When considering a used car, you you think lower age or lower mileage is more desireable?
For instance, which of these two cars is more desireable to you (price is basically equal, both are automatic):
1996 Toyota Camry 87K
1998 Honda Civic 114K
I am inclined to think lower mileage is the more desireable trait (assuming mileage falls within normal ranges and the car hasn’t been sitting undriven for years), but I’m not totally sure. What are your thoughts?
In the example you gave, I’d definitely go for the car with under 100,000 miles. Doesn’t the value go down significantly when a vehicle reaches that landmark? Maybe it’s not that way anymore, but many people I know drive their cars until they get close to the 100,000 mark and then try to get rid of them before they hit it.
Overall, lower mileage is more attractive to me, I guess. In May, I bought a 1999 New Beetle with only 40,000 miles. It was a steal, too. Besides, unless I tell people what year it is, they think it’s new.
On first glance, and Mileage wise, the Civic is closer to a new transmission by default. And a couple wear and tear items. Otherwise, it’s going to come down to which car you like better.
Well, there’s a theory that if you’re looking at a relatively recent car and the mileage is fairly high, you shouldn’t be too worried because the miles were probably highway miles and therefore better than a lower mileage car that has a greater proportion of city mile. Or that was the theory my grandfather advanced to me when we bought my car, a three year old car with 70,000 miles on it. (seems to have workd, I’ve had my car for 15 years now, only has 146,000 miles on it now)
In your example, I’d pick the lower mileage car becuase they’re both so old, the highway theory is shot.
Outside the warranty period I’d begin considering lower mileage, availability of service records, over all mechanical and cosmetic condition, long term reliability records, insurance rates, immediate or approaching repairs/service requirements.
For example, at over 100K miles, most cars are in need of a new timing belt. That can be pricey. Also, depending on recent service, flushing and replacing of all fluids and filters is likely well overdue. Tire condition should be considered. Brake condition is another thing to consider, as is the condition and recharging of the A/C unit. Has either/both cars been used to tow stuff? If so, transmission wear may be worth considering.
Chances are, if both cars are equally well maintained, the low mileage car will be a better candidate because of potentially lighter over all use.
LOL, these cars seem pretty new to me, my current bucket o’ bolts is 93.
But anyways, the highways miles theory makes sense except that here in the DC Commuter Area, while people drive up to 100 miles each way daily, they frequently encounter long periods of stop and go traffic on those highways. So its quite possible to have both high highway miles and lots of low-speed wear.
If the Camry has a 4-cylinder, stay away from it. That engine has had oil-sludging issues due to a design defect in the crankcase ventilation system.
If you go with the Honda, get the timing belt replaced IMMEDIATELY, as this is an “interference” engine–meaning that in the event of a timing belt breakage at least one piston will probably meet at least one valve; and the enine will be toast.
I don’t know if any Toyota engines are “interference”, but I’d ask around and I’d minimize driving that one until a new belt is installed if the answer is “yes”.
Actually, my personal preference is to avoid timing belts if at all possible. Gears and chains generally last as long as the rest of the rest of the engine. Find a nice 3.8-liter V-6 Buick–you’ll probably be able to get one with less than 87K miles for the price of a “ricer” with 87k+.
I really like my 4-cylinder Ranger, but would look at a Chevy Colorado before automatically buying another Ranger, simply because the Colorado has a timing CHAIN, not a belt.
I’d call 'em equal.
The higher-mileage car is closer to impending repairs and expensive preventive maintenance, but I’ve determined that beginning at year 7, minor systems just start going wonky on me. Power windows, overall electrical, chance of AC leaks, etc… it seems like any rubber or plastic pieces that WILL fail have their first chance of doing so around year 7.
What does the market say?
Based on Edmunds, that Camry in DX trim has a private party price of $4350. Edmunds notes that $621 of that is a bonus for the low miles.
In comparison, the Accord in DX trim with auto and AC added (for parity and to meet the OP’s spec) has a private party value of $3569. It is noted that the vehicle value has suffered a $706 penalty for its high mileage.
Hard to tell if that means the mileage is more or less valuable than the year.
My previous car, a 91 Nissan Stanza that I had been driving since 1996, totaled itself lAugust 22, 2004 when the timing chain snapped on the highway – only 86K on it too! My very very trusted mechanic told me to scrap it – repairs on the engine would start at $2,000 in a best-case scenario, but the whole thing would most likely have to be rebuilt. More than the value of the car by far. This was 7 days before I was due to move cross-country, the car I have now (93 Mazda 626 w/ 114K) was bought as a stopgap measure.
So I have to say I’m not too in love with timing chains as a concept.
The car I actually want to buy is an 02 Hyundai with a year or two left on the second-owner warranty, but they are remarkably hard to find.
Thanks for the input everyone!
Well a factor that you may want to consider (or not) is how many miles per year that you plan to drive. If you drive many miles per year you would be better in a low miliage car, if you don’t drive all that much, perhaps more miles are acceptable.
A lot depends on the type of miles, cruseing on a open highway in overdrive is racking up the miles w/ very little wear, while stopped in traffic is just grinding away the engine and not putting any miles on it.
Hard to tell when you buy used, but you can get some idea, from where they live, work, any mechanical records, and a mechanic can also make some very good assumptions.