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Given the considerations list I'd say that neither is a good choice, as both of them are likely to require more than oil changes. Maybe look for an $8000 vehicle and put $2000 aside for repairs. Avoid vehicles that have a timing belt, since a teenage driver is likely to not do this maintenance and then they'll have a car with a destroyed engine that's worth very little.
Given the considerations list I'd say that neither is a good choice, as both of them are likely to require more than oil changes. Maybe look for an $8000 vehicle and put $2000 aside for repairs. Avoid vehicles that have a timing belt, since a teenage driver is likely to not do this maintenance and then they'll have a car with a destroyed engine that's worth very little.
^^ This.
If 10K is going to make you so broke you can only afford gas and maybe an oil change, the vehicles are out of your budget.
All other factors being equal, I would choose a newer car with higher miles every time.
Modern engines and transmissions do wear out... but nothing like a few decades ago when an engine or transmission had to be rebuilt at 100,000 miles. With good maintenance, 200,000 miles on a well built car is really common. With pickups, even 300,000+ is not that uncommon.
When breakdowns occur or people get fed up with vehicles, the initial failure is usually due to soft parts (which can cascade into failures of more expensive parts). Seals leak. Plastic radiator tanks crack. Hoses leak. Wiring corrodes, insulation cracks and falls apart. Suspension bushings dry-rot and crack. Seats sag, interior pieces get loose and fall apart. Belts break... causing the engine to overheat or worse.
Of course wear, temperature, heat cycles, etc. affect these 'soft' parts. But time is an even bigger factor. And older car with low miles will still suffer from these kinds problems more than a newer car... even one with higher miles.
I got my current car when it was 5 years old and had 159,000 miles. Now it's 17 years old with 299,800-ish miles, and it's been a great vehicle. To be fair, I did have to rebuild the engine about three months ago at 297,000 miles... but I can't really hold that against GM. I've got my money's worth several times over.
That's a good question, and a tough one for me to answer. I might be drawn to the older, lower mileage model if its been garaged all it's life and doesn't have any rust. If the tires look good, I'd probably check the birthday on 'em, since they could look nearly new and yet be too old to last long or even be serviceable at all. I'd look for sun fading on the top of the rear seat or wherever the sun would hit the interior.
If the old one has been a garage queen and the new one has sat outdoors, the older one might be my pick.
OTOH, my current car, a 2015, will turn 90K miles in a week or two. It still has 10K miles of drivetrain warranty left and looks and drives like a new car. I wouldn't trade it for a 2009 with 40K miles on it. It's garaged when not being driven.
A lot of cars pre-2009 have junk trannys and bad engine gaskets. Newer cars are much better, mileage isn't an issue. If both cars have proper scheduled maintenance docs. Much rather have the high mile newer car than old car with low miles and dated tech.
One is a 2007 with all the bells & whistles and has 40,000 miles on it.
One is a 2013 with no bells & whistles and has 90,000 miles on it.
Which is the better value?
Other considerations:
Teen driver purchasing and maintaining the car.
No budget for hefty repairs.
Small budget for oil changes as needed and weekly gas money.
1. Make and model matter. Honda vs. Chevy? Honda, almost always. Honda vs. Toyota? Mileage & other things matter.
If the above cars are two highly reliable, quality cars (Honda, Toyota, Subaru), I would go with lower mileage, even though it's older.
When a car hits 90k miles, there are certain repairs that are coming up, because of the mileage. The other car, despite being older, has 50k miles to go before hitting that level of repair.
I will add, though, that age matters. Even though the car has only 40k miles, it's not like being a newer car with 40k miles. Certain repairs have to be done on cars as they age, despite low mileage.
Cars are expensive to buy and maintain. BOTH of these cars will need maintenance and repairs. If the owner can't afford that, maybe it's better to get an awesome bicycle with a super duper anti-theft chain. I'd suggest a motorcycle, but I think those are too dangerous. Still, we just do the best we can, don't we? When I was young, I bought used cars and had to do my best to get repairs done. I remember having to push one car I had, to get it started. I literally had to open the driver door, and push it to get it going, then hop in, close the door, and it would start. We just do the best we can with what we have and can afford.
Last edited by bpollen; 05-17-2018 at 06:20 AM..
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