Used Cars. Older w/fewer miles or newer w/more miles?

[pyzik 597]

Ok, so the wife got her new(er) car a couple months ago and everytime I ride in it it makes me hate my car more, haha.

We splurged on her car a bit, spending a little more than anticipating.

So, I want to go with a more frugal purchase ($10k or under). There are quite a few decent cars in this price range but have a bit of a dilemma. I am trying to decide if I should go with a bit of an older car (2005-06) with fewer miles (around 50k) or a little bit newer car (07-08) with more miles (80k) for around the same price.

 

I am leaning towards the older car (an 05 Mariner Premier with 51k miles). But would like some opinions on age vs mileage.

 

I know there are plenty of cheaper cars with even less miles on them but I am not interested in an economy car again.

(Example: I could get a 08 Chevy Cobalt with 30-40k miles for $8k)

I went from an 02 Sable Premier (loaded) to a 06 Focus with air and a radio, lol. I hate not having leather and some of the nicer things.

 

Thanks for your opinions.

[Spartacus 1,619]

I bought a 3 year old fleet car a couple of years ago (Chevy Impala).

Well maintained and about $7500 with around 80K miles.

 

I've been happy with it. But then again, air and radio are just fine for me.

I have no need for leather seats.

[theorangeplanet 968]

Older with less. You'll get a better car for probably much cheaper that way.

[RobRez 1,895]

With the choices you gave I think older with lower miles. Try talking to mechanics about the cars you like. I personally would never buy a used american car.Truck, yes, car, no. All cars today seem to be built with planned obsolecence, and it jst seems to me that a used Honda or Toyota is a much more reliable car on average, especially if you get a manual transmission.

Just my opinion.

[pyzik 597]

Thanks for the replies.

I do work for a ford supplier so American is best but not a must.

I am kind leaning on older with less miles.

 

Spartacus, if I can find the right car at the right price I will forego the amenities. I just miss them, lol.

[Dad2142Dad 6,559]

More / less miles, newer / older doesn't really matter. Was the maintenance done? What's the recall history? What's the JD ranking for issues? Does it give you a woody?

 

These are the important questions.....................

[storm6490 2,768]

Check out a w210 body mercedes sedan. The e320 has good gas mileage and will last 300K plus with normal affordable maintenance.

 

Let someone else take a hit on the luxury cars!

 

I'm still looking for the perfect w210 e320 4matic wagon. They are a bit more hard to find than the sedans. Lots of parts available and you can fix most everything on it yourself if you can fix a chevy with a 350.

 

I'd stay away from the ford exploder type SUV vehicles in the used car market. They are terribly engineered and always wear out too soon. It seems that american cars are designed to only last 100K before they shit out.

 

Toyotas are great used cars to find but demand a better price since nobody want to sell them.

 

Never buy a used hybrid! They're a ticking time bomb!

 

Check out carsabi.com for used cars across the country and searchtempest to search all of craigslist for cars.

 

Do a PPI pre purchase inspection with a mechanic that specializes in the vehicle you are purchasing. It will cost about 120 bucks and save your ass. I almost purchased a wagon out of california but the PPI indicated it was in a crash that was not on the carfax and the suspension was destroyed. saved me!

 

Good luck!

 

p.s. edmunds dot com also has a ton of great info on pricing and vehicle information for used cars...

Edited June 27, 2012 by Stryker0946

[Arik 565]

As for hybrids i cant speak for all of them but several years ago a cab company bought 3 Prius's and a Camry hybrid from us. All cars were already used with around 50k miles. Currently they are all reaching 300k miles with minor maintenance and nothing related to the hybrid system. NYC cabs run mostly Ford Escape hybrids up to 200k miles. Also we get Escape hybrids from NY state (gov cars) with 150k mileage range. The sell fast and within the last few years no one has come back to complain. In my experience they have shown to be reliable.

[RobRez 1,895]

My Lady has been driving her little Ford Fukus for 8 years now and it has been a reliable little car. I have heard good things about Fords 2.0 liter motor, but you won't find it in any luxury type car. There is even a kit to swap the Ford 2 liter into an old VW Microbus.

However if he is jealous of her new car, I don't think a Fukus will keep him satisfied.

