Age or Miles..

"Curves" (Curves) 01/13/2015 at 07:46 • Filed to: None

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I am looking at a first car (used) for my daughter and wanted a quick opinion from the car people...whats do you consider worse for a car, Age or Miles or some combo thereof? No wrong answers, just your personal opinions and experience. Thanks in advance!

pip bip - choose Corrour > Curves 01/13/2015 at 07:50

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i prefer lower mileage.

but it will depend on what she is looking at really.

Thunderface > Curves 01/13/2015 at 07:51

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miles... If a car's been properly maintained, age doesn't matter as much as miles

I suggest a Miata or a CVPI

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > Curves 01/13/2015 at 07:53

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Mileage, and check the forums for issues with that vehicle of that year.

Rico > Curves 01/13/2015 at 07:53

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It is a toss up, any car built in the last decade should be pretty safe (check crash ratings) and as long as a car has been maintained well and doesn't have like 200k+ miles you shouldn't have an issue.

That being said see what you budget allows for and try to get something that is equal parts safe and maintained even if it's like a 2005 model.

If you had specific models in mind some folks can let you know how easy they are to fix or what to look out for like head gasket issues (older Subarus ) or the transmission eating itself (early 2000s Honda/Acuras).

44444444444 > Curves 01/13/2015 at 08:00

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I'm partial to age. An 8 year old car with 120k miles on it is better than a 12 year old car with 50k miles. This is simply because the 8 year old car hasn't been sitting for who knows how long.

If you're looking at Volvos I'd suggest a 2006-2007 XC70 or 2006-2008 S60 AWD (assuming you have snow. If you don't I'd still get AWD, it wears the tires more evenly). And I'd look at ones with 80-120k miles. The 120k mile ones will either need a timing belt or already have it replaced.

I also own a 10 year old Volvo with 280,000 miles. Years matter more.

crowmolly > Curves 01/13/2015 at 08:00

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Age is OK as long as it's not too old. Maybe have a 10 year limit or so. It's worth checking the cooling system and brake system pretty thoroughly. Many times older stuff will have original rubber parts which can be risky.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Curves 01/13/2015 at 08:00

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Depends on the car. German cars tend to suffer more due to mileage and in the electrical department. Japanese and American cars tend to do well at high miles but their hoses and whatnot still age so they are "more susceptible" to time. But those are just generalizations. A well maintained 200k mile car will probably be better than a 100k car of the same year. Have a good mechanic look at whatever you're looking it. That's my advice.

OPPOsaurus WRX > Curves 01/13/2015 at 08:03

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forget the used car lots. browse the army surplus auctions for a tank.

Firewrx234 > Curves 01/13/2015 at 08:04

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Definitely a combo. You want a vehicle that hasn't been driven to hard and you want to avoid one that's sat forever as well. A easy rule of thumb is a normal car will average 12-15k a year.

Another big point, I try to avoid the first production year of a given model. They always work out kinks as they go on.

Other than that, good luck!

My citroen won't start > Curves 01/13/2015 at 08:06

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I always go low mileage, I would trust a 20 year old Jaguar XJ8 with 20k miles more than I would a 10 year old Camry with 60k.

davedave1111 > Curves 01/13/2015 at 08:12

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It really depends on the car. Some cars just feel wrong the first time you see them, regardless of miles or age. Others will be completely shot on paper, but then you actually get in and they feel solid as hell.

It's easy to let your preconceptions get in the way when buying a car, but the best way to find something that's good value is to open the door as wide as possible. Don't rule anything in or out, just look for a local bargain that meets whatever your real priorities are.

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > Curves 01/13/2015 at 08:13

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In the land of salt that is New England I would say Age. I've replaced brakes and fuel lines that have rusted out and almost undetectable. I would have a mechanic check to make sure the brakes, suspension, frame, steering are all in good working order. A new driver might not notice that a ball joint is about to fall apart.

