The high-mileage versus low-mileage argument

[dparm]

She's like me -- low mileage every year. Her current job doesn't require her to drive to/from the office. Maybe 7500 miles/year.

Sounds like I'll need to call the dealer and do a bit of math to help her out, too. At least on this car it had no-cost maintenance...but you get no real savings from on a car that's almost out of the warranty. *Might* get one oil change.

 

[KitaCam]

Look for low miles if you're going to put on a ton of them yourself...high miles is no problem if you're going to do under 10/yr.

That said, I think that 100k miles on a 21st century car is the 50k mile point on last century's cars (excluding high-end luxury-mobiles)....knowing the car is important too...as mentioned above, some cars are due for high cost maintenance update (e.g. timing belt) @ 100k miles or so...while others may need only new fluids...

...and finally, having the car inspected to determine condition is more important than the miles...

 

[Win]

The logic of buying something used, with high miles on it, completely escapes me. If you have to buy something used, why not get the least used example of it you can find.

I have cars that just sit around a lot. I can say, without any doubt whatsoever, that sitting around in a dark building is way better than having the wheels run off of them going up and down the highway.

It may not have always been that way, but, for modern cars, just sitting around doesn't hurt them a bit.

 

[eljefino]

^ The argument is one of value. If a seller offers a used car with two years and 100k for half MSRP, they believe it's half used up. The buyer believes it has eight years to go, or is 20% used up and therefore a bargain.

As I'm in the rust belt I definitely believe in cheaper newer high mileage vehicles.

 

[dwcopple]

Originally Posted By: dparm
Wow, a 2011 with 100k?! Did they drive across the country every week?
no kidding, right? And a disaster of an Impala at that too...:facepalm:

 

[grampi]

Originally Posted By: Donald
But short around town trips will cause fuel dilution and rusting of the exhaust.


That may have been true years ago before EFI came along, but I highly doubt there is much, if any fuel dilution going on with today's vehicles...

 

[grampi]

Originally Posted By: Win
The logic of buying something used, with high miles on it, completely escapes me. If you have to buy something used, why not get the least used example of it you can find.

I have cars that just sit around a lot. I can say, without any doubt whatsoever, that sitting around in a dark building is way better than having the wheels run off of them going up and down the highway.

It may not have always been that way, but, for modern cars, just sitting around doesn't hurt them a bit.


Not true. Vehicles that sit around more than they're driven tend to suffer from dried out seal/gaskets and their fuel systems can gum up...I'd take a 4 year old vehicle with 100K over the same vehicle with 10K any day...

 

[Kestas]

I always wodered which is the better used car buy -- a high mileage newer car or a low mileage older car.

I agree that sitting around doesn't seem to bother cars a lot. What I do notice is with low mileage older cars that are short trippers (like my cars), the interiors seem to take a beating, i.e., more seat belt buckling, more opening and closing of the doors and trunk, windows up and down, more use of switches and turn signal per mile.

If it's a car that has sat around for long periods, like my mother's car, then it doesn't suffer much anywhere, except for brakes and battery.

 

[TFB1]

Originally Posted By: grampi
Originally Posted By: Win
The logic of buying something used, with high miles on it, completely escapes me. If you have to buy something used, why not get the least used example of it you can find.

I have cars that just sit around a lot. I can say, without any doubt whatsoever, that sitting around in a dark building is way better than having the wheels run off of them going up and down the highway.

It may not have always been that way, but, for modern cars, just sitting around doesn't hurt them a bit.


Not true. Vehicles that sit around more than they're driven tend to suffer from dried out seal/gaskets and their fuel systems can gum up...I'd take a 4 year old vehicle with 100K over the same vehicle with 10K any day...


Not me, give me that 12 year old, short tripper with 30K mi any day... With a four year old and 10K, I'd be delirious...

In April 2010 I bought a 1998 with 33K mi, a battery(still had orig, wasn't going to trust it), radiator flush and oil changes were all I did in the first 2.5 years with zero issues... Last fall it got shocks and tires to repl the originals... Now has 57K mi and still mostly sees trips of approx five miles, though it does get out on the road every couple weeks or so...

