Hypothetical: When buying used 100k vs 200k miles?

[racer12306]

My daughters (yes, twins) will be driving age in due time and my wife and I were talking about car options for them when they get there. It so happened that I have a 2025 Accord rental right now, nice car, comfy, gutless down low so she started looking back at older Accords, 10 years or so.

She got concerned about the number of miles on some of these 10 year old cars to get the cost down and it made me think.

I feel like I would be more comfortable buying a 180k vehicle than a 100k mile vehicle.

In our era, it really doesn't take much effort to get a vehicle to live to 100k miles, half@#$ (maybe even quarter@#$) maintenance will get it there. However, to get to 175k-200k+ I believe you actually have to take care of it fairly appropriately.

I understand that there is an ultimate end of life for the vehicle at some point, but for a teenage to bop around in, we're not looking for another 50k out of it.

Thoughts?

 

[supton]

IMO, half-baked service might get a car to 200k. In so many ways, there's no end to what can be ignored, then bandaided at the end to get a sale, or just never noticed. In some ways, I'd rather have the 100k vehicle. Even with lousy service it's likely ok, and with proper service anything bad would hopefully no longer be getting worse--whatever varnish&sludge buildup would no longer be occurring, that sort of thing.

Since not looking for 50k, it's really about the safety aspect. Do all the safety systems work? Since daughters do get treated differently than the boys, will it always start? A car with 100k on the clock can have a dead battery just as easily as when it has 200k.

I also think we hand-wring to huge levels here...

 

[slo town]

I think you're looking at it "one step removed". Find the best maintained car you can, irrespective of the mileage.

Scott

 

[MrJayhawk]

Taking the mechanical part out of equation, a bigger concern would be age of car and where you live. An area that salts roads the underside is going to be gnarly most likely. For the age of the car to get that level of miles, you would probably want to concentrate search to southern or desert climes.

 

[ATex7239]

My older kids (one in college, one in high school) are driving an 11 yr old Hyundai and 15 yr old Honda respectively. In my signature. Both vehicles had +200k miles at the time of purchase. So clearly I’m ok with high mileage vehicles for first time drivers. Inexpensive. Relatively reliable. Good fuel economy. Low on power. Well maintained. That’s my criteria.

I’ll never understand people who buy their kids really nice or new vehicles. We don’t want living off mom and dad to be comfortable. We want it to be reasonable but also somewhat uncomfortable. This way they are humble and also forced to go out into the world to get something nicer for themselves.

Growth can only come from struggle. If I had $100M in the bank I’d still buy them old cars.

 

[Snagglefoot]

I would agree that getting to 100,000 miles is easy unless it was a lemon. also, 10 years is not bad.

For Honda’s and Toyota’s it would be a cake walk to get to 200,000 miles.

Only one caveat would be that if the rust attacks it in the rocker area and brake lines.

 

[JHZR2]

There are many things that come into play. Thermal cycles, fatigue cycles, rotational cycles, etc., and that’s before thinking about corrosion, chemical degradation, seals going bad, rubber parts degrading with use and exposure, etc.

In general highway use is less stressing, though, having just driven the length of Florida recently, the idiotic way that some people drive makes me question a lot of folks intelligence and understanding of physics. But that aside, assuming that a reasonable driver that doesn’t downshift to get stuck in the fast lane and slam on brakes doesn’t cause horrible wear and tear due to poor driving skills… assuming it’s really long steady state driving, you’ll notionally have more fatigue/rotational cycles, but fewer thermal cycles, and assuming that good maintenance is done and logged, a good bet.

All used cars present a somewhat poor value proposition when it comes to repair, because you’re amortizing repair costs over a relatively shorter duration of ownership. Of course that’s why they’re depreciated.

I’d personally buy on condition and records. That includes no records or signs of body work. An around town vehicle wouldn’t concern me much if it was well maintained, and the condition was much better (the garaged old lady car that got dealer service, a weekly trip to the supermarket, and a yearly trip on vacation type thing).

If condition was the same, and all had records, I’d slightly favor the highway used car because it would notionally be easier on some systems, and the cost would likely be lower simply because that’s how cars get priced.