Newer vehicles are also more likely to have safety features like antilock brakes, stability control and airbags. There was a debate a couple months ago that any car within 10 years is automatically safe. then someone did a list of all cars that didn't even have abs into the mid late 2000s.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > Curves 01/13/2015 at 08:18

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Apart from auto trannies, which I can't see as anything other than a time bomb, neither really matters all that much. It really depends on the car. Personally, I don't trust cars that are low mileage for the age. It usually means that it's been sitting or only used for short trips, both of which are terrible for cars. Look at it this way. My first two cars were bought because they were low mileage 8-10 year old Hondas. That should mean they would good for a couple of hundred thousand miles, right? Nope. They were the two least reliable cars I've ever seen because once one thing goes, the next thing in line that rotted out goes next. Right now I own a 25 year old MR2 with 220k miles on it as my fun car. This car has been being driven consistently for years, has had practically no maintenance ever done to it, and it has been rock solid. It's actually been more reliable than my 2010 Mazda3 that I bought new. I've driven tons of beaters over the years and can spot a car that's going to be fine within a couple of minutes behind the wheel, and while there isn't a hard and fast rule, it's really about finding a balance.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > davedave1111 01/13/2015 at 08:20

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Yep, this. My 50k mile Hondas were nightmares, but my 220k mile MR2 is amazing.

thebigbossyboss > 44444444444 01/13/2015 at 08:26

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See here in rust-a-lot ontario one may think the opposite. A 2011 with 110K miles will probably have a lot less rust than an 05 with 50k miles.

44444444444 > thebigbossyboss 01/13/2015 at 08:38

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I guess it all depends on perspective. However, I live in New England and I haven't really noticed a quantifiable amount of rest on any of our Volvos.

Funktheduck > Curves 01/13/2015 at 08:49

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I think a lot has to do with the brand/model and how well it was cared for. I've only had 2 cars less than 10 years old, my last car and my current car. My last car (corolla) had just under 250k miles on it with almost no problems outside of replacing wear items. the guy at the autozone I go to has one with 350k miles.

My gs300 had 230k when I hit a deer. It had a few expensive fixes involved.

I had a manual ranger that lost 5th gear a few weeks after I got it. Drove it as a 4 speed until 4th started to go out. Everything else was fine. It had around 100k.

Try to find something well taken care of if you can. Service records are a big bonus. Have a professional check it out first, even if you have to pay. It's better to pay someone who knows what to look for and save thousands by not buying a junker.

McMike > Curves 01/13/2015 at 09:07

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Low miles isn't a bad thing, as long as the car is used on a regular basis, and you can usually find this information in the Carfax report. There are often mileage markers in the report, and you can see ( for example, a car that is 10 years old and only has 40k miles on it) that it has either been:

Driven 10K miles and year and sitting for six years, or

Driven 4-5K a year.

Keep in mind that most cars made back in the early 00s have timing belts, and their service interval is right around 90-100k miles. If you are looking at something that's close to or over the suggested replacement number, make sure it's been done.

That's about a $700 job.

If you're not in a hurry, give us a list of what you're looking at (or even share the ads) we'll chime in and tell you what we think.

I've even done that before. http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/hes-narrowed-i…

1.21 JIGGA WATTS!!! > Curves 01/13/2015 at 09:07

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I'd say a combo. I'd try to calculate a mileage/year and that should give you a good estimate on how well the car was driven. I believe the average is something like 10,000 to 15,000 miles/year, which would be a good rule of thumb to follow. Sometimes, you can tease out from whoever you buy the car from, how many owners the car has had before them and what mileage it had for each owner start/finish. That will allow you to see whether or not they are a highway warrior pushing 30,000 miles/year or a suburbanite grandparent pushing 5-8,000 miles/year.

