honda Civic wagon whose camshaft wiped a lobe at 100,000 mi. after four years. I have never owned another Honda since then.
Can’t edit in photo as the two sit together.
My wife and I tend to be keepers, especially in more recent decades as cars have become more reliable.
Longest — 1980 Volvo 240 2-door, purchased used in Sept. 1982 and sold in June 2003, almost 21 years. It wasn’t reliable like today’s Toyotas and Hondas, but repairs were reasonably infrequent and not costly, I could do a lot of the work myself, and salvage parts were plentiful (a bonus of such a lengthy model run for the car).
Probably going for the record — 1998 Nissan Frontier, purchased from my employer as a very lightly used vehicle in August 1998; it will cross the 19-year mark in a few months, with only 92,000 miles and very little rust, especially compared to the Volvo, which was sold at 245K miles.
Third — 2004 Toyota Camry, purchased new by us, now owned by our son in NYC with somewhere north of 165K miles. Zero fluid leaks — first car we (and now he) owned to pull that off!
My brother out in the San Diego area still daily drives his 1986 Camaro he bought new.
16 years out of a high mileage 600$ 78 ford Ltd landau 460. Lasted 35 years and 400000 miles. Died in wreck when second owner a blind old lady turned in front of a Toyota going 60. She survived. Car caved in rear quarter and door and axle knocked loose and cracked.
I’ve got a few long-timers; I tend to get attached to my cars.
April 1st marked thirty-nine (39) years since I bought my ’57 Austin-Healey, a 100/6 2-seater (most were 4-seaters). Still in regular contact, via e-mail, with the seller too (though she really doesn’t like to be reminded of how many years have gone by, lol).
November 11th, 2000 is when my wife and I bought our first BMW, a CPO ’99 M Rdstr, so over sixteen (>16) years so far with it.
August 30th, 2001 we took delivery of a new 2001 BMW M Rdstr at the factory’s Performance Delivery Center (they’re built in Spartanburg, South Carolina). Fifteen (>15) years and counting. This was only the second “new” car I’d ever had; the first was a 1973 MGB, also delivered immediately before the Labor Day Weekend. The wait was worth it!
No immediate plans to turn loose of any of them (or my ’99 M Coupe) anytime soon, though my wife’s 2011 X5 just rolled over 100,000 miles, and she’s been grumbling lately…
The two things you and I share together Paul are a love of rough but ready daily drivers that somehow just keep going and six cylinder engines. A few years ago on the Automotive section of City-Data someone asked if people celebrated their car’s different anniversaries. Although it technically isn’t an anniversary I replied “Yes I do. I pat ’em on the trunk lid and thank ’em for making it just one more day!”. As far as length of ownership, on Friday November 18th 1983, two months into my 17th year, I shelled out $625 for a 71 2dr Maverick with the 170, and a AM radio with a Radio Shack FM Converter and a TV speaker on the package tray. Even though it no longer is roadworthy I still own it. On May 11th 1974 my Dad traded in (for $700!) the first car he had ever bought new, a Metallic Blue 65 Impala SS on a 74 Mercury Montego MX Brougham that I currently own. And in the spring of 1980 when my Grandma’s 67 Impala, which was the only new car she ever bought in her almost 87 years, was totaled, she bought a 21,000 mile 74 Impala 2dr Sport Coupe from the original purchaser that I now also own with 76,000 original miles. I also have my 71 4dr Maverick I bought in July of 88 for $1200 from the local Chevy dealer.
Glad to see that I am in good company. Did a lot of wheeling and dealing as a teenager. That all stopped when I got married in 1987. Still married.
17 years – 1988 Chevy S-10 4×4, bought new. Sold 2005 with 249,000 miles, became a farm truck in Mexico.
12 years – 2005 Dodge Cummins Diesel replaced it. Bought new, still have it. Just broken in with 134,000 miles. Will drive it until I can’t.
17 years – 2000 Honda Accord V6 coupe, bought new, still have it. 392,000 miles, driven daily, Everything still works.
15 years – 2000 Kawasaki ZR7 bought used in 2002, Sold to BIL in 2009. Bought it back last year. 38,000 miles.
45 years – 1972 Honda trail 70 bought new by my folks. Mine since 1979. 1631 miles.
That’s Mom sandwiched between my brother and I. Dad’s 1969 F250 with Dreamer camper in the background – 23 years. Should have bought it from him.
2001 VW Eurovan.
91,000 miles.
Will drive it until it croaks.
Had an 89 Jeep Wrangler for 13 years. The old 258 was dieing so I swapped it for a junkyard 99 4.0 liter, lifted it, painted it, and probably put in 5 times more money than I’d ever get out of it. Gave it to my daughter and her husband 2 years ago so it’s still in the family. I Drive an 08 GMC Envoy that we bought new and was my wife’s until we bought a new Buick last year. It has 115k miles, has been in 18 states, 3 fender benders and has hail damage but I still like it too much to get rid of it.
Longest ever in the family was Dad’s 1964 Volvo 1800S. It was a repo he bought from a friend and kept for 20 years. Black with a red leather interior. Incredibly well built with thick doors like an American car.
