Performance, style, creature comforts, whatever matter more to some people than to others. BMW wouldn’t need an M class if it was other wise. Heck, there might not even be a BMW period if everyone had a run it ’till it dies policy and actually looked at cost of ownership.

Look at the cost of owning one after the warranty expires and you understand why these are leased for only that period. If these high end performance vehicles (Jag, Audi, BMW etc.) offered a Hyundia warranty their sales would plummet for a few years until that longer term was used up.

Because I drive 40K miles a year, I rarely buy new. The depreciation would destroy me. Instead, I pick up one to two year old domestics. Someone else takes the hit, and I end up with a reliable, affordable car. My current car is a Grand Marquis, it’s nearly at 100K, and I freaking love it. It’s like driving my couch down the road. At 38 years old, I also like seeing my fellow Grand Marquis drivers, who are seldom younger than 70. I tell you this much: those folks know their stuff!

I have to say I drove an approximately ‘90 Ranger (probably the most basic model) on highways for a couple of full days back around ‘92. I thought it was an awful headache-inducing torture box. But then I was just covering distance with it, not using it for carting things around.

On the subject of long-term reliability of complex modern cars… Cars and trucks are also sold into markets such as remote isolated villages all over the globe. Like the fellow with a new Grand Vitara in Pond Inlet, Canada. I haven’t heard that there’s a crisis keeping these vehicles running.

Well, I have a co-worker who will be spending his retirement years caring for his brain injured daughter. Really would have been better if they had a nice XC90.

But, I guess he had his priorities.

One of my best friends bought a bone stock long bed extended cab 2wd 1994 Ranger with the 2.3L and 5-sp manual. No air, no PW… and she recently traded it in on another Ranger after 15 years and 340K miles. The only things that were done were routine maintenance, tires, brakes, and as someone else stated earlier she also had to replace the shackles on the rear leaf springs at 250K. The engine was never opened, the transmission was never touched, and it even had it’s original clutch. She was looking at a clutch soon, and an oil leak, etc… but hey, for a $13K vehicle to last that long with no issues is simply amazing.

Now, it was in Seattle and Vancouver BC so, no road salt to eat up the body and components… and she was a NOT a gentle driver… she knew how to rev that little 2.3…

Forbes listed the Ranger along with the Colorado and the Frontier in their list of 10 most dangerous vehicles of 2009 despite that the 2009 Ranger gets 5 stars for driver front and side impact even without side air bags.

The 2010 Ranger adds side impact air bags, traction control and electronic stability control. Rangers since 1995 have had at least 4 out of 5 star crash ratings.

The only interesting car I have seen recently, that I might have taken a jump on, was a certified 08 Ranger 2wd, bed cover, I think extended cab, 5 speed manual and rubber flooring, manual windows: a real truck. And no damnable console to knock your knee into either.

I immediately fell for it becuase of it’s simplicity. Like my 95 Saturn SL 1 5M and 63 Valiant Signet with slant six and 3 speed column shifted manual: mechanically basic, easy to repair,long lived and economical to run. Some people like all the electronic toys. For me less really is more.

And I’ll bet Ford makes a profit on every one they sell just like the “archaic” Crown Victoria.

Nice to see they didn’t keep mindlessly “improving” the Ranger over the years until it was the size of a 70s F 150 and weighing 5000 lbs.

And now they have the only real domestic “compact” pickup left.And as I read somewhere else, it sells better than the Coloncanyons from GM.

It’s really becoming an icon: VW Bug, Mustang, Model T, 49 Ford, Ranger.

I could get into one. And no frigging console. What a concept.

Is the idea of buying new just getting old?

Yes, for many of us. Wants vs. needs, etc.

The increasing quality of used vehicles has now made the late-model used vehicle the biggest competitor to the new vehicle. That’s why I don’t quite get vehicles like the Aveo – for the same $10k or so you can buy a still-under-warranty Accord or Camry, so why pay big bucks for the new car smell?

