As long as the car is safe, somewhat fuel efficient, and maintenance doesn’t cost you an arm and leg, it’s a smart decision to keep driving that old car. Nothing depreciates in value quite as quickly as new cars. Don’t worry too much about your friends’ comments. Cars are a status symbol, and people who don’t follow the mainstream consumerism of buying a fancy new model open themselves up to some remarks. But it doesn’t matter as long as you are happy with it.

It seems like you should keep the Yaris, even if you get a new car. That little guy is your trusty friend. Take care of it.

We have a 15 year old Yaris that I’m pretty sure my 1 year old will learn to drive on in another 15 years 😂 I remember the feeling selling my first car too, it was a weird attachment after being the first “big purchase” I had ever made in my life. That car will have a lot of years left in it if you keep it maintained (although I’m not sure how the TUV you mention in your country works - I don’t think my country has anything comparable). The feeling of having no car payments is bliss - when our cars get paid off we just keep transferring the same payment amount into a savings account to help pay for a new car when the time comes.

If it works, absolutely do not get rid of it. If you can afford to keep it and get a second vehicle or pass it on to someone you know. Because the moment you get a new vehicle it will have 1/100th the reliability and you’ll sorely miss it. Not that im saying “they were built better back then,” but something thats worked this long probably will keep working for a while (bathtub curve of failure)

You can start saving now to buy a newer car once this one dies.

I felt that way about many cars. They can be a part of your life and define you in odd ways. There are other cool versions of you out there when you are ready though. Don’t be scared to go find them.

I’m weird I guess, in that I have never really owned a normal car. Everything I got was cool and everything I owned I sold for more money than what I paid. Like my 71’ FJ40 over doubled its value over the years that I owned it. My last Camaro was like a totally different car with a different interior, motor, rear end, suspension, and supercharger. I started riding a bicycle everywhere to justify building that one for higher compression than pump gas supports and running a water injection setup on a street car. I was a real car nut that learned to paint cars and owned a body shop just because that is the one aspect of car culture that the fewest people are capable of doing.

Once upon a time I fell on hard times in a recession and had to leave said Camaro with a friend and move back across the country for awhile. It had a cracked block and I had no way to fix that on the fly. I got a job at a machine shop, built a new motor, got a $400 Fiero, fixed it, replaced the passenger seat with my motor and drove 2k miles to toss the motor in the Camaro without a cherry picker or anything but basic tools. I sold the Fiero and then drove the Camaro back 2k miles across the country while troubleshooting and tuning a fresh motor in a beast of a hotrod. That was an epic journey. I even had a ridiculous clutch issue where a stupidly designed plastic ring broke and wiped the disk in the middle of a native American reservation in New Mexico and I had to wait a week to get shipped a replacement, then pulled a trans on the side of the freeway and tossed in the clutch.

Cars that can be owned will be worth a lot more in the future based on the present trajectory of the world. Even if we start swapping engines for motors and batteries that is more valuable than anything new. New cars running proprietary software that is connected to the manufacturer cannot be owned completely and are not reparable. New cars are worthless long term and are already destroying the independent used car market. We still haven’t seen this end game but it is only a matter of time before cars become the new HP inkjet printers. It is already a situation where only the manufacturer’s dealer can service the car so when that stops, so does the car. There is no longer a possibility to buy something cheap or repairing it yourself. I can repair anything including reverse engineering electrical hardware, but not the entire software stack.

In that sense, keeping anything you can actually own is an investment in yourself and your future. Citizens in a democracy are never asked to trust others and sign away their autonomy. Not owning tools and property while trusting others is feudalism. In the present way the world is changing, your old car has far more value than you may realize right now.

My yaris is a 2007. So I feel you, very much :)

Keep it maintained, rebuild the motor if it dies…no reason to buy a new car if you enjoy this one.

I have 3 supras with over 250k miles on them, have multiple 20+ year old Lexus cars with 200+k and daily drive a 100 series Landcrusier with 300k+ miles on it. Why buy new if old does just fine.

Not an issue tbh. It’s nothing bad because you just don’t feel like servicing a loan, and i get that. It’s tiring and anxiety inducing considering the economy now. I do have that feeling too, as evidently i still driving a 20yo car. If it still run and if i can get it fixing, i’m gonna keep driving it until the day it cause an irreparable issue.

Also, i swear Toyota doesn’t make car as good as their late 2000s/early 2010s car do. Thing around that time is a beast.

People making fun of you are just stupid, you’re definitely few hundred buck richer every month without servicing that loan you gonna sign into. It’s financially and environmentally responsible

I mean, why replace it if it still works fine? Maybe start squirrelling away some money every month to put towards a newer car for when it finally does die, but if I were you I’d keep using it.

My first car was a secondhand Toyota Corolla with five years on it and I ran it for another thirteen before the radiator was completely shot and my mechanic told me replacing that was more than the car was worth.

Find a decent mechanic who will understand your goal of keeping the car running, reliable, and safe. Take the car for repairs there as necessary, but also learn to do work on it yourself.

I still drive a 98 Grand Cherokee. I’ve learned how to fix anything in it, up to and including a transmission rebuild and body work.

If you’re determined enough, you can make that run forever. Its especially easy as it’s not a Jeep.

I keep cars till they really won’t go any more. Current car is from 2006, with almost 300k miles on it.

Start saving a car payment every month in a separate account. Essentially making a car payment going forward, and when you have enough in that account, then buy a car.

I still own the car I learnt to drive, thirty years ago. My dad bought this VW beetle in 1970 and gave it to me when I was twenty. Not driven it for years but I can’t let go of it either.

My truck is from 2007 and it has every feature I need and none of the ones I don’t need (except automatic wipers) As long as the engine doesn’t blow up or I don’t drift it into a ditch I’ll just keep replacing parts on it as they fail and I have no intention to upgrading to a newer model. Hell, even if I totaled it I might just buy another one exactly like the one I already have.

I’ve lost interest for new vehicles ages ago. They just become more plasticy, filled with electronics and “smart” features and other stuff that’s nice to have for as long as it works but as someone driving only 15 year or vehicles those are just going to be a headache and cost a fortune to fix. On my current truck I can do most repairs by myself and it still feels like a proper tool rather than art piece.