How old is too old for a vehicle to be reliable?

[Elkins45]

I’ve been looking for a second car with an automatic transmission for a while now. It’s not a good market as i’m sure you all know. Everything that’s priced near what I want to pay either has a ton of miles or is ancient, or both.

At what age do you start not trusting a vehicle just because of the effects of aging such as drying seals, aging bushings, and so forth?

 

[kschachn]

About 24 years I guess, but not for the reasons you state. Any leaking seals and broken bushings have been replaced on my old vehicles. Now it's a matter of structural integrity due to rusting.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

Depends on whether one can DIY. I'm unable to DIY most things simply because I lack the space and tools so for me I would want something that's around the 5 yr range and max of 70k miles with no accidents or rust. There's no point in owning a second car if you're having to work on it all the time.

 

[tasch72]

A solid rule of thumb is that if its eligible for collectors/historic plates (generally 25 years or older) it deserves special pre-purchase attention.

 

[Furious]

I own a 2003 Chevy and a 2002 Toyota and will keep them on the road for as long as possible. Buy a fairly reliable used vehicle and when the age catches up for worn out suspension components, bushing, etc you are still coming nowhere near the price of newer cars on the market.

 

[Trav]

Anywhere from 6-30 years depending on use, location, maintenance, model inherent issues there are too many variables to put a exact number on it. Start any inspection from the ground up.

 

[Jimmy_Russells]

If we're talking a daily driver I would say 10-12 years and maybe 80k miles. If I know the history of the vehicle I'm ok over that but buying something on the used market I need to be reliable for another 5-8 years? I'll stick with those numbers.

 

[macarose]

Wrong question.

Your real question is..., "Why am I even bothering to buy an older car locally?"

You live in the rust belt. You need to buy vehicles that are not from the rust belt.

About 40% of my business is out of state, and roughly half are from the rust belt. Here's my list but if you look at Nashville, Atlanta, Chattanooga, the Tri-Cities or Knoxville, you'll have plenty of rust free vehicles available.

All the best!

 

[vpr5703]

Always have a trusted mechanic check the car out if possible. They have the knowledge and experience to see issues and problems a quick look over might not.

 

[demarpaint]

I trust my 88 E-150 enough so that I would drive it cross country w/o hesitation. Having said that knowing the owner and how it was maintained is crucial when buying an older car that you aren't planning on restoring. For me living in NY anything in the used market I would go over with a fine tooth comb if I didn't know the PO and history of the vehicle, regardless of age.

 

[Furious]

Wrong question.

Your real question is..., "Why am I even bothering to buy an older car locally?"

You live in the rust belt. You need to buy vehicles that are not from the rust belt.

About 40% of my business is out of state, and roughly half are from the rust belt. Here's my list but if you look at Nashville, Atlanta, Chattanooga, the Tri-Cities or Knoxville, you'll have plenty of rust free vehicles available.

All the best!

As someone who lives in the same state as him I would not really consider it the "rust belt" the winters here are so mild that road salt is not often used. There is many solid cars here. My truck is a 2003 from here and it is not rusted out.

I am originally from a different state that is the rust belt and you are lucky to keep a car there 3-5 years before it starts rotting away.

 

[Crash Bandicoot]

Daily drive a 17 year old motorcycle and hit 9-10k+ rpm daily plus regular track time. Only time I’ve had to limp it home was when I first got it and one of the plugs was fouled because previous owner didn’t realize you have to change them every 7000 miles. I think as long as it’s well maintained I’d be comfortable going all the way back to the mid 00s. That seems to be a time when normal cars got way better saftey tech and braking especially. Would try to buy something with a stick though if you can. As is obvious no European cars need apply for this kind of application.

 

[macarose]

As someone who lives in the same state as him I would not really consider it the "rust belt" the winters here are so mild that road salt is not often used. There is many solid cars here. My truck is a 2003 from here and it is not rusted out.

I am originally from a different state that is the rust belt and you are lucky to keep a car there 3-5 years before it starts rotting away.

That's fair. We do get older trades from KY with rust issues but not every area is the same.

 

[tessaseveride]

I think this depends on make/model too. I trust a 20 year old Japanese econobox more than a 20 year old Euro if for nothing else but the effect on my wallet in the long run.

 

[weaponoffreedom]

I think as long as you are willing to make the requisite repairs any vehicle can last forever really. Sure rust blahblah blah, but barring driving at the beach, anything can be brought up to snuff.

I would trust a well maintained gmt400 or 600 or 800 chevy over a new one all day.

 

[jeepman3071]

Wrong question.

Your real question is..., "Why am I even bothering to buy an older car locally?"

You live in the rust belt. You need to buy vehicles that are not from the rust belt.

About 40% of my business is out of state, and roughly half are from the rust belt. Here's my list but if you look at Nashville, Atlanta, Chattanooga, the Tri-Cities or Knoxville, you'll have plenty of rust free vehicles available.

All the best!

+1

Condition is everything. My '98 Wrangler has 162k miles on it, and I wouldn't hesitate to drive it longer distances (and have) several days in a row. It has higher mileage, but is from California, and was previously owned by an aircraft mechanic, who like me is very diligent about the service. Absolutely no oil or other fluid leaks. Same with my 2009 BMW, I routinely go through it with a fine tooth comb, so I know it is in good shape when I'm driving it. I'm more confident in the vehicles I've gone through myself than some of the 5-10 year old vehicles I see that other shops have worked on.

What is a bigger consideration in my mind is what you want out of a daily driver. Some older vehicles don't make great daily drivers just because of their lack of safety and comfort features. A friend's dad drove a 1960s VW Beetle for 20+ years as a daily when I was a kid in the late 90s. A fun car but probably not an ideal daily if it is your only vehicle.

 

[Tdbo]

I have a 2003 pickup out in my drive right now with a blown brake line.
The only thing that would make me feel antsy right now about driving that truck across country would be the condition of the brake lines.
That will be corrected a week from today when my mechanic finally gets it in to deal with the issue.

 

[atikovi]

I’ve been looking for a second car with an automatic transmission for a while now.

Need a lot more information. Is this going to be a weekend toy or a daily driver? Do you want the modern ADAS systems for safety or you don't care if it even has seat belts.? Will you wrench on it or always take it to a shop? No reason I couldn't daily my 91 Grand Am but it only has 76,000 miles. Same with my past Sequoia with over 500,000 miles. Older cars are less complicated and have less to break. I'm sure there are people that daily drive cars from the 30's or even 20's.

 

[supton]

Anything more than a day old can be unreliable--look at various vehicles returned under the lemon law.

I recall my parents new Astrovan had a bad fuel pump, it "died" a couple times in the first few months of ownership.

That out of the way, after 10 years in the rustbelt, it sure seems crusty--but often serviceable, assuming the brake lines aren't bad it should be good enough.

IMHO, it's more of, can I get this repaired if it does break down? If you own an exotic and take it cross-country, can you get a water pump, alt, etc at the local corner store? My 24 year old Camry, most anything it needs is on a shelf at most any Autozone. Since anything can break down (or heck, it can be the fault of someone else hitting you!), what's more important, reliability or repairability?

I did give up on my VW after 300k, I thought the battle against the rust was lost, the transmission may or may not have been making noise, and after 11 years and >300k... I thought it time. Otherwise I have given up on a vehicle for other reasons.

 

[The Critic]

After a certain age/mileage, there are too many variables outside of your control.

Example: neighbor was recently stranded out of town when his 12 year old Toyota experienced at alternator failure at 149K.