If you can figure that out, buying a fairly new car with a lot of miles isn't necessarily a bad thing. If you saw a 2010 with 120,000 miles on it, its a safe bet that it was on the highway for the majority of the time in order to average out 24,000 miles/year. And for me personally, highway miles are 100x better than city miles. Much less wear and tear on the transmission and motor, and the occasional suspension/steering repair you might have to do will last the car for a long time into the future

deekster_caddy > Curves 01/13/2015 at 09:18

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Miles don't scare me, but salt exposure does. Mechanically most everything newer is pretty sound, and worst case scenarios are engine/transmission rebuilds. I don't like old Chryslers, have had a lot of issues on ones I've worked on with too many engine plastics and brittle breakage... but there are more brands that suffer that issue as well. Seems more pronounced in recent Chrysler products to me though.

I help a lot of people keep their old rides running. Typical older car purchases mean you are going to need to do brakes and shocks/struts on whatever you buy, plus the occasional front end part or wheel bearing... so plan on an extra grand over whatever you are paying for the car.

I think struts and shocks are one of those things that are so often overlooked on newer cars. People are all like "It rides fine, it's not bouncing..." until they are in a panic situation and the front nosedives and the back swings around... good control is especially important in these situations, which new drivers are likely to encounter!

V8Demon - Prefers Autos for drag racing. Fite me! > Curves 01/13/2015 at 09:19

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I think every situation is unique. A garaged 10 year old car with 20K on it is most likely going to be in better shape than one that has sat outside with similar mileage.

The Lincoln I just picked up was meticulously maintained up until about a year ago when the previous owner became ill. After that it sat. Bad things happen to rubber components when they sit. ESPECIALLY coolant hoses.

deekster_caddy > gmporschenut also a fan of hondas 01/13/2015 at 09:21

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Recently we bought two 2004 Pontiac Grand Prixs in the 160-180K mile range. I was shocked that one of them didn't have ABS. Didn't even realize it until after we had bought the car.

V8Demon - Prefers Autos for drag racing. Fite me! > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie 01/13/2015 at 09:25

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What about show/weekend cruisers? Mine is 10 years old and has 19K. I change fluids based on time intervals, not mileage. It sounds silly, but I've had oil changes where the "old" oil had around 100 miles on it. About 700 miles a year come from a 3 day car show about 200 miles from my house. We drive down, hang out, drive around, then come home after the end. The car has even been flogged down the dragstrip about 120 times as well. Flawless.

Mattbob > Curves 01/13/2015 at 09:26

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with purely age, things like plastics and rubber components degrade. Things like belts, hoses, seals will all go with age. With miles, you get more into wear components such as suspension and engine bits. Timing belt becomes very important to change as miles go up on most modern cars( or the engine grenades itself). Something to try to find out though, is the type of miles. If it is an old lady doing lots of highway miles, then that's easy on a car. If it is a younger owner who might put harder but fewer miles on the car, this is much harder on the car. As far as the mileage, really take a look at the previous owner and what type of driving they did, and how long they owned the car. If they are old and owned the car a long time, then chances are it is okay.

Rico > V8Demon - Prefers Autos for drag racing. Fite me! 01/13/2015 at 09:29

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In theory as long as your are doing preventative maintenance based on time and still checking your hoses, lines and bushings for dry rot, rust and wear you should be fine.

Rico > deekster_caddy 01/13/2015 at 09:30

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Whoa I thought ABS was federally mandated after a certain year. No wonder the brand no longer exists sheesh.

jariten1781 > Curves 01/13/2015 at 09:32

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Just depends on what you want to fix if you want to really baseline the car.

Age you're going to be replacing fluids, plastics, seals, lines, belts, etc.

Mileage you're going to be replacing wear items, moving pieces, and contact pieces.

Either can be fine and there is some overlap.

Rico > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie 01/13/2015 at 09:32

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Were the Honda's properly maintained before you bought them? Preventative maintenance done after you bought it?

The thing with cars like Honda's and Toyota's is that they are usually owned by some of the most mindless car buyers that buy them based on "reliability" so you've got Honda's out there on the same oil that came from factory 10 years ago. No maintenance, preventative or otherwise, ever done.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Curves 01/13/2015 at 09:43

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Mileage.

With 1 condition

If it's a 10 year old car with only 5k miles, there may be some staleness, did they ever do an oil change? how long did it sit? Obviously extreme scenario, just a thought I'd throw out.

