Buying used vehicle's with over 200k miles

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I notice occasionally that members buy used vehicle's with over 200k miles or over. To me it seems like your buying a money pit, unreliable vehicle or somebody else's headache. Are vehicle's now that reliable? Can they be trusted on a day to day basis?
 
I had a 3 cars I drove past 200,000 a 1991 S10 Blazer. A 1998 Bonneville SSE and 2001 Grand Prix GTP.

The were always reliable. All them went to or about 280,000 before I sold them/gave them away.
I would say condition and how the previous owner maintained at that point is what matters.
 
Well, you have to be really picky when looking at vehicles with that many miles on them. I wouldn't do it here in the north with our winters but I would at least consider it if I were looking for a car in the non salt regions. And the car would still have to be in quite nice physical & well maintained condition and CHEAP.

I've driven many of my own vehicles to over 200k-300k but, they were maintained by me from day one. Or if a used car, they were only 2-3 yrs old when I bought them and took them to that mileage.
 
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Much of the equation depends on how it was maintained.

I drove a 2000 Ford Taurus (purchased new) to 275K. It had original engine/ transmission and ran like new. I only sold it to make Mrs. Tdbo happy (too many miles on it.)

The only time that the vehicle saw a tow truck was at 275K (the fuel pump gave up.)

I had a new FP put on it, and sold it for full asking out of my front yard in < 48 hours. Having full service records was a great help.
 
Originally Posted by aquariuscsm
Imo a car with over 200K is a giveaway car.

Yep I gave away both the Blazer and Bonneville. The blazer lived a long time 410,000ish. The Bonneville lived until about 340,000 when it got hit.

I sold the Grand Prix for 500 bucks. I know the lady I sold it to. She drove it for 4 years like 20 miles a day just to and from work. I only know as I continued to maintain it. She got it to about 325,000 ish when the transmission gave up. It was clean and someone on craigslist came and got it for all the other parts.
She got her 500 bucks worth out of that one.
 
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Originally Posted by Tdbo

I drove a 2000 Ford Taurus (purchased new) to 275K. It had original engine/ transmission and ran like new. I only sold it to make Mrs. Tdbo happy (too many miles on it.)


Smart man. The beauties of the committed relationship.
smile.gif
 
Depends on the car. I bought my Camry at 195k miles, I let my brother drive it now but at 236k miles I'd trust it to drive anywhere.

I have family with a well-maintained 98' Plymouth Breeze 2.0L that they bought new, has 119k miles now. They are only in the U.S. a few months a year so they don't want a new car. They just drove it to Laughlin, NV and back. Somehow it did just fine, no way I'd drive it that far.
 
A car with over 200k miles where all the maintenance has been done and the suspension components have been replaces, may be a better vehicle than say one that's 15-20 years old with only like 100k miles on it where it still has all the factory shocks and struts and the tranny fluid was never touched. A 5 year old fleet vehicle that someone put like 50k+ miles a year on that had regular maintenance done woul probably be a great car with over 200k miles.
 
There are countless variables that come into play. Obviously condition varies more as miles go up, so it's not like a reliability switch gets flipped at a certain mileage. It varies from vehicle to vehicle (not just model, but individual vehicle).

I personally wouldn't make payments on a vehicle with that many miles, which is something that happens more and more, especially with pickups and SUVs.
 
I bought an Accord with 175k and took it to 295, sold it running. 200k is just a number and cars today can exceed it easily.
 
Depends on if you have to pay for labor or not. As noted, some of the cars given away with 200k went on to double their miles. But as we all know... YMMV.

On the flip side, how much does a car with 200k cost + expected repairs as compared against a new car? Even new cars can be a gamble.

YMMV... I suspect my '99 Camry was "someone else's headache". It came with receipts for a recent charcoal cannister, pair of tires and a couple of minor things. While checking it out the woman asked me if I was mechanic--looking back I wonder if she knew something I didn't spot... It did spring a big ole oil leak in short order, very common to that car. But. This is a dirt simple car for me to work on, and most of its repairs have been nuisance repairs for me, but it would have been a headache for someone else having to "constantly" hit up a shop.
 
Just bought a 2009 Camry 2.4 with 216k for my college kid.
All the standard fluid changes, an alignment, and I'll probably put middle of the road tires on it before he departs for a summer internship out of state.
It was an easy choice to drop $2k for a car that, with a bare minimum of preventative maintenance, I won't have to worry about.
 
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I drive my 200k vehicle with the thought it potentially may break down and would be a hassle but it's paid for.having Uber and Lyft at my finger tips helps too.

If you buy one just realize the entire purchase price may got to salvage value in an instant not if but when some major breaks.
 
If you are savvy/capable of doing your own maintenance vs having to take it to a mech for every issue then it can be a good value.

What I've observed is there is little difference in asking price for a car with 150k vs 200k+ mi. Likewise for condition. After 10 years, Used vehicle prices seem to converge.
 
I have one past 200 but it depends who's driving and what are the consequences. If your wife is driving down I-10 In Houston and the water pump let's go with a blast of steam, you never what friendly group might stop and want to help her out.
 
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Everybody has their level where it feels comfortable. Mine has crept up from around 140k to now I will consider a 170k car as long as it was well maintained. I consider both miles and age in my thinking along with highway miles verses city. I bought a 2010 Mazda 3 with 167k on it. I would drive it 300 miles with no thought. I probably would not drive it across country yet but only because I have not driven it that much....I need a comfort level first.

Now since I already maintain 3 cars, one of the old ones is going soon, replaced with something under 60k. A guy can only stand so much worry....
 
All depends on the make of the car and how it was serviced. I had a guy come and buy my old GS300 with 200K for $5000. His wife said "Don't you want to see his maintenance records?" He told is wife (as I
am standing there with the 2 inch folder of maintenance records) there is no need to. Everybody know how gebo takes car of his cars. He didn't even test drive it.

Yep, maintenance is important.

Mid 1990's to mid 2000's were some of the best quality years out there. Opinion only.
 
Infinitis are trouble beyond 200k.
Alternator, starter, fuel pump, windshield washer pump, water pump.
And the classic fifth gear failure/sign off.
Tired struts, tired upper suspension links.
Of course after all that it's now beyond 400k.
 
Originally Posted by aquariuscsm
Imo a car with over 200K is a giveaway car.


What's sad is an older 2010-2015 Toyota Prius oil burner is not give away, quite expensive as cars go and not very reliable

Honestly can't understand the market now,
I would have to give away one of my low milers to get rid of them but if I want to buy an example it's many thousands more than I would expect
 
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