Which is better, car with higher highway miles, or lower city miles??

Question

Im looking at 2 of the same cars, similar priced, they are both 2000 model year, same features, similar priced, one has 110K Highway miles, the owner drives 145 miles a day roundtrip for work, its in MINT conditiona and has maint records. The other only has 71K, but doesnt have any maint history, and is in good shape but cosmetically not as sharp as the other. Which would be a smarter purchase and are Highway miles really better?

Answer 1

the car in the better condition

haaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 2

maintenance records

an owner that keeps records is more likely to have taken better care of the vehicle.

Answer 3

My honest opinion is to not take the miles into consideration since they both have high mileage- take the car in mint condition and with maintance records- who knows if the other car with the 71k has been off-roading or driving on sand- when you buy a car you dont want to deal with any problems right off the bat- get the car with 110k highway miles and buy yourself some sanity!

Answer 4

Highway Miles is Better. In the city, your driving routine is floor it at the light, slam your brakes at the next light. This is a lot for just an engine to do. On highway, you are going a flat speed for a while.

Think of it like this, would you rather run across a street, stop, turn around and go back 50 Times, or just run straight for a while?

Good Luck

Answer 5

Honestly I think anyone selling a car with high miles will always tell you that they are highway miles. Just because it sounds better!

Answer 6

Highway miles are better.  City driving requires use of more brakes and start ups.  It is harder on your car

Answer 7

You should flat out ignore those comments.

People love to put in "highway miles" and stuff like that.

But here's the thing. What if the highway, is rush hour traffic? My commute to work, for example, is on a highway, but it's stop and go, the whole way.

So it's no different than city driving.

Plus, neither highway or city miles, states how the driver actually drove those miles. Did they drive at 100+ on the highway? Did they race from light to light in the city?

No way to tell.

Do a carfax on both, and see how many miles they actually did each year. That will let you know how they really drove it.

Answer 8

I would purchase the car that is in the best condition, the one that has been well maintained and the one that has a documented repair history.

Miles are not as important as good maintenance.  A well maintained high mile car is always a better choice over a low mile car that has been abused or not taken care of.

Answer 9

The 71k, Less miles, However, maintenance is the key issuer right? Well that doesn't matter because just because there is no maintaince record, doesnt mean that it wasn't maintained. Less miles is always better.

Answer 10

I've always preferred highway miles, even if it means more mileage.  It also helps because the price is usually cheaper.

Local driving is very harsh on the car, but does not amass mileage.  So its' tricky.  A low mileage car isn't necessarily one in better shape than a high mileage car.

Think of it this way ... drive 145 miles on the highway, and you use the breaks a few times.  Drive 20 miles in stop and go traffic, and you hit the brakes a hundred times.   Which is better?