One of my last memories of it was sneaking out once in high school to drag race a classmate’s parent’s orange VW Type 3. I thought for sure I was going to win because I had more power but he pulled away on every shift and it sounded great going up through the gears. He was one of those guys who was always working on cars so I think I got scammed but also that Volvo was very heavy and slow.
Got my first car as a college graduate in 1998. Kept it til 2005. Put 100k on it, bought it for 25k and sold it for 2500. It was pretty lemony by modern standards.
Didn’t own a car for a while but now I’m on my second lease. Sucks to have a payment every month, but on the other hand everything’s covered so there’s no $1000+ surprises. Plus we only drive about 2000 miles a year so leasing is very reasonable compared to an actual car note.
I feel like a piker in this crowd.
The longest was from Feb 98 to Sept 2013, my trusty Civic. Only reason I sold it was I had retired and it was not suitable for road trips (no air or cruise). Were I still working, it would have gotten a new timing belt and shocks and would still be with me.
Pic taken for the listing in Autotrader in 2013.
1. ’87 Audi 4000 quattro, which I had from just after Xmas 1999 to August 2015.
2. ’68 Saab 96 V4, which I had from 1978 to 1991.
1999 Nissan Frontier p/u, purchased use in 2013…
1970 Ford F100, bought new, traded for a Ranger in 1990.
Went over to the dark side and bought a new 2003 Silverado, still driving. Plan to be buried in it…
1989 Ford Laser owned since 2004.
’97 Camry LE 4 cyl bought used in ’98 for low book, which was quite the feat in the day. Still reliably cranking @ 240K with no end in sight. May the journey continue…
I just bought this one last week for the princely sum of $500. I’m not daunted by the fact that it has traveled 284,000 miles to date.
About to get rid of the car I kept the longest, our 2003 Toyota Sienna. After 14 years and 290,000 miles, it still runs well, but a lot of the little things are dead (like dashboard lighting at night) and more importantly, it’s too rusted underneath to put more money into it.
All three of my daughters learned to drive in it, all three added a bit to the “patina” that it developed over time.
Donating it next week will be like saying goodbye to a member of the family.
My step father’s brother bought it in 1970 or thereabouts. My step father inherited it from his brother in 1980. My mom married him in It was parked in 1986 and I decided it restore it as my first car in 1993. It’s the Land Ark and I still have it.
Here it was in 1993.
Here it was in 1994.
And here it is today.
It’s a 1967 Impala, btw.
Those big two door fastbacks are really nice looking!
That’d be my first car which was in the family for about 8 years.
Mum took early retirement for health reasons in 1993 and – among the resulting downsizing – traded her ’92 Volvo 480 limited edition for an ’89 FIAT Panda 1000CL which my sister and I promptly christened Boo.
I learned to drive in that Panda, and – as soon as I passed my test – promptly doubled or tripled the car’s annual mileage! I drove far more and far further than Mum, though it remained hers, and stayed home in Yorkshire with her when I left for University in Aberdeen in ’96.
In early ’98 I was finishing up my second year when my sister got her University place at the equally remote Aberystwyth. The prospect of fetching us both home to Yorkshire, from opposite corners of the island each term wasn’t one that my folks relished and they generously gifted me the Panda so I could ferry myself back and forth.
The Panda’s V5 was transferred into my name and Boo stayed with me from then on. We began to rack up even higher miles between frequent highland road trips, and regular 800mile round trips between University and my folks’.
That little FIAT let me down just twice in its fairly long* life: the first was due to an incompetent/crooked mechanic who “serviced” it before Mum passed it to me – I’d gotten most of the way back to Aberdeen when it started faltering and finally cut out on a steep petrol station ramp off Kingsway in Dundee (almost rolling me back into traffic). It turned out the “service” had been nothing of the sort. The car’s points were worn out. A quick fix with new points from the AA saw me back on the road.
The other let down was totally my fault. The summer of 2000 I’d graduated and moved south to Edinburgh. Boo was still running faithfully, but (as happens with FIRE engined FIATs of that era) the plastic cooling manifold had begun to perish and slow-leak. As a broke graduate I was trying to put off the expense of replacing it… which of course resulted in a couple of hours by the side of the Edinburgh bypass one afternoon when uncharacteristically sweltering weather and (very characteristic) heavy traffic overheated the poor wee guy. A grease-monkey mate and I patched up the manifold with strips of cut up drink can and jubilee clips, until I scrounged up a proper replacement from a nearby scrapyard.
We finally parted ways in winter 2001 when the Panda’s MOT flagged up some structural welding required to keep the rear suspension roadworthy. I was still broke and didn’t in all honesty need a car living and working in Edinburgh so I sold it for the residual value of its tax disc (£50 iirc) to the same grease-monkey mate, who had the skills and wherewithal to fix the problem, and a younger brother who needed a first car. Last I heard (a few years ago now) his brother was still running it.
* long for a car in the UK anyway 🙂
Nice. The original Panda, Fiat’s modernized version of the Citroën 2CV.
