Would you buy a high mileage car or an older one

[obi_waynne]

If you had to choose between a high mileage newer car or a low mileage older car which would you go for?

Say for arguements sake both cars are for sale at £3000

One car is 5 years old and has 150,000
the other is 12 years old and has only done 40,000

What would worry you about either car the most?

 

[HDi fun]

Take the five year old but ensure that the mileage is genuine (150,000 isn't that much, today's cars could cover 250,000 and drive like a 150,000 mile example) so that you're paying the correct price.

Thorough test drive essential, a well maintained 150,000 miler should drive like a new car.

 

[prevtec]

i think older cars are better built

if the new 1 had that much mileage, then it was driven everyday for a long time
so my mind would go for the older 1

in saying that, both would need to be checked

speaking of buying an old car, i picked myself up a honda civic shuttle the other day for 180 euro, everything is working perfect, 286,000 km on the clock, all it needs is brake discs and pads

so there is old cars out there that are in better condition than almost new 1s

 

[prevtec]

Take the five year old but ensure that the mileage is genuine (150,000 isn't that much, today's cars could cover 250,000 and drive like a 150,000 mile example) so that you're paying the correct price.

Thorough test drive essential, a well maintained 150,000 miler should drive like a new car.

agreed, its all down to what kind of owner has it

 

[2fast2catch]

for me it all depends on the type of car it is, i normally go for older cars (s14 was 'N' and scoobie is 'P')

I like older car styles better than the newer ones, personally alot of newer cars are too 'round' for my liking where as an older car has more character.

I would therefore go for the older car (purely cos its more likely to be the one i like better)

 

[hemingway]

I would go for the older car.If im looking for any car i always try and keep under 100,000 with good service history.My brother in law got him self a civic on 123,000 and now has 180,000 on and had no troubles with it and that is h reg.If its looked after well and good service history then they should be no probs.

 

[HDi fun]

I would only plump for the older car if it was a model I wanted for its own sake. A 12 yr old genuine 40,000 miler will have been driven so little that it's likely to be furred up and blocked in terms of engine and exhaust.

Tyres might well have plenty of tread, for example. but may be so old that the sidewalls and tread plies are fragile so would need immediate replacement.

I suppose the thing to do is make sure that you're paying the correct price for the car, and that it's the car you really want.

I'd rather have a genuine 150,000 mile car for £3000 than pay £5500 for a similar model or similar age that supposedly has only covered 60,000 miles.

If it's not FULLY documented then treat it as a massive miler and pay the correct (low) price.

That way you'll have funds in hand to rectify any issues.

 

[RobBentley]

I'd buy the newer car with the miles on it - providing its been reguarly serviced.

The Passat I had before my W8 was a 1.8T. I bought it with 100k on it - sold it with 153k. Most reliable car I ever owned. Coolant temprature sensor went at around 130k miles. That was the sum total of repair costs.

It was also remapped from 150BHP to 195BHP from 120>150k miles and didn't cause a single issue.

 

[dpsubaru]

I would go for the newer car with high miles in general, agreeing with the points above but it really depends on what type of car - a 150k Scooby with 16 different owners is bound to be knackered but then again, as HDi pointed out above, if it was 12yrs old and barely used it could be in an even worse state.

 

[c130fxr]

Having owned both new and old like you are describing I would personally go with the older model with less mile mostly due to the fact (and I only speak of people here in the States) most people do not take their cars into the dealership or as we like to refer to them as the "stealership" for their scheduled maintenance, most would try to do it themselves (no probs IF they know what they are doing) or they will take it to the shop that usually charges the least and will probably try to sell them blinker fluid. Also a car that has 30k put on it in a year has had some very long drives or never stops running about the urban areas both which can have their own problems.

As far as the older car; as long as it hasn't sat for long periods of time without the motor being run or the tranny being actuated it should be alright.
And one more important fact the older cars value is about where it will stop whereas the value for the newer one is still gonna depreciate, and i don't know if they do your tags for your car like they do where I live but they charge you on a percentage of what you vehicles worth. Example : cost for a tag on my 2007 honda pilot $250 USD
on my 94 Saab 9000 Aero $42 USD
and that was this year next year the total should drop about $50.

Just some things to think about.

 

[claymore]

I'm with HDI on this one, i allways bye high miler's, my son has just bought a mk 4 escort 1986 with 31k full history drives like a dream, but unfortunately the rust doesn't know its a low milage car, he payd £295 for it, my wife drives a 180k 206 diesel which i bought over a year ago for £650, looks mint and hasn't missed a beat.

 

[turbonutter69]

I'd have the older car because it will hold it's value better than a newer car.

 

[HDi fun]

OK, but we're still talking over 5 years old so the initial depreciation is long gone.

 

[steviem]

I would go for a car that would in the country more than a city car, partly because and i often wonder this why manufacturers would never put an engine hour clock in a car aswell like on excavators,etc.
A typical city car might only have 50,000 miles but how many hours of sitting in traffic running has the engine done?

 

[Twamgl3]

I like the idea that 'N' and 'P' are old registrations, so they would be from round the mid 90s!

If they are still about the cars I owned would be the following ages:
Fiat Panda 21 years old; Ford Fiesta 15 years old; Toyota MR2 21 years old; Ford Escort 20 years old; Ford Fiesta 19 years old (still got that one); Land Rover Discovery 17 years old; BMW 518 25 years old.

The first Fiesta I had was 'only' nine years old when I got it and at the time seemed a bit special - I'd gone up 300ccs and I had electric windows and central locking - wowee!

I'm currently considering something economical but with oomph as I will be moving closer to our local drive-thru and it radiates stupidity and car competitiveness from the golden arches antenna outside. I'm a bit fed up with chavs tailgating me down the A120 - I need something with the over-taking power of my old MR2. But none of the rust. And is cheaper to replace the clutch. And isn't white.

 

[Greg160]

I think you should test drive both the cars.The older one may have the odometer reset or something.If both are in good condition in would go for the older one because it would probably have better lines and Ol Skul RULES.

 

[HDi fun]

I have to say that as much as I like some old cars for maybe personal or sentimental reasons I'd still rather drive modern ones.

 

[Wcnwzrd]

for me i would take the older car. yeah i might wind up paying more out the gate if there are issues but at least i will be able to do the work in my garage instead of dropping it at the shop and hoping they give me a loaner(only ever gotten 1 and that with going to the dealership for major stuff) i have the tools and the knowhow to do a complete ground up rebuild on an older car if needed but the newer ones have so much electronic in em it drive me batty trying to keep track of whats connected to what and this controls that but that also gets input from those mumbo jumbo. I don't mind putting work into a vehicle, at least then i know its done right (had the dealership screw up a tranny rebuild (forgot to top off the tranny after they put it in and test drove it) left me stranded on the side of a mountain freeway with the family) not fun when cars and big rigs are going by you at 70.