[rs51085 136]

i used to think i had this figured out. buy low miles, no collision damage, in great condition used cars. nope didn't work. we bought an 06 fusion with 30k on it w/ v6 and leather. we have put 60k on it with zero problems. so after that we decided to get an 04 f 150 lariat 4x4 with 30 k on it, it looked brand new in and out, and ran great when test driven. it has been nothing but problems. first coil plug went out- replaced under warranty at dealer cost of $300 then the heads had to be rebuilt at the dealers cost of around $1300. this was all in the first month i owned it with less than 40k on it. and they wouldn't take it back. all was good for another year. then the bottom end went out. new motor time. so i put a junkyard motor in it myself at my cost. long story short both cars were low miles and less than 4 years old when purchased. one had problems and one didn't. with out buying from a source that you can 100 percent verify the service history and how it was treated it is a crap shoot. you can argue foreign vs domestic all day but service history and how it was treated are more important in my mind. i have seen all brands fail, some more than others. another thing to consider is how many mile you will have on it when it is paid off. if it has say 80k on it and you finance for 6 years of 15k miles a year then it is going to have 170k on it by the time you pay it off. this is not a good situation in my mind with any car. my goal was and still is to have a car paid off before it hits 100K. then you have options. if you fell like its a good car after a few years you can hang on to because it is paid for. if not trade her in because its paid for. chances are you will be tired of it and want something new by the time its paid off anyway. i hope this helps. good luck and sorry for the long post.

[Shandlanos 1,470]

As for hybrids i cant speak for all of them but several years ago a cab company bought 3 Prius's and a Camry hybrid from us. All cars were already used with around 50k miles. Currently they are all reaching 300k miles with minor maintenance and nothing related to the hybrid system. NYC cabs run mostly Ford Escape hybrids up to 200k miles. Also we get Escape hybrids from NY state (gov cars) with 150k mileage range. The sell fast and within the last few years no one has come back to complain. In my experience they have shown to be reliable.

 

That's surprising. My folks own a gen 1 prius, and their drive battery went out when the car was 4-5 years old - that's the multi-thousand-dollar battery. Fortunately, it was under warranty. Either that's very uncommon, or newer models have solved the problem?

[Arik 565]

As for hybrids i cant speak for all of them but several years ago a cab company bought 3 Prius's and a Camry hybrid from us. All cars were already used with around 50k miles. Currently they are all reaching 300k miles with minor maintenance and nothing related to the hybrid system. NYC cabs run mostly Ford Escape hybrids up to 200k miles. Also we get Escape hybrids from NY state (gov cars) with 150k mileage range. The sell fast and within the last few years no one has come back to complain. In my experience they have shown to be reliable.

 

That's surprising. My folks own a gen 1 prius, and their drive battery went out when the car was 4-5 years old - that's the multi-thousand-dollar battery. Fortunately, it was under warranty. Either that's very uncommon, or newer models have solved the problem?

 

It might just be hit or miss. My boss bought a gen 1 prius to use as a work car it had 130k at the time. Sold it 6 months later to some guy he knows. That was about 3 years ago, afaik its still running fine. I want a hybrid cause i spend too much on gas but im afraid to. The track record ive seen has been good but i worry that i'll get the one with the problems.

 

Rogers is kinda right. Wile chances are better on a lower mileage car it doesnt mean much. My current car is a 2001 4 cyl Toyota Solara. I bought it in 2007 with 81k miles. Never bothered ro do a history check. Right now it has 211000 miles. I have replaced a radiator just recently $200, 3 thermostats $15ea, and twice did the 100k mile service which is required since this car has a belt instead of a chain. The belt, water pump abd a gasket were changed totaling about $130 each time. So basically this car is trouble and maintenance free. Last year i decided, out of curiosity, to check its history. Turns out it was in a major front end collision. Long story short, accident or not, this car has performed great.

[pyzik 597]

Thanks for all the info. After looking and looking nothing is jumping out at me right now. So I guess I should just wait.

BTW, I have an '06 Fukus that has been okay to me. Nothing other than normal wear an tear had had to be fixed. I have 121k on it and right now the rear brakes and shocks need to be replaced. It's just noisy, slow and not real comfortable.