At what mileage do you draw the line when looking at a used car?
 

Of course, the obvious answer is "depends on the car"...so let me clarify a little bit.

1) You're NOT looking for a weekend car / garage queen.

2) You're looking for something to drive daily.

3) This is not a beater car, but something you'd be proud to drive. Something like a sports car or sports sedan.

When you purchased your last used car of this nature (if you ever have), where did you draw the line as far as mileage? You can always buy an aftermarket warranty.

Just curious as to your opinion. I have a general line at about 40k usually.

My 04 Ranger (purchased new) just turned 57,000 so I would say about 80K for me as it would still take awhile to get it to the 100K mark. YMMV.....

For a reliable daily driver I'd keep it under 100k. Wife's Honda is close to 250k and just starting to use a little oil, so it really will depend...

Depends on my budget. :Entropy:

The last car I bought is my current DD, 2006 Mazdaspeed6. I went a little higher on the mileage (69K) to get the options I wanted (Grand Touring, heated leather, HID).

I'm looking at new for my next car, since most of the stuff I want has ridiculously good resale.

I don't really have a limit. I have driven cars with 130,000 miles that still look and drive like a new car and I have driven ones that have under 40,000 that are pieces of shit.

GM, Ford, Dodge 10K
BMW 50K
Mercedes, Lexus, Toyota, Nissan 100K

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m...ps297bac90.jpg

My '09 Vibe GT (current DD) had just over 57,000 miles on the odo when I copped it in Feb.

European badges....10k or less.....

most Orient import badges....150k.....

American badges......depends trucks 200k, cars 120k, compacts 80k......

but I go more on over all condition of vehicle....


:seasix:

Stating the obvious, if a domestic made it over 100k miles with a minimum of mechanical drama, odds are pretty good that

a. They had some decent care
b. Theyll probably go another 100k miles if you do the same.

I'd STRONGLY disagree with your inclusion of the two (and any other) luxury make. While I'm sure a Mercedes or a Lexus will easily go well beyond the 100k mile mark, the RISK of an insanely expensive repair is always there. For that reason alone, I'd avoid any luxury/prestige make thats out of warranty, forget high miles.

:iagree:

For me it still has to be under the OE warranty. This way if i like the car and want to extend it i can do so at a reasonable price.

I haven't bought anything used with over 30k in sometime. My mustang had 23k and my G8 had 14 when i got them. They both hadd the better part of 2 years left on the warranty.

If i was in the market fore something cheap i would probably used 80-90k as a cutoff. This way i could run it for a few years and still have some resale at 110-120k.

For me it depends on the car. I'd purchase a 1995 - 2001 Jeep Cherokee with 130k on it (well maintained) without thinking twice. They just run. I wouldn't do that for a Dodge Neon...

On average though I'd say if well maintained, 100k or under.

Talking out of both sides of my mouth, I'd much prefer to buy something still under warrant and with less than 30K miles, but if I wanted to save a few bucks, I'd go up to 60K. I think that 60K is the cutoff point for dealers giving you a good trade-in allowance.

Where are the sarcasm tags when I need them?

I have a 2008 STS that I have put more money into for repairs in it's 60K miles than ALL 6 of the Nissans I have owned.





I would not buy anything with over 25-30K Miles unless it was some sort of classic Muscle car.

I would stay under 50k.

All of mine:
'99 FRC - 30k?
'02 Z06 - 40k
'05 Tahoe - 38k

Seems to be a reasonable amount of miles. I had a warranty on the Tahoe from CarMax, drove the car to 100k, one AC repair under warranty. I think that was it other than tires and oil changes. The '02, well, different story. If you're buying from a private owner, I would NOT EVER buy a car without all the repair documentation. I believed what this guy said, and he was FOS. If you buy from a dealer, get an extended warranty.

:waiting:

Back in '97, I bought a new truck.
Drove that until 2009, when I gave it to my daughter. I bought a similar but newer version 8 y/o truck with 80K miles. Nothing but trouble.
In Nov '12, I bought a 1 y/o Certified Ford with 15K miles. Original warranty transfer runs out in Aug this year for Bumper to Bumper, engine/drivetrain is in effect unti 8-2018.

I will never buy a DD with over 25K miles again.

Well, if dealers know anything about it, they won't sell a car that's over 100K kilometers or 62K miles. The trade-in cars above that go to auction. :cheers:

1989 Firebird in 2002 - 220k
1985 corvette in 2004- 110k-ish
2001 Mazda Millenia in 2006 - 52k


Others but I forgot. I'm an impulsive shopper. I guess I'd stay under 150k.