Either should have a budget for repairs, and you need to do regardless - repairs and upkeep are necessary.

Clear as mud!

 

[supton]

I’ll never understand people who buy their kids really nice or new vehicles. We don’t want living off mom and dad to be comfortable. We want it to be reasonable but also somewhat uncomfortable. This way they are humble and also forced to go out into the world to get something nicer for themselves.

I tend to think that way. But... one winter I let the daughter drive to school without thinking about it. She wound up wrecking the car that I liked, and I wound up stuck with the new car that I don't. Had I gone with my gut and given the newer car to her, the extra nannies of the new car might have prevented the loss of control, or at the very least, insurance would have replaced the car (liability only on the old car).

Parents often get cars for the kids so it's less work on the parents. No longer have to drive the kids all around. Getting the kids an old car that seems to always be in the shop... is no less work for the parent. Ergo, I can see why people tend to buy newer for the kids.

 

[Arc]

Buy the cheapest safe car you can find because it will more than likely get wrecked. After a year of driving then it is safe to get them a good car.

 

[meep]

In my limited experience, it’s 200k when the rubber bits start to break down.

We had a dealer-maintained civic which ultimately made it to about 350k when the HG deteriorated, and 370k after the swapped HG let go. Oddly enough, it didn’t leak or consume oil. The only thing the dealer didn’t do, which I did when mom rolled through town, was D/F the AT with amsoil at maybe every 100k mark.

Ive known a family who only drives Camrys. They are all conservative drivers. He tells me they all start leaking oil at 200, they are swilling oil by 250, and things start happening at 270 that he doesn’t have the time to replace so they get rid of it around there. He’s probably not doing full “dealer” services on them if I had to guess.

I guess for any of these, it’s the maintenance history that counts, and by that mileage I’d offer how aggressively it was driven, if it had ever overheated, etc.

We purchased a tundra at 100k, three p2 Volvos at or over 100k. All required “catch up” maintenance or attention to their model weaknesses, and all were good success stories. I might consider a P2 Volvo approaching 200k, a Tacoma or 4R at 200k, early 00’s GM truck at 200k. Honda/toyo 4cyl sedan (conditions will vary widely here; and don’t want a CVT). Oddly, I hear more than one untold story about Nissan altimas racking up incredibly high mileage - roll the dice with the cvt?

key item for me will be
- wrench access and ease to work on
- can I keep $3k in the bank for the repair I simply can’t do and they need right now?
- insurance costs - gonna hurt
- fuel costs - since they may be buying gas themselves

 

[ATex7239]

I tend to think that way. But... one winter I let the daughter drive to school without thinking about it. She wound up wrecking the car that I liked, and I wound up stuck with the new car that I don't. Had I gone with my gut and given the newer car to her, the extra nannies of the new car might have prevented the loss of control, or at the very least, insurance would have replaced the car (liability only on the old car).

Parents often get cars for the kids so it's less work on the parents. No longer have to drive the kids all around. Getting the kids an old car that seems to always be in the shop... is no less work for the parent. Ergo, I can see why people tend to buy newer for the kids.

I suppose that is one way to look at it. We don’t have that kind of serve weather around here so maybe my perspective is skewed from that. As far as repairs that can happen regardless. I know people that have had their new vehicles in the shop more than my kiddos old beaters.

 

[supton]

I suppose that is one way to look at it. We don’t have that kind of serve weather around here so maybe my perspective is skewed from that. As far as repairs that can happen regardless. I know people that have had their new vehicles in the shop more than my kiddos old beaters.

Very true. Up here, the older a car gets, the more likely you can see through them. Plus when they need something replaced, the repair is all the harder due to that rust--the older it is, the more likely it has to be torched out and maybe other stuff fixed too due to that.

Everything's a gamble. But in your region, maybe it's less of a gamble. As they say, YMMV.

 

[Sequoiasoon]

In a price range you can afford - Best safety systems, best crash test ratings, best visibility, least power, small to midsize sedan or CUV. When did Subaru start the eyesight systems? Others with auto braking?

