# A question about buying used cars and high mileage **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 4, 2010, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-buying-used-cars-and-high-mileage/531305 "2010-03-04T17:53:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-buying-used-cars-and-high-mileage/531305/21 "2010-03-05T16:32:42Z")
Hey, everybody, Sunspace is about to go on a trans-continental road trip. Let’s have a draw for who gets to ride shotgun in each region. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2010, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-buying-used-cars-and-high-mileage/531305/22 "2010-03-06T15:55:17Z")
Heh, the brake pedal has a plastic pad on top of it. You _can_ change these. Looking at brake pedal pad wear isn’t really much of an indicator, though, unless you’re comparing copies of the exact same car. Different suppliers use different materials, and the typical wear characteristics of today’s materials are much different than cars in the '70’s and '80’s. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2010, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-buying-used-cars-and-high-mileage/531305/23 "2010-03-06T16:00:15Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > Well, take my '01 Continental. It’s got 130,000 miles since it’s Jan. 01 manufacturing date. Call it 9 years to keep it simple. That’s over 60 miles per work day. How could that _not_ be highway miles? Maybe he had a paper route. ---
**Author:** ![FordTaurusSHO94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@FordTaurusSHO94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordTaurusSHO94)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2010, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-buying-used-cars-and-high-mileage/531305/24 "2010-03-07T00:42:34Z")
Being a Sahara, it should have a 4.0L engine. As long as the oil was changed, that engine cannot be killed. The 4.2 was strong too though. I missed it if you said what year the Jeep was. 90’s and mid 2000 Wranglers are pretty bullet-proof if kept stock and driven on the road or lightly off-road. ---
**Author:** ![Perciful](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b38774/32.png) [@Perciful](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Perciful)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2010, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-buying-used-cars-and-high-mileage/531305/25 "2010-03-07T15:46:06Z")
I only know the cars I have owned and what to expect out of them. Now a Saab you can easily get 300,000 miles out of. I would buy a used Saab with up to 150,000 miles for say 5,000 dollars. I owned a Jeep Cherokee and the transmission went at 100,000 miles. My son owned a Jeep and the elecrical system went at 100,000. Jeep is not known for strong long lasting engines. I would not buy it and I bet it is for sale because the engine is going. Have it checked out first by an honest mechanic. Personally I would not but a used Jeep in excess of 70,000 miles. I would also never, ever, ever, buy a used car without a licenced mechanic going over it first. It is worth the money to know up front what is wrong with the car. Even from a dealership I would take it somewhere else to have it checked out. Ford Taurus was a good car but Jeeps are not as cheap to maintain. Parts are expensive. ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2010, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-buying-used-cars-and-high-mileage/531305/26 "2010-03-07T23:40:33Z")
I found a really nice 00 Sahara with 75,000 miles. I put a small deposit down and if it clears a mechanic’s inspection I’ll buy it. It’s more than I wanted to spend, but still within my means. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-buying-used-cars-and-high-mileage/531305.md?page=1)