As an aside, the biggest POS we ever owned was a '85 Cadillac Eldorado, bought new.

Current fleet:

'95 Ford F150 4X4 S/C pickup. Bought 4 years ago w/about 138K on it. One Generator, a water pump, a couple sets of shocks, a TPS, and a couple sets of tires, couple of serpentine belts, and more brake pads than I can count (it eats brakes up here). In actual repairs (not maintenance items), less than $800 spent on the thing. Currently showing 276k on the odo, everything works (including the A/C and all Pwr Options). This truck goes off road a lot- never worry about breaking down. Just got this one through the smog test again- passed with flying colors. Kid puts most of the miles on this one, and he's not gentle with it.

'01 Grand Marquis. Bought 11 years ago (!) w/ 55K on it. Currently showing 206k on the odo. Generator, water pump, intake manifold. Everything works, reliable as the hills. No longer a DD- but use it on weekends. Could roll it onto a showroom floor without a detail.

'03 Taurus. Bought this one about 18 months ago with a little less than 80k on it. Put a starter in it, and a serpentine belt. Drives- and looks- as new as you could expect a car of this vintage to look. Doesn't get many miles- kiddo in college rocks this one.

I'm into all three of those vehicles for slightly over $10K. When it comes to cars, Bear can squeeze a dollar until the eagle screams. :)

depends... 100K would be the line.. and thats on a Domestic or Import 4cyl car.

Considering I drive close to 30K miles a year... I would like to get at least 2 years out of the car. :seasix:

I try to stay at about 30k for a late model daily driver I dont want to work on.
My F250 had 33k on it when I bought it three years old and the BMW had 28k on it at 3 years old. For beaters/track cars, my C5 had 137k when I bought it 4 years old and my Miata had 168k on it when I bought it 11 years old. I knew I would go through all the moving parts so i didnt care about mileage.

I only shop for vehicle I know I can repair myself...so usually pre-00 models...

I try to find a happy medium between Mileage, condition and price...

just because it has 85K miles, and is in good shape...does not mean its worth 2K over high book.

Just because its 2K under book, and well kept, does not mean its okay to look past 250K miles...

And just because its got low miles and fair price...does not mean its going to be clean and reliable.

Unless the deal was amazing, I would start backing away from a vehicle at about 50k and not go beyond 90k.

I would agree. In fact, this had a lot to do with why I started the thread.

I'm putting about 20k/year on mine, and I hate it. I never want to go over 15k/year. I know it's just a mental thing, but I don't like the theoretical idea that I would pay off a car right when I wouldn't want it anymore.

IMO id look for a certified used 1 year old honda... I got a great deal on one in 09 and the best thing is that my depreciation isn't near as bad as what the 1st owner had.

Whats your price range?

I've put about 53k miles on my truck in 3 years. Hopefully, that will slow down since I still have 3 years of payments to go

40-50k for me.

Speaking of mileage...

My Nomad travelling folks are selling a 1992 Starquest custom Ford van with 264k miles on it for $1500.00 if anyone in Houston is desperate for a vehicle.

:D

(recent trans and radiator but the AC needs work)

Is that price decent or high?

Does it have the fold out bed in the back and a working stereo? Would be sweet to take to the Showboat drive-in for movies during the summer :)

The bed is electric. It folds from a seat to a bed by pushbutton.

It has a stereo, and I bought them a new one, but I don't remember why. Maybe the one in there doesn't work? Can't recall.

I have not been to that drive-in yet. I was planning on going in the Corvette before I killed it. :leaving:

Got a '98 GMC with 300K.


any takers....?


any...?

Red will, but he's a brutal negotiator.:lol:

It's out of his price range.

I've been thinking about this lately myself. I bought my '07 335i with 36k miles on it Xmas of '09. It currently has 65k miles on it thanks to my 6 mile round trip commute to work. However, it is out of warranty and the thoughts of possible repairs are not pleasant. I had to replace the driver side mirror last summer for around $700 because the motor that makes it fold went haywire. A completely pointless feature for me, I should've just cut the wires to it in retrospect.

Now it's only worth $16k or so, but I couldn't get anything as nice and as fast as it is without spending twice+ the money for it.

I don't particularly like used vehicles. :island14:

I honestly thought your line not to cross was anything with less than 125K miles?

And I'm at the other end of the spectrum, I've never owned a new car.

You must be absolutely infatuated with depreciation, though.

Nope
I don't like working on cars

Also, nearly everything you buy today depreciates.

You must really hate working on cars.