Last new vehicle I bought was actually a Ford Ranger, 1999, 2wd model with the extended cab, 5 speed transmission and 2wd. Great vehicle, except for its poor winter time performance on Laramie’s ice-covered streets, it was a perfect vehicle for me at the time. Also the best “road trip” vehicle I ever owned. I put 93k on that truck in less than 4 years and the only glitch it ever had was a sensor that caused the “check engine” light to come on around 65k.

I just recently bought a “New” (to me!) 1999 Toyota 4runner with 117k miles on it. Sure it has a few dings and it’s not the prettiest vehicle in the parking lot but it runs fine, does great off road (the ‘99 had the best suspension of the 3rd gen 4runners) and best of all, it cost me less than 8 grand (as compared to 20k for the 2007 – 2008 4runners I was cross-shopping.)

Would a 2008 have been nicer? For sure. But an extra three hundred bucks in my pocket every month (more than that when you consider the lower cost of registration and insurance) is pretty nice too!

My “everyday” car is a 1986 Tercel 4wd (bought used with 34,000 on it) with 252,000. I hope to get another 50,000. I also have a 95 Ford Aerostar with 162,000. By the time they die, maybe I’ll have restored my MGB…

But in every other way the Ranger has been completely reliable and very economical (25 mpg in town, 30-33 mpg on the highway). Despite its having ABS and EFI, it’s still a very simple machine that’s easy to work on. Yes, I realize it won’t do well in any kind of crash test, but you’re either someone who worries about that kind of thing or you’re not.

Now you are talking! I paid my last car payment in 1997 and will absolutely never go back.

It’s like an old (but loyal) dog; not worth nuthin’ to nobody ‘cept me.

Next month, my wife’s car will be paid off. Traditionally, that would have meant it’s my turn to buy a new vehicle. But it’s only got 130K on the clock and I think it’s good for at least 3 more years, and maybe 5.

We’ll just put the money we would have used for another car payment aside, and when the time comes, the next car will be paid for in cash.

Buying used and keeping used are two different things though. I know what my Ranger has been through. I know what’s coming up for repair work (well, I can make an educated guess) and I know my truck hasn’t been “hooned” at all.

Ok… then I don’t see your point. In either case cars get to the point they aren’t worth fixing. In 1979 that was 100k miles in 2009 it’s 200k or 250k miles. Cars in 1979 were just worse in every conceivable way, maintenance, repair costs, durability, efficiency, etc.

I’ll ask you this: Adjusting for inflation, In 1979 was it more expensive to keep a 5 year old Chevy with 100k miles on the road for 2 years and 25k miles or is it more expensive to keep a 2004 Chevy with 100k miles on the road for 2 years and 25k miles?

That’s incredible! Never knew people could put 450k on any single car… did it have its engine/transmission rebuilt or anything? You got one great car. The family car, 94/5 Corolla I used to learn driving lasted 300k until it got totaled a few days ago.

It’s good to see cars getting used to their full potential!

However, I’d still stay far away from super used cars, especially if they’re German. Depreciation makes it look like a deal, but my BFF got an Audi cabriolet with 110k miles on it and within 10k miles NOTHING worked. Not the roof, tranny, dashboard lights, fuel gauge, suspension was saggy, etc.

But used cars can be better. Just pick sexy “boring” appliance cars that have low curb appeal.

I will never understand why the Big 2.8, especially Ford, always seems to offer their best stuff overseas.

While the Ranger is archaic (that’s also something CR said in a recent review), it’s a good kind of archaic for the class of vehicle it is. It shows that there’s still a market for that kind of vehicle here since I think even a few of my bubba neighbors have decided they can drive around a pickemup truck that’s smaller, gets somewhat better gas mileage and can still haul all the empty beer cans in the bed. Yes, that’s what the vast majority of my truck lovin’ neighbors exclusively do with their F250s and such: haul around empty beer cans.

I’m simply saying that the costs to fix standard wear items (assuming that the major things like engine block, transmission, body, etc stay in good shape) are going to be fundamentally higher the more of them there are and the more complex they are. Therefore the likelihood of repairs costing significantly more than the car is worth starts to go up as it ages, and people start viewing them as disposable. Why would I spend big money replacing a wiring harness or an engine computer on a 15 year old car when I can find a few-year old Civic for less money?