Should I buy a car with over 250,000 miles?

Question

It's a '96 Dodge Interepid that was used for commuting to college and has almost ALL highway miles on it. It's in absolutely perfect (inside and out) condition, except the A/C doesn't work. It has a new radiator, brakes, and front tires. It runs like a dream and looks and drives like a new car. The only catch: It has 267,000 miles on it.
I need it to last the 4 years I'm going to college (about 40 miles round trip 3 days a week)-- do you think it's worth the risk? It costs $1300.

Thanks!!

Answer 1

I personally won't get that car that is over 250,000 because during that four years it will give you lots of problems. Get a better car that has at least 60,000. Unless you know someone if you get the car to help you fix it.

Answer 2

Not inless you are planning to rebuild the engine which will end up costing you alot more then just finding something else. Also i had a Chrysler Concorde without AC and it was horrible and a fortune to fix. Usually when the car is so cheap it wont last that long. You know you get what you pay for. Might want to put out a little more money and have a reliable car. I have a 2001 Honda Civic EX it is a great car and affordable mine was $8,500.00 with 50,000 miles from North Carolina (All highway Im in New York) you might want to look for something like that. Good Luck!!

Answer 3

Normally I would say 'pass' on this one, but at $1300.00 it would be hard to say no. Let's say it only lasted you two years then self-destructed -- that's only about $50.00 per month to drive, which is a LOT cheaper than a rental or bus fare for that matter. I say do it, tempered with the thought that if it dies too soon you still didn't make a really bad deal. When it goes, you won't feel bad seeing it being towed to the great car pool in the sky (heck, it's all a roll of the dice, right?) Besides, after you graduate you can save up and buy any kind of car you want. Just stay away from payments darling.

Answer 4

unless u can afford a new engine I wouldnt do it. Thats a whole lot of miles...Im sure u can find something else with less miles, which is more important than what the interior looks like. If u an afford a car payment u an buy a new or used chevy for 99-150 bucks a month, and that would be warranteed if anything went wrong.

Answer 5

do no longer do it. $5,000 is a lot too lots and notwithstanding if the battery is stable. there is loads of different issues that would fail costing in far extra than $2,000. I haave a prius 2002 with 260,000 miles. This previous 12 months it relatively is been one massive fix after yet another. each and every thing is electric powered so i'm on no account specific what the genuine subject is. whilst your battery dies, it purely dies. there is not any Battery Low warning easy. undecided if it purely starts off tripping different codes as a results of fact before my battery died. each and every sort of codes have been tripping. Catallytic converter, spark plugs, coil packs. so i replaced all that stuff and nevertheless ought to no longer sparkling each and every of the lighting fixtures fixtures. Then at some point the battery purely died jointly as i became into on the line. I paid $2,000 to swap it yet codes are nevertheless tripping. appears like i desire a headgasket, yet I even have on no account seen this overheating easy sign. do no longer purchase somebody elses issues. Use the $5,000 for a downpayment for a sparkling motor vehicle.

Answer 6

Seems like a lot of miles in 10 years. And the price seems high. I put 250k miles in at www.edmunds.com and it says $578.

You can't expect a car that old with that many miles to not have some probems popping up in the next 4 years. If you can fix car problems yourself then maybe it's worth considering but if you have to pay someone to fix it then I'd say forget it.

Answer 7

I can't believe a Dodge lasted that long. Does it have a re-built motor in it? 90% of cars you see broke down on the side of the road are Dodge. $1300 is an attractive price, especially for a college student! Ask the owner if you can take it to a mechanic, have them look it over and they will help you make your decision. Good luck in school and finding a car!

Answer 8

if you can take it to a mechanic,if its automatic,make sure the mechanic checks the fluid for sawdust,it makes the car run like new for awhile,267,000 is alto even for highway,but the price doesn't seem that bad,but if it breaks down then you actually paid a hell of alot more on repairs,the best if take it to a mechanic,or look at the engine while its running and listen for knocks,rattles,engine moving alot while running,new brakes and radiator realty does not mean the car is good,brakes have to Be changed on newer cars,as well as radiators.....try to get history on vehicle,any water,fire,hidden damage......good luck

Answer 9

I'd keep looking. That's quite a bit for something with that many miles on it. If you have a full service history on it and everything it was well maintained it might be worth the risk.

Edmunds puts the value somewhere between $600 and $1000 with that mileage...

Answer 10

that car might not last you 4 weeks. I can't believe someone would ask $1,300 for that car with that mileage. If I was you, I would tell the seller that they are crazy and then I would give him $130 and thats it. For that money you can buy a car maybe a couple years younger with about 150,000 miles less. go on cragislist and you should find something there.

Answer 11

I don't think so. That means there is a lot of wear on things you don't see, for instance, front end parts, rear end parts, engine parts, transmission parts. You will most likely have problems in the near future. You will actually be buying it for more like $3000 after you repair what will wear out or break. I personally wouldn't buy a car with more than 125k on it. Think about it seriously before purchasing it.