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Is there a limit on the number of years a car can have before you would buy? Friend is looking to sell me a 12 year old es300 for a good price and I was looking to change to a sedan for a long time. Any thoughts?
It all depends on the price, mileage, condition, etc. Since it's your friend, I assume you know the history and mileage. On average I would stay away from anything with over 100k miles, but it depends on what he's selling it for. Personally, I plan to get a classic car from the 50s or 60s sometime in the future, but that's not really the same thing, I suppose.
If the vehicle has been reasonably well maintained per manufacturer's spec, has reasonable miles, and otherwise is functioning well; ie, no obvious major mechanical issues ...
then what you are able to purchase is the remaining service life of the vehicle.
I've bought and driven many vehicles that were in excess of 12 years old without issues that delivered many more miles.
Case in point, my pick-up trucks are mid 1990's vehicles and until I recently replaced both of my Subie OBW's with a 2000 & 2001 year model, we'd been driving mid 1990's Subie wagons as daily drivers. One of those older cars, the 1995, is still on the road for another owner and doing just fine in daily driving for their teenagers. That means that we bought the 2000 with over 12 years of use on it and almost 200,000 miles on the odo .... for my wife's daily 65+ mile commute. It's running just fine, still gets high 20's for fuel economy composite driving ....
Quality cars are far more durable in the last 15-20 years than the guidelines of use would suggest from the 60's-70's-80's vintage cars.
Of course, it would be beneficial to have a knowledgeable tech in the car under consideration do a pre-buy inspection for you to alert you to possible faults or upcoming problem areas.
For me is no more than 4 years and under 80k miles - since most cars would be worth 1/2 value of new at that time. I also look to get the ones that have the dealer/auto manufacturer backed warranty to 100k and with proof of service done up to date.
I've been doing this for many year (probably last 15 cars) and never had a problem with a lemon car. 2-3 years after I trade them for the next 3-4 years old car.
It is my formula of driving luxury cars as inexpensive as it gets with regular maintenance and it worked well so far.
Only time my plan did not work when I purchased an SRX from a Cadillac dealer (with warranty). Turned out to be the worst vehicle I ever had, burning oil (1 qt per 1,000 miles) and dealer was telling me is normal. Then it started to have problems with signal lights burning, timing chain, etc. I ended up trading it couple of months later for an MDX and I was again very happy.
I drive a 16 year old F150 that I bought two years ago. However, I am retired and do not have to drive much. As well, I do most of my own auto maintenance and have a good place to do minor and major repairs.
I know nothing about a Lexus other than what I hear that they are decent vehicles. The average mileage on a used vehicle, I believe, is about 12,000 to 13,000 per year so a 12 year old car should have about 140,000 to 156,000 miles on it.
But to answer your question, yes I would buy an older car with high mileage if: (1) the model has a good reputation, (2) the price is right and (3) it is it obvious that the vehicle has been adequately cared for.
Here in non-rusting country, there really is no age limit. Frequently when you are looking at older rigs, something older and with more miles will be in better shape mechanically, for example a 15 year old rig with 150K on the clock may still be on the OEM clutch, with say 10% of clutch life remaining, while a 20 year old rig with 250K on the clock may have a relatively new clutch, maybe one that is better than the one it came with. Might be. Might not be.
Age and mileage are just surrogates for condition, used by the simple minded and not very mechanically inclined. What you need to do is to inspect the vehicle and evaluate its actual condition. Even if you know cars, it's a really good idea to have at least one person along with you to help inspect who "does not have a dog in the fight" - and a 2nd set of eyes anyway, someone to talk over what you see or don't see.
My newest car is 21 years old, my daily is 30. My buddy is driving around in a 78 F350 he bought for $350, today he had to put a starter in it, c'est la vie. If one can take care of most minor repairs and does the maintenance, anything from the later 70's on is nearly impossible to wear out.
One of the stupidest ways to evaluate a vehicle is to obsess over the condition of wear parts, especially tires. Give me a car with a set of well-worn but evenly worn tires that testify to the condition of the suspension over one with a set of cheap new tires put on by a numbskull "trying to fix 'er up to sell"...anyday! The reality of it is you very seldom buy an older car that does not have some needs, regardless if it's a daily beater or a valuable collector car. Cars that have had all the needs taken care of are generally not offered for sale, why would anyone sell a car that is running fine and needs nothing?
Is there a limit on the number of years a car can have before you would buy? Friend is looking to sell me a 12 year old es300 for a good price and I was looking to change to a sedan for a long time. Any thoughts?
for me the only thing that matters is condition and price. age and mileage mean virtually nothing to me.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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I have one currently that I drive daily that's 16 years old, and was 13 when I bought it for $950. I had one that was 32 years old and more recently one that was 35 years old when I sold it. My wife's is now 11 (only has 92,000 miles) and my newest is 6 years old but both of those we bought new.
As long as you know that it has been well maintained and know what to look for in what wears out more due to age than miles, and get a good enough deal to afford the repairs, there's nothing wrong with a 12 year old car. Look for rust under the door doors, cracked rubber suspension bushings, worn valve stem seals (smoke when started up after sitting)
and cracks on the tire sidewalls. Check the floorboards for rust or soft spots from the underside.
Is there a limit on the number of years a car can have before you would buy? Friend is looking to sell me a 12 year old es300 for a good price and I was looking to change to a sedan for a long time. Any thoughts?
My past 5 vehicles have been Nissan 300 ZXs...all but one verifiable one or 2 prior owners, mostly women, ALL with full maintenance paperwork histories (YES they are out tnere like that esp the 80s models), none more than 130K mi. and with a full Carfax done regardless. Now, sadly, I'm older and have too much of my body titanium to get in/out of them easily. My 20year old son got the last one. Needless to say, he's driven it like a new racecar...kids!
My current vehicle, bought from a neighbor's friend, cost me $500. is 7 yes old with 112K miles, has a salvage title because of a fender bender that would cost the insurance co. more than 75% of it's book value (scraped front fender, small dent in the rear fender at the plate, and a small trunk dent~~all I've all ready replaced @ the local ''pull apart place''. I had no idea what 'salvage tags' were in NC, but for a 60 yr old bionic lady, it runs well, gets fair gas mpg, and tho' ''boring to drive'' I have 25 yes of dream car memories to my heart. I've traded the hatchback or 2+2 rear seat for 2 infant/toddler seats...truly more rewarding!
For a daily driver that I'm putting 50 miles a day on, if not buying new, I'd prefer something 3-5 yrs old and less than 50k miles. There's some pretty nice cars out there that fit that requirement. Staying in the 3-5 yr range minimizes condition factors that normally only come into play later on, say like when the car is 8-10 years old. For instance, suspension parts, rubber hoses, trim parts, etc...
For a weekend/fun car, I have no limits on the age of the vehicle, although a lot of the cars built before the 60's are kind of like driving tanks.
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