I vote for the newer, high mileage car. Be sure to have your mechanic do a compression check on the engine. That’ll help to identify if those miles were gentler highway cruising miles or were rougher stop-and-go / slow-and-go miles. And will also help identify if oil and filter changes were done regularly.
In this particular case, I would go with the higher milage but newer vehicle. The 2008 Outback uses a timing belt, while the 2018 Outback uses a chain. Both are interference engines. With only 59K miles, I would doubt that the older car ever had a timing belt replacement. Despite the low miles, the timing belt is due for replacement based on age.
Ulf, if the older car has service records, I would check to see if the timing belt has been serviced, or if it is the original belt. If it has been changed, then it is probably ok. But if it hasn’t been changed, or if service records are not available, I would figure in the cost of replacement of belt in the price of the car. Check prices, but I think that’s about a $750 or so repair (actually preventive maintenance).
Timing chains are normally good for life.
I agree with both of these reasons.
- For instance, my wife’s 2009 Accord doesn’t have one of those backup cameras, but my 2016 Civic does.
- Rubber and plastic fatigue are a real thing, and even if it’s spent most of the past 16 years in a climate-controlled garage, that stuff is gradually deteriorating even while sitting still.
As far as #3 (how the car was driven) is concerned, it’s worth asking about, but I wouldn’t try to guess based on years and mileage.
This. It’s been a couple of decades since we’ve bought a used car, but mechanics used to have a basic inspection they’d do on a car that you were considering buying, for a standard price.
I owned an MG Midget that eventually developed a crack in the exhaust manifold. I couldn’t find one searching junk yards. A friend patched the crack with muffler tape as a temporary fix.
I put an ad in the paper to sell the car. A guy came and was interested. I told him the car was being sold as-is. He wanted a friend/mechanic to look it over. I held onto his driver’s license and car keys and he took the car. When he returned he paid me my asking price. I was prepared to come down once he told me what his friend discovered.
Thanks, all. Very much! I don’t know a lot about cars, and I’m always grateful when those who do share their expertise. I would have thought that low mileage was more important than it seems to be, and that car age was less important than it seems to be–shows how much I know. Anyway, clear reasoning, explanations that make sense (ande that I can follow), and I’m grateful.
Definitely plan to have my mechanic check anything over if I’m seriously interested in it (he offered).
For what it’s worth, for various reasons I’m probably not going to buy either of these. I am in the beginning stages of the search, but will take your advice into consideration, of course. Thanks again!
FYI - I too loved my 2005 Outback, but that year and some of the years before and after (can’t remember which, exactly) were notorious for bad engine seals. I had to get the engine replaced in 2018 with a 50,000 mile engine from Japan, which then developed the same issue again last year. I didn’t replace the engine a 2nd time. It died for good in December.
Yup, mine was a 2005 (I think), and its engine gave out way too early. Worse yet, it gave out in CT and I live in NY state. Worse still, it took a while for the mechanic to get the “new” engine, and when it arrived they went on vacation for three weeks. I managed, but wasn’t happy about it!
That engine did last for me, at least. It was the transmission that eventually did the vehicle in. Too bad. I may yet buy another one; we’ll see.
Mine died in October. It was a 2010 with 200,000 miles on it, and was getting increasingly expensive to maintain. Our “new” car (a 2021 Ford Escape hybrid) has so many new features (backup camera, keyless ignition, blind spot warning, lane warning, power liftgate, collision warning, Android Auto) that I can’t stand driving our other old car (2008 Prius).
This was a big factor in my decision to buy my current Subaru, an '02 Outback LL Bean Edition. I was just debating this with a mechanic–my position is that since I keep old cars nearly forever (because I’m not terribly afraid of making repairs and upgrades) it’s more valuable to me to go with the much less common H6 engine over one of the four cylinder boxers. Timing belts are spendy to swap out and over the time I keep a car that could mean two or three of them to pay for. Timing chain is there for the duration–other shit might very well go tits up on her but that’s a known expense I don’t have to plan for. I also like the power boost and the trim level is way better than I could have afforded in a newer model. Leather seats rather than fabric, dual sunroofs, an OEM cargo barrier that will restrain a big dog–I’d much rather have the fancier model even if there is a corresponding downside in age and/or mileage. That’s just my own personal car math, it’s not for everyone.
Yes! Mine is a new Corolla and every day I marvel at what an improvement it is! The rear camera alone - it has something like a 170° view range: when I’m backing out of a space I can see fully left and right incoming cars without straining my neck. (I’ve always been a back-in parker, but it’s just not always possible, such as with angle-in spaces.) There are so many modern improvements, I’m almost embarrassed I waited so long!
I only wish I could have held out for a hybrid like you got, but the auto gods had other ideas the day the car died for good. Oh, well, I don’t drive so much nowadays and the MPG is still double what I’d been getting.
When buying used vehicles (FSBO), I base a lot of my decisions on seeing the owner’s house. Seriously. If they’re keeping everything around their house and yard in good condition, they’re probably taking care of the car as well (regular oil changes, etc.). If the house is in disrepair, the car is probably even further down the list, and it’s difficult to “see” accumulated maintenance deferrals – unless it’s a really old vehicle.
I even lie and claim bathroom needs so they’ll take me inside. That way I can get a better look at how they keep things.
Based on the scenario you gave, the newer one almost certainly. I wouldn’t necessarily say this in all cases, but the newer one will have better features and isn’t that high mileage. 2008 is also potentially in the more problematic years for Subaru, depending on model and engine.
59k is an obscenely low mileage for that age, so I’d be worried about number fudging/rebuild and/or lack of care as well.