I've found the sweet spot on used car purchases to be around 40k miles. My last 2 vehicle purchases were an 07 Milan with 46k miles (in 2012) and a 08 Jeep Commander with 44k miles (in 2013).

great deals on both.

Curves > OPPOsaurus WRX 01/13/2015 at 09:46

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Honestly, she would probably LOVE a tank, and is only "meh" about the car.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Curves 01/13/2015 at 10:09

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The age versus mileage debate really depends on the vehicle in question; make, model, previous owners. But overall I think mileage has a greater effect on vehicle wear than age does, at least up to maybe 15 years. But age also has a lot to do with geography. An Arizona car will develop far more age related problems than an Oregon car due to heat and the fact that Oregon cars are constantly being rained on, but no salt so no rust. But a new England car might have rusted away by 5 years depending on what it is and how well it was cared for.

I think your best option here is to make a post telling us what your criteria are for the car, including budget. Then link us to your local craigslist and let us help you find some candidates. But ALWAYS have a pre-purchase inspection.

1.21 JIGGA WATTS!!! > Rico 01/13/2015 at 10:43

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My '06 Chevy Cobalt (manual, LS) didn't have ABS. But it was also involved in the recallathon by GM. But I totaled it out 3 months earlier when I crashed into a rock sidewall on a snowy day. Coincidentally, my airbags didn't go off even after I nailed two road signs and the wall.

Whaddyagonnado... ¯\_()_/¯

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > Rico 01/13/2015 at 10:46

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Before, probably not. After, yes. I don't know the history of one of them at all, but the other was owned by a little old lady who just took it to the grocery store and church (seriously, she was a friend of my grandma's). Did everything including oil changes at the dealer per the manual. There are just so many other things that have to be done more often when you're only putting a few thousand miles per year on it in two or three mile increments. A low mileage car can be great. I have a friend with a ten year old Golf R32 with only a few hundred miles on it, but the thing's meticulously kept in showroom shape by him. I'm sure that that car will be like driving off of the dealer lot, but I don't think that too many low mileage cars are kept by people like him or you, and when they are, they're mostly special cars like that. When it's something like a Honda Accord or a Chevy Cavalier, run.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > V8Demon - Prefers Autos for drag racing. Fite me! 01/13/2015 at 10:47

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Yeah, that's a different beast. Curves isn't looking for a show car, he's looking for a first car for his daughter.

V8Demon - Prefers Autos for drag racing. Fite me! > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie 01/13/2015 at 10:49

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I'm aware, however I think many people are generalizing. There are, of course, exceptions to every rule. Just throwing that out there.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > V8Demon - Prefers Autos for drag racing. Fite me! 01/13/2015 at 10:53

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Yes, there definitely are. If I was looking for something rare and collectible, I'd be looking for a low mileage example as well. If I'm looking for something to depend on, I want to know that it's been being run regularly.

V8Demon - Prefers Autos for drag racing. Fite me! > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie 01/13/2015 at 10:57

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Indeed. As I said in another post in this discussion, I feel every situation/car will be unique.

Curves > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie 01/13/2015 at 13:57

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Just FYI, Curves is a she. :)

Curves > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie 01/13/2015 at 13:59

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Just FYI, Curves is a she. :)

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > Curves 01/13/2015 at 14:02

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Lol, internet male-bias. My bad. I was actually thinking of doing he/she, but decided against it since the initial draft would have had that in there like three times.

Curves > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie 01/13/2015 at 14:13

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No worries. At Giz (where I generally comment) I am pretty much treated like "just one of the guys", which is exactly what I want, to be treated the same as everyone else. :)

Thanks to you and everyone else that answered; I have gleaned a lot of good info from the responses.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > Rico 01/13/2015 at 14:17

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Yeah, but I don't think that that hit until (I want to say) '11.

WayneF1 > Curves 10/21/2016 at 07:54

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What did you end up getting for her?? and is it still alive and well??