How used will you buy a used car?

[BimmerM3]

Fine.  An old POS E21 BMW 320i it might have to be...

I might know where you could find one... Can't guarantee you that it'll run though.

[L. ed foote]

reliability is of the utmost importance.

True, but it's pretty much a crapshoot with any car.

[the Teuton]

I might know where you could find one... Can't guarantee you that it'll run though.

I'd have to be able to drive it back to Ohio or Pittsburgh if I got it.

Maybe I should just keep holding out for my 2002.

[L. ed foote]

I'd have to be able to drive it back to Ohio or Pittsburgh if I got it.

Patterson, NJ



http://tinyurl.com/d38vkz

[the Teuton]

81,000 original miles...wow.  I'm going to pull out my Rag line and say I wish it were stick.  Beautiful car.

[hotrodalex]

Depends on why I'm buying it. If it's for my daily driver, barely used with 20-40k miles on it. That's what my Mazda was, BMW was to a degree. But for project cars it doesn't matter.

[Rupert]

60-80k max. My car has 67k right now and it'd still be a good choice for a used buyer.

Say, I can be a buyer.

[Rupert]

This car has 168k on it right now, and had 143k on it when I bought it. It's my daily driver, and has gone on long trips. Its very first trip was from where I bought it in bridgeport CT, all over middle Ct and then back down here to Baltimore, 6 hours away. Within a month it was driven by my wife to Richmond, VA and back, up the Blue Ridge mountains.

[pic]

I've had daily drivers that were over 30 years old, and consisting of most of their original parts.

Aye. I owned a car with 88 kmiles on it once. The lowest of... [checks sig] eight.

I mean, shit, the Ranger has almost 140 kmiles already, and it's been perfectly reliable. I wouldn't hesitate to drive it across the country tomorrow.

[Madman]

My Volvo 740 is closing in on 270,000 miles and it's in better shape than some 80,000 mile cars I've seen.  Last month, I drove it on a 2,000+ mile return trip to Florida and didn't worry for a minute that anything would go wrong.  Miles only matter if a car hasn't been cared for.  A high-mileage car that has been well taken car of will give you fewer headaches than a low-mileage car that has been beaten to death.

I just replaced all the original engine and transmission mounts on the 740.  The right side engine mount had finally given out after 19 years of loyal service, so I replaced all of them.  Guess I won't have to worry about replacing those again until the year 2028?  Better mark my calendar before I forget!

Miles?  Ha!  We Volvo owners love to brag about how many miles our cars have done!


Cheers,
Madman of the People

[TBR]

Depends on the condition of the car.  Mileage is unimportant to me.

I agree, miles are almost irrelevant when it comes to determining reliability. My car has over 350,000 miles, I wouldn't hesitate to drive it across country tomorrow. In fact, two weeks from today I am driving it across the country.

Edit:

Disclaimer- just received a $2000 long list of things that are wrong with it. Only ~$1300 are reliability risks. I am leaning towards selling it, but only because I don't really need a car.

[The Pirate]

Yeah, condition and a service history are what I look for too.  I'm never hit 350K miles with any of my vehicles, but all have been above 100K and most were creeping up on 200K, I would have driven them anywhere.

For all that I rag on my Proteg? (and the rear brake caliper issue notwithstanding), this probably has been the best car that I've ever owned.  With 118K miles, it runs as well as cars with 10K miles, uses absolutely no oil, and I'd get in and drive it anywhere tomorrow.

[saxonyron]

I've had great luck with CPO cars with low miles.  The last few that I've bought were 4,000 on the A6, and the low 20's on the last 3 Expediters.  I get them always with the 100k manufacturer's warranty so I really don't have to worry about any repair bill surprises.  I'm saving huge dough on the cars compared to new, so the economics just make sense.  I sell or trade the cars at around 90k miles, before the warranty dries up. I used to always drive cars with 80k+ miles, keeping them until 150k miles and much more.  But life has gotten too complicated to deal with working to keep an old car on the road. This is a good middle ground.

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

I'd have to be able to drive it back to Ohio or Pittsburgh if I got it.

Maybe I should just keep holding out for my 2002.

I'm making that drive this Saturday. My Corolla had 185k on it when i brought it and i brought a '87 S-10 Blazer in '92 that had 125k on it. Both ran just fine!

[the Teuton]

There is a Legacy I am eying right now with higher mileage than my car, and I am not sure if it's worth it at this point.  This thread is making me have a change of heart for the better.