Is it reasonable to expect more than 15 years and 200k from an older car ?

[hevysrf]

I'm looking for a Honda/ Toyota/ Mazda product, older than 2019, with less than 50 k miles, no salt belt cars.

Very aware that if found, it will priced significantly higher than other cars in its age group.
Hesitant about turbos and CVTs.

Is it unreasonable to expect another 10 years at 10k miles per year? Yearly mileage probably decreasing as I age.

 

[racer12306]

I don't think it's unreasonable at all. IMO, most modern vehicles should have no problem going 150-200,000 miles with proper maintenance. Bringing in a car from outside the salt belt is a great start.

 

[fantastic]

So you're looking at 5+ year old cars. You just need to decide if a major component went out if you'd replace or fix because the odds of it happening increase with mileage & age. You are looking at "Reliable" brands so that should certainly help. I would say that 200k should be obtainable.

 

[Jetronic]

I'm looking for a Honda/ Toyota/ Mazda product, older than 2019, with less than 50 k miles, no salt belt cars.

Very aware that if found, it will priced significantly higher than other cars in its age group.
Hesitant about turbos and CVTs.

Is it unreasonable to expect another 10 years at 10k miles per year? Yearly mileage probably decreasing as I age.

Are you bringing it into the salt belt?

 

[Sequoiasoon]

I'm in salt belt.

Daughters '08 CRV - 247k, sons '10 Forte 194k, my old '07 Sonata went to 220k before something happened with motor but still ran. old '03 Sequoia was in upper 180's but rotting out underneath.

Mostly normal maintenance, when in doubt more frequent oil changes like 5k intervals. I'm not a fan of extended and maintenance minder intervals in my use conditions. If I did more long highway drives I might consider extending some. GDI kills for me. Tests on my old MPI version listed showed 7500 OCI was no issue.

 

[ctechbob]

330K+ Accord. Granted, we're on transmission #3 as it is a 2003, had it been an 06-08 it would have had the stronger box.

 

[SC Maintenance]

10 years ago I would say sure. Now - not so sure, maybe "depends"

To get a Honda without a turbo or CVT your going to need to go way back - like much more than 5 years. Not sure about Mazda. Possible with Toyota but your paying a huge premium.

Choose the model wisely.

 

[Astro14]

I'm looking for a Honda/ Toyota/ Mazda product, older than 2019, with less than 50 k miles, no salt belt cars.

Very aware that if found, it will priced significantly higher than other cars in its age group.
Hesitant about turbos and CVTs.

Is it unreasonable to expect another 10 years at 10k miles per year? Yearly mileage probably decreasing as I age.

Depends on the car -

In 2007, I bought two used Volvos. So, pretty close to what you’re suggesting. Back then, the XC had 90,000 miles on it, and the T5 had 70,000 miles.

Today, the XC has 308,000 miles on it. The T5 has 230,000 miles on it. Both have the original engines, transmissions, and turbos.

So, 18 years at well over 10,000 miles/year. Far beyond your expectation.

Can’t speak to CVTs, but a good used car, properly cared for, will last a very long time.

 

[georgemiller]

If you do your own repairs it can be worth driving an older vehicle. If you don't know how to turn a wrench economically the vehicle starts nickel and diming you to death. 200,000 on a car that's maintained is very achievable.

 

[hevysrf]

Pretty hard to spend $20k on a vehicle that's 7 model years old, add $1500 for transport from a non-salt area to NJ, and then pay 7% sales tax . But I guess it makes more sense than twice that for new.

 

[Urshurak776]

Engine wise a lot of cars can do that, it's everything else that is the issue. Plastic parts break, electrical failures from old wiring, the chassis rusting out, etc. Old cars are rarely junked because the engine failed (lack of maintenance not withstanding.)

 

[thastinger]

If you can find something without DI and a CVT your chances will go up.

 

[andrew_j]

You can get there however the chance of hitting issues once over 150k goes dramatically up and after 10-12 years.

It won’t be trouble free however there will be outliers you’ll see mentioned here. Wife/I have on a 2018 VW Tiguan with 203k miles with one impacting issue at 152k. This however is driven mostly highway / gently by wife .

It depends if 10k per year is a mostly stop and go vs highway. Stop and go is harder on the driveline(inc transmission ) and suspension

 

[ls1mike]

The wife's 2015 2.0 turbo Malibu just hit 140,000. 200,000 should be obtainable on just about anything with proper upkeep.

 

[zzyzzx]

You can keep almost any vehicle that you want as long as you want as long as you are willing to spend money on it.

 

[Patman]

My 2016 Civic should have no problem lasting me another five years and it’s at 178k and going strong. It hasn’t cost me anything in repairs since I bought it in 2021 with 80k on it. I would spend a few thousand dollars to keep it running if it needed a big repair in the next couple of years. I’m hoping to get more than another 5 years out of it if I can

 

[DweezilAZ]

Yes. There should be no problem, but beware hidden designed in garbage like belts in oil [timing or oil pump], boutique transmissions, electronic everything and reputation still plays a part in this.

Personally, I will avoid timing belt in oil, CVTs, turbos, 3 cyl [or engines too small to pull the weight of cars they are in : to me, not built for the long haul], electronic gadgets.

As it is I have just serviced my 05 ION [85,000+ miles] with the intention to drive it for at least another 10 years.

The list is long of the things I will not accept on a new car. Not at these prices.

 

[DweezilAZ]

My 2016 Civic should have no problem lasting me another five years and it’s at 178k and going strong. It hasn’t cost me anything in repairs since I bought it in 2021 with 80k on it. I would spend a few thousand dollars to keep it running if it needed a big repair in the next couple of years. I’m hoping to get more than another 5 years out of it if I can

Right answer. It's "worth" what it would cost to replace it.
Sounds like a respectable vehicle. Clean and well maintained never goes out of style.

 

[andrew_j]

My 2016 Civic should have no problem lasting me another five years and it’s at 178k and going strong. It hasn’t cost me anything in repairs since I bought it in 2021 with 80k on it. I would spend a few thousand dollars to keep it running if it needed a big repair in the next couple of years. I’m hoping to get more than another 5 years out of it if I can

Is it the old school Civic a 2.0L I presume, not the 1.5L turbo?

 

[Capt W]

I only drive older cars and fully expect the longevity you seek. My '05 Caravan has almost 265K since I bought it brand new with only routine and required maintenance. Original engine, transmission, and everything still works. I like the vehicle so much I just bought a 2007 version of the same van with 80K miles for $4600. I expect the newer one will last me at least 15 more years and loads of miles.

My daily driver '86 Daytona has 101K original miles, and I have similar longevity expectations. Ditto for my 2008 Charger...although that one is lightly driven with only 42K miles from the day I bought it new.

I think georgemiller hit the nail on the head vis-a-vis economic viability of this lifestyle choice. If you can do most (if not all) of your own maintenance you'll be just fine. The ability to carry liability-only insurance is yet another plus.

Like others have stated, rust and rot are likely your biggest obstacles to avoid as possible.