As far as seals drying out and leaking on anything of the last 15-20 years because of non usage, that's a hoot...

 

[KitaCam]

When I got Kitacam it had 97k miles on it after 7+ years.
...in my experience (buying 12 used cars over 35 years), 14k/yr is the sweetspot for miles...a nice mix of city/hwy driving.

 

[hattaresguy]

Usage is usage cars like anything wear out.


I still think its cheapest to buy new and keep it for 10 years or 200k whichever comes first. Beyond that I'm not much interested in owning it as a daily ride.

For me to buy a 2011 or 12 anything with 45k on it, it would have to be way, way cheaper than new. $5k or something like that won't cut it, $10k-$20k, way cheaper. If I'm only saving a few bucks why bother?

 

[jrustles]

I'd prefer either super low mileage where the vehicle history is pretty evident, or high mile/late model year combination, again where you know the vehicle has had to have been on the highway a good bit of time. Otherwise, it's not a bad thing, it's just much harder to determine the service history- I mean, this is something I would have to determine myself, can you really trust a seller to give tell you the truth?

 

[The Critic]

My only reservation about cars with high-mileage (usually freeway) is that the front-end tends to have a significant number of rock chips. This is just an unfortunate reality of highway driving, though some brands seem to be more affected by this than others.

Also, depending on the area, the windshield may also have lots of pitting. My 2011 Prius has 63k from mostly highway miles; the front-end is perfect thanks to the clear bra, but the windshield has a ton of pitting.

 

[KitaCam]

Good point Critic

...the kitacam has its share hood chips...and the windshield too...but it had a 1-2" wide sweep of wiperblade scratch so the dealer installed a new one to make the sale...nice.

 

[S65AMG]

I called out Safelite under insurance and there are no questions asked to change a windshield for a $100 deductible.

The new windshield I have is absolutely great. It's actually an improvement over the original on the car and the installer was superb. I've kept a note of his details for future use.

They have a lifetime warranty also.

But inspect the windshield before install. I had one done on a Lexus I was returning and I would not have been happy with it if I was keeping that car.

But couldn't be happier with the latest one and the installer was happy to let me look through it before beginning the work.

 

[supton]

Windshields aren't that expensive. I've had I think three on my VW, and it was like $220 a pop. Speaking of which, I could probably use another. VW must use a very soft glass, heck, I've noticed scratches after scraping ice off the car.

Rear window is starting to develop those tracks on it, from the wiper wearing on the glass. Not about to replace that, but now it's starting to get visible in the rearview mirror. Never really noticed on the front windshield, probably because it's been replaced so often...

 

[kb01]

I think it depends entirely on the vehicle.

The people I know who tend to put a lot of miles (30k or more a year) tend to buy them with the assumption of dumping them at some predefined increment and spend as little as possible on maintenance.

It's pretty much the reason why I would never consider buying one of our corporate vehicles when they're sold off.

 

[VNTS]

Depends on the price, if you buya 3 yr old car with 100K remember you will be doing work on it shortly.

I prefer very low milage cream puffs about 5 years old.

Any car over 100K even if taken care of is low on my list because everything still has 100K of wear and tear, altenators, PS pumps, belts hoses etc dotn care if it is all highway.

 

[GenSan]

When looking at used cars mileage is not as telling of vehicle longevity as previous owner(s) preventative maintenance practices and make/model.

 

[Jarlaxle]

I saw one of the cleanest Chargers I have EVER seen a couple years ago. It had obviously seen plenty of road time (rock chips, worn seats & pedals), but ran perfectly.

The car was a 2006 Charger R/T with an astounding 260,000 miles on it. It's still going last I knew, probably pushing 300K. I would own it in a second.

Honestly, I look for high-mile vehicles...they sell cheaper, and the miles tend to be easier! (I'll take 200K highway miles over 50K Boston miles in a second.)