How many years will a new car last before it breaks down often?

If you buy a brand new car and keep up with maintenance, how many years can you expect to get before it begins breaking down often, requiring frequent and/or expensive repairs? 5, 10, 15, 20?

I know this can vary depending on the model, but let's assume a Honda or equivalent Japanese car.

My honda took about 10 years and needed almost everything replaced. Now it runs like new. Its pretty amazing. At the 5-8 year mark you gotta do some big maintenance but your question said doing all the maintenance right?

It varies widely. One of the worst cars I ever had (1984 Dodge 600) was one of the three cars I bought brand new. It first broke down after a week, had constant repairs under warranty, and literally dozens of repairs once the warranty had expired. At 90K miles it was no longer worth replacing the timing chain. Similarly, my sister-in-law had a pair of Kias (I don't know why she bought the second) that cost more in uncovered repairs than the car payments were.

People who bought 1997 Honda Accords had pretty good service. People who bought 2003 Accords had one of the least reliable cars made, with as many as 3 or more transmission failures in a handful of years.

I'm currently driving a 2002 Prius with 173K miles that has had only one 12 volt battery replacement, wiper blades, windshields (as common here in Arizona as worn out tires) and tires in 12 years. The brakes are original and barely half worn.

So your answer is somewhere between a week and more than 12 years.

BTW - it is important to differentiate between longevity and reliability. I had a 1985 Volvo that died in an accident at 290K miles but was terribly unreliable. Rugged but undependable.

There's a guy in New York State that bought a Brand New Volvo P1800 in 1966. He still drives it every day, and he has PROOF that the car has gone over 3 MILLION miles.

The US stopped exporting automobiles to Cuba in the 1960's, but if you were to visit Havana today, you'd see hundreds of vintage American cars still on the road and still being used every day.

Bottom line… If you take care of your car, there's no telling how long it will last.

There are millions of 25 year old cars on the road today providing reliable trouble free service.

More important than years, is the mileage. You should expect at least 100,000 miles from a new vehicle with normal factory recommended maintenance without major problems. Actually, the engine will probably be good for 200,000 miles, but after 100,000 miles you may experience problems with the transmission, cooling system, AC, power steering and brakes, and other things too numerous to mention.

My 1998 Honda CRV with 120k is still reliable with only one major repair. The drive shaft CV joints went bad. You can probably expect 10-12 years without major problems if you drive 12k per year, depending on how hard you drive it, and how meticulous you are with regular maintenance.

I keep all my cars 10-12 years and 130-150K miles, and with good maintenance, no major repairs are needed. Only small things like a window regulator, but nothing that disables the car.

You can expect to wear out your new car to last 15 years if you do not race it. If you maintain it within the schedule that that your car dealer suggests, and if you do not find yourself is one of those freeway chain-reaction automobile crashes. Good luck.

I was a college professor of education who never bought a new car.

Besides lemon cars, its all about YOU and how YOU take care of your car. General maintenance is the most important thing that most people ignore. If you keep on top of any problems and try catching them before it gets costly the car could last you decades. Its all about YOU.

With the best recommended maintenance the body will rot away before the car will let you down! If you had listed the year make and model of your new car we could have given you a better honest answer. Some new cars are mush more dependable than others.