When buying a car how many miles is too many? whats the max miles a car can reach?

Question

Im lookin to buy a used car but how many miles is TOO many? and what is the max miles can a car reach before it breaks down?

Answer 1

It depends on the make, most cars will do 100K without any trouble, but its entirely possible to ruin an engine at 50K if you don't keep up on services.

Some, like SAABs and MERCs will trot out 300K if you ask them nicely.

Full service history ( including recommendations like CAM belts ) is what you need to ensure a car does top miles

If you are buying a normal family car and want trouble free mechanics, I'd say stick to below 75K and sell before it reaches 150K.

If the car is old, rather than high mileage, its normally electrics that start to get unreliable.

Answer 2

All cars break down, so here is no magic number. All manufacturers have different specs. and may require the replacement of a timing chain at different miles. With a very close eye and considering how long (how far) you plan to drive it I would try to stay under 150,000 this gives you a blanket of about 50,000 miles. The majority of cars will if taken care of run up to about 200,000. I deal in cars/trucks and don't have any over 120,000. The new car dealers (most) will wholesale a vehicle that they take in trade that has over 100,000 miles. I hope that that help good luck in your search.

The first answer is only kind of right there are a number of vehicles that have run as much as half a million miles I know I have had two of them I also changed the oil every 3-4,000 miles and had them tuned often. The problem is that if you ask anyone that wants to sell the vehicle he will tell you that the car/truck has been taken care of with great care but in the real world that isn't what happens, and number one was not the one that was paying for the up keep on those trucks. You see the big trucks over the road  (tractor trailers) many o them are running very well and have 2 million miles on them but what you don't know about those trucks is that they most often have gone through several engines. A re-manufactured motor from the motor company will costs running from about $5000 and up plus the installation cost

Answer 3

Most people tend to stay away from cars that have over 100,000 miles because after that many miles the car starts breaking down. Yet, it does depend on the make of the car as well.  I have a 1991 Toyota Tercel and it has over 200,000 miles and still gets me from point A to point B. It also depends on how the last owner of the car kept up with the maintenance, if they didn't do a good job keeping up with the maintenance the car will only go for so many miles before having problems.  Your best bet is to try and look for a car with less than 75,000 miles, but shop around. And when you go to look for a car, bring a mechanic friend with you.  

Answer 4

that all depends on how well the vehicle was maintained. i work for a large boat company and some of the trucks we drive have six hundred thousand miles on them and they run fine. your best bet is to find a person how is sell instead of a dealer. Someone who knows about the car.

Answer 5

depends on maintenance.  my daughter bought an 88 mustang (4 cyl)convertible with 189,000 for her first car.  when we sold it it had over 300,000 and i still see it driving around.