What mileage on a vehicle starts making you nervous?

[maxdustington]

Originally Posted by BMWTurboDzl
I get nervous 1 mile after the expiration of the factory warranty. Serious though it's not the miles but the age which worries me because of the plethora of plastic parts which become brittle with age.
Username checks out!

 

[PandaBear]

Ususally around 160kM-240kM when things like ignition coil, starter, etc started going for me (Corolla, Civic, etc). Not sure about Domestic or European.

 

[Linctex]

2008 Ford F-150

Last year model of that series (2001-2008)

By then, ALL the bugs are worked out.

Almost 200,000 miles and the only thing I have ever changed is the alternator.

These trucks go to 400,000 all the time without failure.

Even if something - anything - goes bad (engine, trans. etc.) I can have it driving again for $400.

Ford made millions and millions and millions of these things - parts are everywhere, and dirt cheap.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Sadly, where I am, vehicles don't wear out.

They rust out.

My Jeep has 213K on it, and I'd drive it across country if someone paid for gas and the repairs I have been putting off.

My F-350 is only at 66000 miles but the engine has 130 or 230k on it. I drove it , without hesitation on a few hundred mile trip towing a vehicle over the weekend. It also needs work, though.

 

[grampi]

Originally Posted by kschachn
Originally Posted by grampi
Actually there are two reasons; rust, and parts unavailability...

The first one has been a problem for a while but it can be fixed one way or another. The second one has become an increasing problem most acute with my Accord. My Toyota cars are slightly newer which may help, and the parts support for the BMW has been pretty amazing.


Yes, rust can be fixed, but once it starts, you're pretty much chasing your tail from then on and it might be wiser just to replace the vehicle once the rust gets bad enough rather than fixing it...the parts unavailability thing is only going to get worse. As the cars get newer, they come packed with more and more electronic gizmos, some of them rendering the vehicle undriveable if they go bad. When the manufacturer quits making those parts (and they will), you now have nothing but a giant paper weight...

 

[Lolvoguy]

Originally Posted by John_K
I'm old, I'm still stuck on 100000


Back in the mid 80's on the prairies (hardly ANY euro cars to be found in my lower-middle class neighborhood), my dad bought a 75 Volvo 245 DL. It was "school bus" orange and all the neighbors noticed.
The interior and exterior were pristine (for a Volvo 240 series). When my dad told the neighbors it had 70k miles, they mentioned "so it's practically worn out".
Mind you, his car had Bosch CIS FI whereas all the neighbors with their Monte Carlo's, Impala's, Ford LTD's etc all had carb'd V8's that weren't nearly as reliable/durable as the FI Volvo.

My dad drove that thing well over 200k miles on dino with infrequent changes (hey, we were poor immigrants!). When we got rid of it, it was only starting to consume oil. The body was almost completely rusted out, and the odometer had been dead for years.

Originally Posted by kschachn
Originally Posted by grampi
Actually there are two reasons; rust, and parts unavailability...

The first one has been a problem for a while but it can be fixed one way or another. The second one has become an increasing problem most acute with my Accord. My Toyota cars are slightly newer which may help, and the parts support for the BMW has been pretty amazing.


Amen to that!
The only reason why I stuck with BMW vs Volvo for a cool retro ride, was the dealer support!
As early as 2000, Volvo stopped producing many interior and exterior pieces for 1980's Volvo models. That was enough for me to go with BMW

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted by The Critic
150K.

No matter how well a vehicle is maintained, it is inevitable that components will begin to wear out and fail after a certain point. The design life of many light-duty vehicles is 150-180K, so I think this is a reasonable milestone to begin considering options.

Also, the cost of vehicle repair has truly skyrocketed in recent years. As I mentioned in another thread, labor rates are over $150/hr in many metropolitan areas. A car with over 150K miles, especially economy cars, have limited value. Keeping up with maintenance and repair at that point may/may not be realistic.


This. Around here just a bypass hose diagnostic ($100) and replacement ($240) is already 20% of a beater's worth. At a certain age or mile it is better to send it down to Mexico than to fix it locally.

DIY? In an area where $120k for a family of 4 is considered poverty? Your time is better off with interview prep and working overtime (for the next review cycle for bonus or promotion). A new Hyundai Sonata every 100k is the best choice if you want no drama.

