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I'll throw in another suggestion for a good, cheap, reliable car that few people would ever think about: a 10-year old Mitsubishi Galant. Not the greatest for gas mileage, but solidly reliable and easily under the $5000 mark.
I saw a 1968 Beetle 2 weeks ago selling for $16,000. The sign said it had 85000 on its latest engine. Granted the car had been taken care of but $16,000. Maybe this is considered a classic car I don't know.
I agree used cars with high mileages sell for ridiculous prices.
Location: A Very Naughtytown In Northwestern Montanifornia U.S.A.
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Our Mercury Sable.
We just bought a Mercury Sable for $3,400. with 114,000 miles on it. It will run on straight gasoline or gasoline mixed with up to 85% ethanol. We have no E85 fuel stations in our state so I plan on "moon-shining" fuel for our car. I love our Sable. ~♥~
My 2002 Toyota 4Runner had over 114,000 miles. My goal was to drive it until 200k. I was tired of paying for 16 mpg gasoline. Unfortunately catalytic converter went out - $2k price to replace. No one would take it as a trade with the dash lights on, so I fixed it and traded it in. Tired of the mpgs and older car started to have more and more stuff "go out" and need replacing.
Moral of the story for me: no more trying to keep cars past 75k miles.
Catalytic converters aren't covered in warranties for a reason. They're expensive. And they go out -
I'm going to ditch my cars early so I'll never get that bill again. Be cautious if you're buying a 100k car. You might have your converter go out very soon.
In my opinion, the reason that these cars cost so much is that there is actually a shortage of them! The Cash for Clunkers program was a huge 'success' depending on which way you look at it. In 2009, nearly 700,000 used cars were taken off the road, and replaced with new ones. The cars that were scrapped would likely have been the target cars for new drivers for the next several years. Sadly, it's had the effect of pushing the prices for the well-used but still drivable vehicles through the roof.
I would imagine that in years to come, many of the cars bought through the program will be available to the emerging drivers market, and many of these will be foreign cars. The program hugely benefited Toyota, and other Japanese and Korean manufacturers at the expense of American car makers, while Japan's own version of 'Cash for Clunkers' specifically excluded U.S. cars...
My 2002 Toyota 4Runner had over 114,000 miles. My goal was to drive it until 200k. I was tired of paying for 16 mpg gasoline. Unfortunately catalytic converter went out - $2k price to replace. No one would take it as a trade with the dash lights on, so I fixed it and traded it in. Tired of the mpgs and older car started to have more and more stuff "go out" and need replacing.
Moral of the story for me: no more trying to keep cars past 75k miles.
Catalytic converters aren't covered in warranties for a reason. They're expensive. And they go out -
I'm going to ditch my cars early so I'll never get that bill again. Be cautious if you're buying a 100k car. You might have your converter go out very soon.
Problems like this are sporadic and not necessarily an indicator of reliability of all vehicles. Obviously there is no perfect one out there, but I think it's reasonable to say that anyone that owns a car with more than 75k miles knows they are taking a risk and that something could happen any time.
As far as the catalytic converter in your previous car, did you try looking for used or was $2k the price for a brand new one? Think that there might have been other (cheaper) options out there. Sucks when you have to shell out that much cash for a repair though. I had to have the rear differential rebuilt in one of my cars last summer, was about a $1500 repair and the cause was from a shop not installing a pinion seal properly.
My 2002 Toyota 4Runner had over 114,000 miles. My goal was to drive it until 200k. I was tired of paying for 16 mpg gasoline. Unfortunately catalytic converter went out - $2k price to replace. No one would take it as a trade with the dash lights on, so I fixed it and traded it in. Tired of the mpgs and older car started to have more and more stuff "go out" and need replacing.
Moral of the story for me: no more trying to keep cars past 75k miles.
Catalytic converters aren't covered in warranties for a reason. They're expensive. And they go out -
I'm going to ditch my cars early so I'll never get that bill again. Be cautious if you're buying a 100k car. You might have your converter go out very soon.
When you buy used you have to be aware of potential repair costs, regardless of mileage. I drive my cars up to or above 200K miles and have never had a cat plug up, but I did have a Crown Vic that had one with a hole in it. I just let it go, but if I had chosen to fix it it it would have been a ~$300 repair. Or I could have replaced both converters with pipe for $50 (one of the advantages of living in an area with no testing).
And of course the idea is that when buying a high-mileage car you should be able to buy it cheap enough that you can justify putting some money in it for repairs. But of course with the recent inflated prices on that's not always the case.
My 2002 Toyota 4Runner had over 114,000 miles. My goal was to drive it until 200k. I was tired of paying for 16 mpg gasoline. Unfortunately catalytic converter went out - $2k price to replace. No one would take it as a trade with the dash lights on, so I fixed it and traded it in. Tired of the mpgs and older car started to have more and more stuff "go out" and need replacing.
Moral of the story for me: no more trying to keep cars past 75k miles.
Catalytic converters aren't covered in warranties for a reason. They're expensive. And they go out -
I'm going to ditch my cars early so I'll never get that bill again. Be cautious if you're buying a 100k car. You might have your converter go out very soon.
Curious as to if you were the original owner? My 2000 4Runner is just about to hit 185,000. I bought it with 70K miles (2003) & dropped no $ into it until a 100,000 miles later (last year).
Catalytic converters aren't covered in warranties for a reason. They're expensive. And they go out -
Catalytic converters do not typically fail on cars, if they do, usually there is something else wrong with the car that caused the failure. All catalytic converters come with a 7 year or 70,000 mile warranty mandated by the Federal Government. Also it is possible to have a catalytic converter repaired for a fraction of the replacement cost. You should look into having it repaired first before replacing it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BucFan
Unfortunately catalytic converter went out - $2k price to replace.
Obviously you didn't shop around, There's a replacement Catalytic Converter for $173 online.
Labor would add a few hundred to the price and you would have to go to a smaller repair shop to get them to install 3rd party parts. No way a dealer would install that for you, not if they can charge you 2k for a official factory authorized part.
Keeping a car is far cheaper in the long run than buying a new car. While there may be occasional expensive repairs on older cars, they are usually far less than the monthly payments on a new car.
Last edited by TechGromit; 02-07-2013 at 10:20 AM..
Catalytic converters do not typically fail on cars, if they do, usually there is something else wrong with the car that caused the failure. All catalytic converters come with a 7 year or 70,000 mile warranty mandated by the Federal Government. Also it is possible to have a catalytic converter repaired for a fraction of the replacement cost. You should look into having it repaired first before replacing it.
Obviously you didn't shop around, There's a replacement Catalytic Converter for $173 online.
Obviously labor would add a few hundred to the price and you would have to go to a smaller repair shop to get them to install 3rd party parts. No way a dealer would install that for you, not if they can charge you 2k for a official factory authorized part.
Keeping a car is far cheaper in the long run than buying a new car. While there may be occasional expensive repairs on older cars, they are usually far less than the monthly payments on a new car.
Been driving with the check engine light on since 2006; 3rd generation 4runners are known for this issue.
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Our Mercury Sable.
I love our Sable. ~♥~ 
