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I'm in the market for a used car. This will be my weekend only car. On average, I'll drive about 100-200 miles a month.
Because I drive so little, I'm planning on getting a high mileage used car. Of course, I'll look for the lowest miles as possible in my price range, but from my initial searches, I'll probably end up with a vehicle with about 90k-150k miles. I won't go over 150k.
So, my question is how should I factor in the age of the vehicle?
If I see a 2001 car with 102,000 miles, that would mean the owner(s) put on about 8000 miles a year.
If I see a 2008 car with 102,000 miles, that would mean the owner(s) put on about 15,000 miles a year.
Obviously, in the above scenario, the 2008 car was driven "harder" than the 2001 car. I know I should take that into consideration but how would someone balance that with knowing that the newer car probably has better/newer technology and features?
forget the age, or the mileage of a vehicle, they mean nothing, especially in your application. condition is far more important. if the car is in good overall condition, and you like the car, then buy it. i have seen cars with 30,000 miles on them that were in terrible condition, an di have seen cars with 150,000 miles that were in good overall condition.
Condition and maintenance mean more than anything. I routinely got 200,000 out of service trucks. And those were driven constantly. Look at condition and if the car is a one owner and if the guy can prove all the maintenance.
Whatever you buy, look for a verified maintenance history.
If all they can offer you are some oil change receipts, walk away.
You want the vehicle that actually had trans fluid, anti-freeze, brake fluid, etc. changed per the manufacturer's schedules.
Make sure the car has never been in an accident. Bad paint can be repaint, Bad engine can be replaced, bad tranny can be replaced. Bad shocks/struts can be replaced and should be.
But u can never straighten damaged frame.
But there is no way of knowing either of the above (cold engine, highway miles, etc).
Can't tell cold engine.
But highway miles you can investigate a bit.
A lot of short trips. Will show signs of driver entering and exiting the car a lot. There will be some wear on the driver seat. Especially if they wear jeans. It would rub off even more the side bolster even more.
Also on the gas foot. At the bottom floor tend to show wear due to the heel keep pressing it.
If its highway miles. They usually jus sit there all day and on cruise control. A lot less wear on the driver side.
Jus my opinion and experience.
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