Search on my name for StreetSurvival. I have links to my pictures/videos. Full day hands on, more toward emergency situations in whatever vehicle they use. Not your usual drivers education classes.

Plan for best wet braking type, possibly all weather type tires. If snow is a concern, even though MD, consider rims with true winter tires. You can always sell them later. Give them best advantage for success in bad situations.

oh yea and as always, plug out to @macarose for some used options, with no/low rust.

 

[fantastic]

My daughters (yes, twins) will be driving age in due time and my wife and I were talking about car options for them when they get there. It so happened that I have a 2025 Accord rental right now, nice car, comfy, gutless down low so she started looking back at older Accords, 10 years or so.

She got concerned about the number of miles on some of these 10 year old cars to get the cost down and it made me think.

I feel like I would be more comfortable buying a 180k vehicle than a 100k mile vehicle.

In our era, it really doesn't take much effort to get a vehicle to live to 100k miles, half@#$ (maybe even quarter@#$) maintenance will get it there. However, to get to 175k-200k+ I believe you actually have to take care of it fairly appropriately.

I understand that there is an ultimate end of life for the vehicle at some point, but for a teenage to bop around in, we're not looking for another 50k out of it.

Thoughts?

Yes, I've mentioned that I've often gone with repairs & lower lifespan out of a vehicle vs high monthly payment & insurance costs for our kids. On that Honda Accord you can go all the way back to the 2013 model year (or newer) safely. With Honda reliability there should be little concern with 150-175k miles. 175k-200k could be a good buy if everything looks okay.

I've not owned one but my personal favorites in this midsize is the 2017+ Ford Fusion. Their avg price is slightly lower compared to the Accord & provides better safety. You could go even cheaper but that would put her in a "Small Car" class & that would be a 2015+ Nissan Sentra. You could probably get a chunk of lower mileage for the same or less costs than an Accord or Fusion. Just some quick notes. Let us know what you end up getting.

 

[SC Maintenance]

First car - buy the cheapest acceptable one you can find. They likely won't mile it out.

All things considered, I would rather have a 10 YO car with 180K miles than a 20 year old car with 100K.

 

[fantastic]

All things considered, I would rather have a 10 YO car with 180K miles than a 20 year old car with 100K.

Good, B/C that's my strategy! I don't need more competition.

 

[AZjeff]

Find the best maintained car you can, irrespective of the mileage.
Scott

First car - buy the cheapest acceptable one you can find. They likely won't mile it out.

Look at crash test ratings as part of the decision process. www.NHTSA.gov and www.IIHS.org

Buy the cheapest safe car you can find because it will more than likely get wrecked. After a year of driving then it is safe to get them a good car.

2nd year drivers are only slightly less likely to have a crash.

 

[ecotourist]

I have a 2007 Honda Accord with 192000 km (120,000 miles). No rust. Good paint. Perfect interior. V6 6MT. Well maintained, always garaged. New all weather tires. Nothing leaks. Bought new. Has been very reliable (after replacing the transmission in the first month). This one is not for sale but if it was, might bring maybe $3000 - $3500 on a good day.

It would be a perfect kids car. Might go another 120,000 miles. Only worry is the kids wrecking it.

These cars exist though you'd have to spend some time finding one and might have to pay a premium price.

 

[SC Maintenance]

Look at crash test ratings as part of the decision process. www.NHTSA.gov and www.IIHS.org

That was part of my "acceptable" qualification.

Thing I don't like about NHTSA or IIHS is the tests are comparative only within category, but people think there 2015 Corolla with 5* is safer than my 2008 Xterra with 4*. Depends, but if they were to head on each other I know which I would rather be in.

 

[fantastic]

That was part of my "acceptable" qualification.

Thing I don't like about NHTSA or IIHS is the tests are comparative only within category, but people think there 2015 Corolla with 5* is safer than my 2008 Xterra with 4*. Depends, but if they were to head on each other I know which I would rather be in.

I love the safety data! That is an important distinction but so long as folks know that then the data still helps save lives.
OP seems to be shopping in a honed in size class since they've narrowed it down to the Accord & that would be "acceptable" to them for the kid.