[luckyjimmy]

I've seen on some posts that several members have had their old cars for quite a few years - some even had them until they literally fell to bits. How long do forum members intend to keep their new VW Up? Also, any tips for those keeping their cars for longer periods ( >3 years)?

 

[whassup]

Had a Polo that we kept for about 10 years, now we keep them for around 30 months. Dealer explained that closer to three years the costs (to them) go up ie extending the warranty up from £100 to £300, MOT, and a bigger margin in case of repairs. Therefore you get a better overall deal around this time.I was certainly happy with the deal I got, plus I never have to worry about repairs, new tyres and the dreaded MOT

 

[idletony]

I normally keep mine 4 years but this will be going back at 3 years due to finance.
Maybe get the up! GT next

 

[whassup]

Me too!

 

[Roadrunner]

We plan to keep this long term

 

[Leif]

Had a Polo that we kept for about 10 years, now we keep them for around 30 months. Dealer explained that closer to three years the costs (to them) go up ie extending the warranty up from £100 to £300, MOT, and a bigger margin in case of repairs. Therefore you get a better overall deal around this time.I was certainly happy with the deal I got, plus I never have to worry about repairs, new tyres and the dreaded MOT

I think whether or not it pays to keep it a long time depends on luck, build quality, driving conditions and driving style. Some cars last yonks with modest faults, some have a long list of expensive repairs.

In the case of my Ford Ka, the savings on fuel (~£800 per year), road tax (£150 per year) and servicing made a change a no brainer, even though it was a forced change.

For my Up, it depends when servicing costs start to increase dramatically. It's not an expensive car is it, unlike some. I will sell before it wears out, as I don't intend to find myself in the position of urgently needing a new car again. Maybe 5 years and I'll sell, depends how I get on. I really like the Ka. I really like the Up. The Up GT is the 10 ton gorilla in the room.

 

[Rednaxela]

Planning to keep ours 8 years.

 

[whassup]

Thats very precise!

 

[kirstyr]

i imagine mine will be kept for 10-15 years. (ie till it starts costing too much to repair). I only do 6000 miles per year, which helps.
Had a clio before this (12 years old!) and only traded in because it probably needed £600 investment at MOT. The up has saved me at least £750 a year so far based on insurance/tax/servicing/MOT.

 

[ZumbaQueen]

I had my Polo in January last year but knew I wasn't going to keep it, I just didn't fall in love like I thought I would plus we took a stock vehicle instead of choosing what we wanted but the up! is my spec and everything so I think there will be no bonding problems and hopefully we'll rust together happily!!

 

[Mumski1]

Had my polo for nearly 2 years and only changed as now on my own and not having my husband who did all car work (same company for 47 years) felt I needed somthing cheap to run and would keep me going even if I decided to change at later date, have to say had my baby for a day and I just love it.SO maybe we will rust together or maybe I might change !!

 

[luckyjimmy]

I really wanted to keep my previous car, a Renault Clio, but it was going to cost roughly £1000 to keep it on the road for another year. It needed a new timing belt, service, four tyres, new disks and pads plus the usual MOT bill and road tax. It seemed less of a drain on resources to buy a new car than keep the old one.

I like the idea of keeping a car until it is well and truly worn out but I've never had the confidence to run my cars to much over 70 - 80k miles. A breakdown or some big bills usually start the alarm bells ringing.

 

[ZumbaQueen]

I must say it helps if you have someone to do work on the car. We have a Mitsubishi Delica which is Japanese and was imported in 94 so she's got some age to her as she was running over there for years before that. Mark the other half is a car nut and has the car running well and we don't pay garage bills he does all his own work. Even when the head gasket went last year he did everything himself and it cost us a fraction of the price it would at a garage

 

[luckyjimmy]

I used to do all my own repairs/servicing but was usually beat by the weather (no garage) or having to buy that special tool franchised dealerships would not sell you. Only having one car did not help either - having it in bits, on the driveway, on a Sunday night when it was needed the next day was not a good idea. Eventually, you just don't need that kind of hassle and just 'pay up'.

 

[clowesa]

I normally keep mine 4 years but this will be going back at 3 years due to finance.
Maybe get the up! GT next

Thinking the same myself but I'll wait till the three years are up before I finally decide on ditch, keep or swap

 

[willowaz]

I'll be keeping mine for the long term... at least 5 years i would guess at, if not alot longer than that

my current polo is 12 years old now, Ive been the longest owner having had it for the past 6 years, and i am only getting rid of her because like you say, fixing her is costing more than she is worth now...

 

[R1ch]

I normally keep mine 4 years but this will be going back at 3 years due to finance. 
Maybe get the up! GT next

Thinking the same myself but I'll wait till the three years are up before I finally decide on ditch, keep or swap 

Yep, I'm with you guys. Keep for three and would probably be very tempted with the GT.

 

[Bingalau]

I've had various cars over the years and kept them for different lengths of time. Sometimes when being posted abroad for two years or more there was no point in doing anything else but selling it on. The longest I have kept a car was a Golf, which was one ofmy first way back in time. I got rid of it after it had done 100,000 miles.



This new Up! White with extras I shall be keeping as long as I can foresee. I am now 82 years old and can't see me buying again. By the way I am in favour of compulsory testing every few years for us oldies. I've seen the way some of us drive. I had a neighbour across the road who was in to his nineties and never passed a test. He could hardly see, and it used to take him about a quarter of an hour to back out of his driveway. It was unsafe to park a car anywhere near him when he was backing out. He only used it to drive half a mile to the shops and the same back again. It always amazed me that he got away with it. I tried to explain to him that he would have been in pocket if he just used taxi's but he wouldn't buy it. He was a typical eccentric old geezer. (Maybe I am getting that way too)? He eventually died of natural causes.

 

[luckyjimmy]

Bingalau: I'm in favour of testing not just older folks but every driver, perhaps every ten years or so. Testing is not the right word for what I have in mind - 'refresher course' is more accurate. A half day refresher course with a practical emphasis would help everyone.


For older folks, perhaps a routine medical check up would be more useful, rather than an actual driving test (obviously other health related issues would be picked up in this case). Incidentally, by law we have our cars checked for their operational fitness, why don't we have routine health checks for ourselves as we get older (with the UK population average age increasing, surely some bean counter will have done the sums)?

 

[Leif]

Bingalau: I'm in favour of testing not just older folks but every driver, perhaps every ten years or so. Testing is not the right word for what I have in mind - 'refresher course' is more accurate. A half day refresher course with a practical emphasis would help everyone.


For older folks, perhaps a routine medical check up would be more useful, rather than an actual driving test (obviously other health related issues would be picked up in this case). Incidentally, by law we have our cars checked for their operational fitness, why don't we have routine health checks for ourselves as we get older (with the UK population average age increasing, surely some bean counter will have done the sums)?

Would it work? Some of the most dangerous drivers are the ones who slow
down at speed cameras, then speed up to dangerous speeds afterwards.
They'd do the same for the test i.e. behave during the test, revert
afterwards.

And some people, quite a lot, might fail, then you'd
have people losing their jobs, and would that go down well? It sounds a
good idea, but I'm not convinced it would work in practice. Maybe if
someone has an accident which was their fault, they should go on a
compulsory course to at least try and teach them to drop bad habits e.g.
tail gating, inappropriate speed, or whatever.