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Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Regardless of the condition, at that many miles I would worry about the automatic transmission, on any vehicle. I have rebuilt 3 of them over the last 15 years, $2,600-$3,400 and 90-140k miles. I dodged the bullet on a 1996 Explorer and traded it in at 124k miles when my mechanic at a transmission shop told me that he often sees them for a rebuild at about 130-140k.
Maybe you are missing the sweet spot? Why not choose something in the middle between 60K and 180K? 120K would cost a lot less than 60K but be much less likely to have problems than one with 180K. Also, factor in the inconvenience of the high mileage car in the shop.
200k+ highway miles is a lot better than city miles. If the car is on it's original transmission.
I would look for cars with a new tranny because modern engines can last up to 500,000 mi without internals failing. But the rest of the car has wear & tear that usually go bad quickly.
Maybe you are missing the sweet spot? Why not choose something in the middle between 60K and 180K? 120K would cost a lot less than 60K but be much less likely to have problems than one with 180K. Also, factor in the inconvenience of the high mileage car in the shop.
Yeah that's what I'm thinking. They still go for like $16K, that's why my brain keeps making the stretch to $20K, what's another $4K. My budget isn't air tight, I am just trying to find the best value for the price. If that happens to be $20K then I guess we'll have to swallow that.
Any car can go 250,000 miles or more. Whether a car will go that long depends on how it was treated and luck. Some will, some will not. Brand has little to do with it (Dodge Caravan/Town & Country minivans being the primary exception).
We have had probably close to a dozen beater cars for kids/back up in our family. Several have gone over 250K miles. Many more did not make it that far. There is really no way anyone can tell you whether a particular car is likely to make it that far. It also depends on how much you are willing to put into repairs. I would not put a $2000 transmission into a $4000 or $5000 vehicle. At that mileage there will eventually be other repairs and maintenance needed (struts, brakes/calipers, serpentine belt, tires, tie rods/control arms, computer modules, etc). If your beater loses the transmission it is usually better to just junk it and replace it.
minivans are difficult because you pay a huge premium for Toyota or Honda compared to Dodge, but the older Dodge minvans are terrible when they get old. Something new breaks every week (we have had three of them). Honda and Toyota vans have fewer problems (but at that mileage and age you wills till have problems), but you pay a massive premium because the urban legand of their better reliability exceeds the reality.
If you can find one, I would look for a ford or a chevy Astro van. You do not pay the premium, but they are better about not breaking than the Dodge minivans. Nice thing about the Astro is some of them are awd (if you live where it snows). The downside is the early astros had a deadly design defect (crushed the driver in a realtaively low sped collision). It was corrected later, so you need to research and make sure you get one from the post kill the driver period.
We traded in an 07 Honda Odyssey last summer. It had 115,000 on it. The issues were starting to appear. Sliding doors didn't always work. Power steering was not always available. Front passenger door broke. It was our third car and we dreaded having it inspected and having to pump more money into it to get it to pass.
No way I would expect to get 250,000 trouble free miles out of one. The solution may be to get a more expensive van and a beater ride for one you (the parents). Do you really want your kids riding in the worst car? Our babysitter never drove our beater van for this reason.
Take a look at a Town and Country (or Grand Caravans) vans. For just over 20,000 you can get one that is practically new. If you insist on a Honda, try looking for an EX or LX. They are usually at least a few thousand cheaper.
We traded in an 07 Honda Odyssey last summer. It had 115,000 on it. The issues were starting to appear. Sliding doors didn't always work. Power steering was not always available. Front passenger door broke. It was our third car and we dreaded having it inspected and having to pump more money into it to get it to pass.
No way I would expect to get 250,000 trouble free miles out of one. The solution may be to get a more expensive van and a beater ride for one you (the parents). Do you really want your kids riding in the worst car? Our babysitter never drove our beater van for this reason.
Take a look at a Town and Country (or Grand Caravans) vans. For just over 20,000 you can get one that is practically new. If you insist on a Honda, try looking for an EX or LX. They are usually at least a few thousand cheaper.
Thanks for that input. That makes a lot of sense.
What about a Kia. I have a Hyundai Elantra 2010 that I love and knock on wood have had no issues with at 80K miles. Hyundai doesn't have a minivan, but the Sedona should be similar. Is it worth a look? I see 2015's with 30-40K miles going for about $17K.
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