Enough to pay many, many times the cost of repairs through the depreciation from repetitively buying new cars and trading them after a very short time.

By now, you'd probably have several free and clear cars represented in the amount of money you've pissed away in depreciation over the years. The negligible amount of saved maintenance is probably not even significant enough to include it in the overall financial picture.

But you sure saved the aggravation of having your cars worked on, I'll definitely give you that.

http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/g...wendy/dave.jpg

"That'll preach!"

So you buy new because you hate working on cars. Let's look at that for a minute shall we?

You'll eat thousands and thousands of dollars in depreciation money because you hate working on cars.

And since you hate working on cars, that means the dealer works on your cars on their dime. All the while the value is plummeting.

You could buy a used car still under warranty and save thousands on depreciation, or worse case, out of warranty. If you were out of warranty, it'd be your dime you're spending, which would pale in comparison to the depreciation on your new car.

Baller.

I also hate working on cars so we buy new as well. However, we don't travel much, and neither of us has had a car payment since 2009. Depreciation doesn't mean much if you intend to keep the vehicles until they shit the bed, or start costing more in repairs than a new car costs.

Incorrect

Semi-related.

I sold the van today. No A/C, 267k on the clock...$1500.00 :seasix:

I'm not really in the market yet. Back when I had the Z06, I picked up a Ford Contour SE V6 5-spd to drive daily (I put about 80k miles on it; bought it with 89k...no issues whatsoever with maintenance), and I'm just kind of weighing the possibilities of doing something like that again.

My last two cars have been gas mileage oriented ('07 RX400h, '13 Passat TDI), which have been awesome cars, but I'm just getting the performance bug again.

bought our 2002 F350 with 179K on it.
2005 LTC with 107K. (trans is starting to slip)

the truck is the highest mileage vehicle we've bought, and it's at 228K now. fair amount of issues, considering (ball joints, tie rods, HPOP, and some minor stuff)

would buy again.

For a DD i like to saty below 60K

I just bought this GTO at 50K

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/memb...oat-169888.jpg

The Contour wasn't a bad combo with your vette. Sorta sporty compared to many sedans. I had a Cougar which had the same 2.5L V6.

I plan on picking up a S550 Mustang in a year or two... I am toying with dropping my civic SI and picking up something more 'economical' but at the same time I am not sure id want to drive a car that lacks some fun.

65k to 70k miles for a car made in the 90's.

I don't think I've ever owned a car/truck with 65-70K on it :island14:

no
that was one reason. and I did use the word hate.

I happen to enjoy a new vehicle.
looking at the automobile-truck-boat-motorcycle-RV-off road-jet ski-snow mobile...industries...

apparently, I'm not alone. :Jeff '79:

Is that an LS-1-powered car? :confused5:

The Contour wasn't a bad combo with your vette.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...ar2008/206.jpg

Essentially, the sensible man's anwswer to the Jaguar S-Type, right? Same 2.5 liter Duratec six-banger engine.

That little 2.5L V6 in the Contour was indestructible. lol. I bought with 89k, put another 80k on it, sold it to my brother-in-law, and I think he sold it with like 275k on it.

Other than replacing the water pump, clutch, and tires, I didn't do much else other than change the oil.

Very dependable car.

Yes sir ..its awesome and with the 6 speed gets 24 MPG.. :hurray:

http://www.seriouswheels.com/pics-20...e-1280x960.jpg

Onedef is right... upgrade to the Jag lol

I must of had a lemon then... It was built on 4/20/00 so that might have been part of the issue.

Went through 2 alternators and then it spun a bearing at 80K miles.

Ended up swapping in a 3.0L Duratec with Contour SVT cams... Put down 210 FWHP :D Scared the crap out of 4.6 GT mustangs.

I've owned a LOT of new cars. I've come to the conclusion, especially at my point in life, that it just doesn't make sense to me. Cars last so long these days that buying something with miles on it is nothing but a depreciation saver. Plus I kinda like not having car payments.

Heck, the 3 vehicles in my household have over 150k miles on average on them. Bought one with 90k, another with 150k (both GM full size trucks, and both from South of the rust belt).

I draw the line on any car out of warranty...

The GTO was high on my list when I was in the market back in Feb. But its premium gas requirements and lack of utility (two doors, less interior/cargo room) gave the nod to the Vibe GT.

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m...ps297bac90.jpg

Didn't you do headwork on it when you bought it? Maybe it was the water pump...such a long time ago.

We have an SUV this the commuter. It doesn not have much of a trunk I def see your point. :yesnod:

Water pump.