 

[Nick1994]

Miles don't bother me.

My Camry is at 231k miles, I don't drive it anymore, my brother has been borrowing it since April as a get around car. I'd hop in it right now and drive to Maine and back a few times without thinking twice about it.

I got a newer car because I needed something more comfortable.

 

[JC1]

If the car was well maintained I wouldnt worry about it. I had a 94 accord that I drove weekly from Oshawa to Hartford CT back from 2001 to 2003.

Never worried about it breaking down. Sold it with 415,xxx km (257k miles).

 

[JC1]

If the car was well maintained I wouldnt worry about it. I had a 94 accord that I drove weekly from Oshawa to Hartford CT back from 2001 to 2003.

Never worried about it breaking down. Sold it with 415,xxx km (257k miles).

 

[fisher83]

If I'm basing it solely on mileage and not years I'd say 150,000 is a good stopping point. I've had a few with more than that but they were generally pretty rough by then. If I lived somewhere without all the road salt I would probably hold on for higher mileage.

 

[Anduril]

The only vehicle I've had die so far made it to 237k before the transmission gave out, and that was a 1990s GM POS that we towed with at least once a week and it was never rated to tow anything. It might still be alive if we hadn't stressed it like that.

My Cavalier is getting close to 160k and I put at least 500 miles a week on it. It's needed a fuel pump and A/C compressor and other than that has had zero issues and I expect it to go well over 200k if I don't get rid of it first.

Bought my XTerra with 160k on it and I've done a bit of work to it, I've heard of these going 250-300k and at the rate it goes through gas, we probably won't drive it more than 5k a year so it may never get there.

Just bought my Mustang a month ago with 110k on it, it's just a baby. With the 4.6 and a manual transmission it might last just about forever.

As long as you keep up with maintenance, are able to do your own small to medium repairs, and don't buy something that's defective to start with (or a Chrysler product in general...) you should get 200k out of a modern vehicle before something major goes wrong. A major advantage of buying older used vehicles is that you know which ones to avoid, and chances are someone's already come up with a fix for just about everything.

This is, of course, based on living in California. If you're somewhere with significant salt and rust, the body and frame/suspension will likely be toast long before then.

Originally Posted by wdn
The answer needs to be divided into "Toyota" and "non-Toyota" vehicles.

Parents had a 2002 Corolla. That car was a POS in every way. Engine was replaced (under extended warranty) before 100k.

 

[zfasts03]

If you don't mind keeping up with maintenance and many repairs... 300,000 is pretty much the limit.

If you buy something poorly engineered or one of those cars that have constant issues. Also some cars parts are so expensive and so hard to work on, that is an issue. THen the length of the warranty would be my limit.

 

[Vern_in_IL]

200k.... miles.

Seems like things like leaking/seized water pumps, heater cores, oil burn/leak, belt idler, fuel pumps die, and bushings/struts, need replacing above this level.

 

[brages]

300,000


I took an Accord from 175k to 295k. At the end, I had a few things go out. Clutch slave cylinder in rush hour traffic for one. Engine kept running.

 

[dishdude]

I expect a car to be fairly trouble free to 150k. 150k-200k I expect a repair or two like a fuel pump, alternator, PS pump, etc.

After 200k it's all gravy...

If you don't abuse them and maintain them, they'll serve you well.

 

[supton]

50k. After that point anything can fail, and without warning.

 

[dogememe]

Originally Posted by supton
50k. After that point anything can fail, and without warning.

Are we talking FCA products? Lol...

 

[SubyRoo]

I had a 94 Accord 5 speed that I sold back in 2010 to a neighbor to use as a commuter car. It had about 315k miles at that point and I occasionally still see it around town with the same guy still driving it. I did do the timing belt and water pump as well as a couple small things when I bought it.

 

[supton]

Originally Posted by dogememe
Originally Posted by supton
50k. After that point anything can fail, and without warning.

Are we talking FCA products? Lol...

Any.

At 55k I found a brake pad had frozen and worn badly; I did a pad slap at 60k but wound up having to do it again at 100k because the rotor had been damaged. Gotta figure, after 2 years it's now a used car.