1950 Chevy 3600 pickup. It has been on my family’s farm since new or nearly-new and has about 56k original miles. I rode around in it as a kid (as did my mom when she was kid). I drove it on country roads for several years before I was old enough to have a DL. Looking back, I probably abused it more than I should have, using it to pull down old sheds, barns, tree stumps, and overloading the bed. Nevertheless it ran when it was last parked about 15 years ago, it’s farm duties having been taken over by a Ford Ranger. It had a brake fluid leak, but otherwise I don’t recall it ever having mechanical problems. Of course, my memories only begin in about 1980 or so. Having been passed down to me now, its restoration is on my to-do-list for when I retire.
My current car, 15 years and 2 months now.
My Grandfather’s 1929 Mack Dump Truck We had it 70+ Years. Granted it sat in our Garage for most of its life. My Aunt who in her 90’s at the time had to give up driving her Oldsmobile that was sharing the garage with the Mack and my dad told her to sell the Mack when she was selling her Olds. I was living in California at the time and I wanted it and had a place for it but getting it from New York to California was a bit too much for me at the time so I passed on it or It may still have been in the family today.
Next was my 1995 Mitsubishi Montero 26 Years 186,000 miles. But it is kinda still in the family, sorta. Sold it to Son In laws brother.
3rd was a 1966 Plymouth Belvedere Slant 6cyl. My father bought it used to replace the 1965 Ford Falcon he gave me around 1971, then around 1975 he gave me the Belvedere and I gave it back to him a year later 150,000 mile. One transmission later it went on to around 300k milse when we lost track of it, he gave it to his girlfriends son around 1980.
1986 Mazda B-2000, that was purchased new. Kept it in great shape… UNTIL… I gave it to my teenage son to drive after he got his license. It ran great until we donated it to the local tech school in 2006, however, the ashtray was the only thing not dented.
Currently, I have a 2001 ES300 Lexus that was also purchased new and no, I haven’t let my son drive it even though he’s 35 years old now.
It’s interesting how the perception of time changes as we age. My dad (on suggestion from my 2nd grade self) surprised my mom with a fully loaded Matador station wagon in the summer of 1972 even though he really wanted an AMX. I took it to salvage in 1988 after it seemed like we’d had it forever. I bought my ’67 Mercury Brougham in 1991 and my ’75 Buick Century in 1993 and it seems like I’ve had those only a short time. I’m currently hoping the 2013 Challenger R/T Redline I special ordered will be someone else’s mint condition COAL many moons from now.
Easy…my Dad’s 1991 Honda Accord. Purchased new, and finally sold 22 years later… to his granddaughter (my niece), for $1. She named it Clarence, put new tires on it, an iPod cassette adapter, and drove it regularly, in town and out, summer and winter. An accident finally did it in, but it had well over 250,000 km on it by then. It was Dad’s last car, the one he’d owned the longest, and in the end it was by far the oldest he’d ever owned.
My 1966 Triumph Spitfire, purchased June 27, 1975, 42 years.. I’ll never sell it, took a few years off from driving…got the hip and knee replaced… back driving. 2nd my 1977 Triumph Bonneville, purchased new for$1810.00 and I still have the original bill of sale and warranty card…40 years on….If someone had said to me after 40+ I’d still have them I’m not sure I would have believed them. I never get tired of driving or looking at them. : -)
In April, 1971, I purchased a 1971 VW Super Beetle Convertible which I still own. Born in Germany, it turned 46 years of age this past February. Member of the family.
Presently, my daily driver is a 2001 Ford F-250 7.3 liter diesel Lariat Crew Cab which I purchased new in September, 2000. It will be 17 years old this coming August. The perfect truck.
1960 Porsche 356 my dad bought new which I still drive today.
My 41 year sole ownership of a 1976 911S, bought in 1976 with every penny that I had saved until then while living in a small efficiency apartment–and it has been worth every penny spent with 41 years of delightful driving experiences . This will be a lifetime ownership experience.
In addition to my 41 year ownership of my 911, I bought and still own my favorite car, a 1973 Porsche 914 2.0, in 1979 with now 38 years of ownership. This 914 was driven by Paul N. last year in Eugene. Last year this car also carried me and my co-drivers on 3 rallies in the mountains of British Columbia and Colorado, and then in Ontario on roads bordering the Algonquin Provincial Park. Last year it covered over 10,000 miles of smiles as an automotive equivalent of an ever flying DC3. This car is also a lifetime keeper.
I’m really not a keeper though my two ’07 cars, bought new, a Mustang and F150, are still with me. I will usually keep a car for at least ten years. My ’96 Mustang (bought when almost fifteen yeras old) is going on around five years in my ownership. The longest thing I ever owned was my ’77 Harley XLCR which was modified quite a bit. I had that for 22 years. Truth is, I was pretty tired of it when I sold it. I don’t know how long I’ll hold onto my two current Jags, an ’89 XJS convertible and a ’97 XJ6. I would like an old pre smog manual model to hold for the long term. I saw a 1954 Mark VII Jag sedan that tempted me. Unfortunately, my family could not afford to buy interesting cars so their are no legacy cars in my ownership. If my son can ever afford to buy a place of his own someday, I will be glad to pass on something interesting to him.