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  • LAVA Moderator: Mysterier

What's a fair amount of miles for a used car.

In NZ we basically all drive second hand Japanese stuff. Or at least a large amount of us. These cars mostly just need cam belt done every 100'000km and they are good to drive to the moon and back.

So yeah besides oil changes, brakes etc.. When me and my circle buy a car.. If it's between 100-200k(usually is) then as long as there's evidence of cam belt being done you can be relatively certain it'll be OK. Anything else that might pop up is usually pretty cheap to fix and you accept that because you are paying fuck all compared to buying new.

Things I've had to buy over my life for these second hand cars are stuff like radiators, bushes, engine mounts, cv joints, ac regassing. All of this shit has only cost me a few hundred at most. So considering these cars cost a couple grand instead of 40k lol.. Pretty good deal.
 



a conjugation of a Mel Gibson cinematography ahaha, I mean imagine having this car almost as old as Voyager 1 probe and you get this..

plot twist : his car was filming, the old one.
 
I've driven cars for far more than 200-300 thousand miles . That certainly possible. However, very often the damage done to a car is not directly related to how many miles are on a car. Often the owner and their driving habits can incur far more damage to a car than what "normal wear and tear might suggest. There are drivers who "jump the curb" or run over pot holes and railroad crossings and drivers who carefully navigate road hazzards. Those cars that have been driven carelessly can have (sometimes very expensive) parts that are damaged and require replacement. I've looked at cars with less tha 20,000 miles that have front end/brake damage running into the thousands of dollars despite a manufacturer that builds otherwise long lasting components and cars. A good engine and transmission is just the beginning of a used car evaluation.

Often owners will not disclose this type of damage and attempt to sell them at prices that reflect no damage. This is the reason one should always make an evaluation further than merely the number of miles on a car. Why pay more than you need for a car. If I was looking at a car and it had problems I would ask for a price adjustment so I can pay for the repairs. Never assume that a clean body and low miles mean good value.
 
it is nice to buy brand new and not have to worry about much for quite a long time.....i finally did that in 2019 and have zero regrets

right around the 80k mile mark, you usually have to spend a pretty penny for a timing belt and regularly timed maintenace items etc. and then from there you can expect to need a new alternator, a new starter, struts, tires, O2 sensors take a shit on ya, spark plug wires (they're not cheap anymore)

it could be cheap or expensive to replace an alternator depending on where it is and how hard it is to get to - depends on the make and model so you need to look into that

and then little bullshit happens, leaky radiator hose, heat stops working, the stupid little knob to adjust your sideview mirror breaks or something like that, cracks in the seals for the doors and now you have a leak, rear defogger stops working

you're usually spending money no matter what unless you're really lucky - that's how i see it

if you can do a lot maintenance yourself, that helps a lot

for a woman, i'd buy her a brand new car or something with low mileage so she doesn't have to worry about much
 
I'm new here and I just wanna add that regarding the mileage, it depends on the make and model of the car. For a Prius, anything under 100k miles is a good deal, but if you're on a budget, you can go for the ones with higher mileage as long as you do your research and make sure the battery is in good condition.
As for the battery replacement, that's definitely something you should ask about before purchasing. You don't want to end up with a dead battery and a big bill on your hands. If you're having trouble finding the right Prius for you, have you considered car relocation services? They can help you find the perfect car and even bring it to you! Ok, have a good one you all.
 
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I inherited a 1996 Toyota truck with a 150000 miles. Been driving it for 2 years, with no problems and it still drives beautifully.
 
I know this is old OP but yea the biggest concern with a prius or any hybrid once you get over 100k is that hybrid battery is often only warrantied for 8 years 100k miles on those prior to 2020 models. So make sure you're under that or be prepared to replace it if you're going to keep the vehicle for awhile but honestly it seems like a hassle bc other shit is going to need fixing too.
 
I guess it depends on the car. I had a Toyota Corolla with about 200k on it and it ran like a dream. (Unfortunately, I crashed it!)
 
Cheshire_Kat said:
$100. for a mechanic may save thousands of hidden repairs.
Click to expand...
This is the main thing. Pay a mechanic to put it up on a rack and inspect it. If all checks out well, then if you want to put money elsewhere, then you could buy with more mileage on it.

Joe Rogan said Toyota's last forever.
 
If it's a foreign car 100k is great.
Any usa brand (domestic) , it just really depends. Some things are cheap maintenance. My jeep blew engine at 26k miles. Who knows these days .
 
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