Is it worth it to buy an older car with 100k on it?

Question

My '96 VW Golf has 223,000 miles on it and it already needs more work done than it's worth. I wanted to buy a newer car, but everything I like with low miles costs a lot more than I want to spend. I drive about 18k a year so I want something fun, dependable, and fairly easy on gas that can potentially last 3-5 years but not leave me trapped in a loan if I need to dump it. So... would it be worth spending, say, $5-$6,000 on a car that's maybe 8-10 years old and already has well over 100k miles on it?

Answer 1

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Answer 2

please dont buy it.. ur wasteing your money in the long run...just dont think about the right now...think about the future..you'll be asking the same question in 6 months when that cars valve toast right through the block....and whatever whay u look at it a car is a horrible investment..

Answer 3

In your price range, which is 5-6K you should be able to find something under 100K.

Generally, I believe that American cars have an operational life expectancy of 150,000-250,000.

Japanese Cars, life expectancy: 175,000-275,000

I have no source for this other than myself.  The VW line would likely be less than or equal to american..

8-10 years old, it will take some doing, but you'll find one around 80K miles, well within your range.  Also check maintenance records and have the car you're going to buy checked out by a mechanic (it will cost about $100)

Answer 4

This is a risk...a lot depends upon how well it was maintained and how "durable" the make is.  8 years ago I sold a 14 year old mazda pickup with almost 200,000 miles for $1000 to the man next door...he was familiar with the car and how I take care of them.. He drove it in courier service for another four years and sold it again and I still see it driving around town...but this is an exception usually the very high mileage cars that give exceptional service are with the first or second owners who take exceptionally good care of them...usually when a car gets past a certain age maintenence and repairs are neglected and the car ages rapidly.   Lots of luck.you will need it.

Answer 5

yes it is.  We got a very nice Nissan Pathfinder that was 11 years old with 133k on it, spent $6k.  It gets decent gas mileage, and other than minor maintenance, hasn't required anything. This will depend on how the previous owners treated the car though, so if you do buy used, you might want to buy from someone who keeps complete service records.

Answer 6

i'd spend a few bucks and have it inspected first. If the dealer won't allow that, forget it. It can be a good deal, if it has been maintained and not abused.

Answer 7

yes! just got one

Answer 8

Unless you are buying a sports car, you should be able to a car with less than 100,000 miles. While I am in Canada, for $6000.00 I can get a decent car with between 60000 and 75000 miles.

Just keep in mind that when things start to expect replacement, e.g. brake calipars, water pump etc.  It's a good idea to see what's already been replaced. Sometimes it may be better to get one with another 10 or 15 thousand miles that already had all that stuff replaced.

Answer 9

i don't have an answer to your question but i do have a suggestion. I don't know if youve checked this out yet but ebay has cars and i have been on there, they have nice cars with low miles. Its usually auctions for the cars and you may end up getting lucky if the prices for cars don't go up too high in an auction