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Long Term Relationships: 15 Vehicles Owners Hold Onto For 15 Or More Years

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While about a third of those shopping for a new vehicle these days winds up leasing one for a two- or three-year period, usually as a way to save money as opposed to buying a car outright, that means making perpetual car payments. As with investments, the smart money buys and holds, literally squeezing the last miles out of an automotive investment before passing it on to other buyers or relegating it to the scrap heap.

But the question is which models are the most amenable for entering into a long-term relationship? To answer that question, the statisticians at the car search engine iSeeCars.com analyzed 350,000 models from the 1981-2004 model years that changed hands last year to find out which ones their original owners are most likely to keep in their driveways for 15 or more years. 

As it turns out, the top 15 cars, trucks, and sport-utility vehicles in this regard all come from Japanese brands. Ten of them come from Toyota, with another four from Honda. A single Subaru rounds out the list, which we’re featuring below. “Japanese vehicles, especially Toyota and Honda, are known for their reliability and durability,” explains iSeeCars CEO Phong Ly. “Owners are more likely to hold onto cars that are still dependable and don’t require a great deal of expensive maintenance.”

The top model in this regard is the Toyota Highlander crossover SUV, with 18.3% of those sold owned for a decade and a half or longer. Perhaps not surprisingly, given the recent seismic shift in consumer preferences, the list of extended ownership models is dominated by SUVs.

“SUVs are the vehicles most represented on this list with seven, but the longest-kept vehicles do include a mix of additional vehicle types including pickup trucks, sedans, a minivan, and even a hybrid,” says Ly. “While American automakers have abandoned smaller cars from their lineups to focus on trucks and SUVs, the proven dependability and solid reputation of these vehicles has not only kept them in production, but helped them remain popular even amid their segment’s decline.” 

The pickup trucks enjoying the longest ownership periods are not the usual suspects from Detroit, but rather the midsize Toyota Tacoma and full-size Toyota Tundra models at 14.5% and 14.2%, respectively. The domestic pickup having the longest-term ownerships is the midsize Chevrolet Colorado, with 10.3% of them held onto for 15 or more years at a time. Curiously, the truck that’s the least likely to see extra-long continuous service is the nation’s biggest selling vehicle of any kind, the full-size Ford F-150 at 5.9%. According to Ly, “This suggests that F-150 owners likely replace their trucks before the fifteen-year mark because they want a newer model.”

The sole hybrid-powered vehicle on the list is one that’s been in consistent production the longest, namely the Toyota Prius. “Owners have the incentive to keep the Prius on the road for longer to accrue fuel savings to offset the higher upfront cost,” Ly notes. “The Prius also attracts practical buyers who want to take advantage of Prius’ low cost of ownership due to its reliability and fuel efficiency by keeping the vehicle on the road for as long as possible.”

While there are zero sports cars among the top 15, those that are held onto the longest include the Audi S4 at 7.9% of original owners, followed by the Mazda MX-5 Miata (7.7%), Chevrolet Camaro (7.1%), BMW Z4 (7.0%), and the BMW M5 (6.9%). Among luxury vehicles, the midsize Acura MDX enjoys the highest level of long-term ownership at 8.4%, with runners up including the BMW 3 Series (8.2%) Lexus IS 300 (8.0%), Audi S4 (7.9%), and the Mercedes-Benz C-Class (7.2%).

Here are the 15 vehicles original owners are most likely to keep for 15 years or longer, with their percentages of long-term possession noted:

  1. Toyota Highlander SUV (18.3%)
  2. Toyota Sienna minivan (15.5%)
  3. Toyota Tacoma pickup truck (14.5%)
  4. Toyota Tundra pickup truck (14.2%)
  5. Subaru Forester SUV (12.8%)
  6. Toyota RAV4 SUV (12.7%)
  7. Honda Pilot SUV (12.6%)
  8. Honda CR-V SUV (12.4%)
  9. Toyota Prius hybrid (11.9%)
  10. Toyota 4Runner SUV (11.8%)
  11. Honda Odyssey minivan (11.6%)
  12. Toyota Corolla sedan (11.4%)
  13. Toyota Camry sedan (11.0%)
  14. Honda Civic sedan/coupe (11.0%)
  15. Toyota Land Cruiser SUV (10.6%)

(The industry average is 7.7%)

You can read the full report from iSeeCars.com here.

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