Used car, high miles vs. age?

Question

I'm currently in the process of looking for a used car. I have a specific budget that won't allow me to buy low miles less than 3 years old car.

As such, I'm trying to weight the pros and cons of buys a car with either. 1: Low miles older vintage say 6 years and older.
2: High mileage buy say 3 years and newer.

From what I can gather, wear and tear caused buy usage, high miles, 75K or more is probably harder on a car than age.

However, I don't know how old a low mileage car can be before it becomes a reliability problem.

I'm looking at a 2000 Toyota Avalon with 29k miles. If the car is in good/excellent condition, can I expect it to be reliable for several years to come? Or is a high miles 75K 2003 Avalon a better bet?

I've read a few of the answers and I appreciate them. It looks like most can't resist the how the car was treated variable.

Lets say both cars were well cared for. The 2000 is a granny kept car. Someone with money that just drives the car to the store and back, gets a car every 6 or so years.

The second higher miles car is from a dealer. I figure from the age/miles ratio that the car was probably driven with highway miles.

I will try to get a mechanic to take a look at the car, but because of the very good condition of the Granny car, I may be forced to make a decision without having a mechnic look at it due to others having interest in the car.

This has already happened with another car I was considering.

Answer 1

Frankly, how the car was treated and maintained IS the more important factor(s). With computerized ignition systems, fuel injection and better motor oil, most cars will last past 200,000 miles and twenty years if well maintained. So assuming neither of these cars is a wreck, pick the one you like or the cheaper one or from the selling party you like. Either are good cars. After all you are not buying a Yugo.

Answer 2

Here is one way to guessimate how well a vehicle will hold up. Figure on an average of 15,000 miles but put on a car per year. So for a 2000 Avalon, it was probably bought in 1999 and therefore would be 7 years old now. 29k divided 7 puts you well under the average. As for wear and tear on the vehicle, check the hoses. If they are still malliable and don't feel dry and brittle, buy the car. If the seller has good maintenace records you can check and see how well the car was taken care of.

Answer 3

Usually when a cars age becomes a major factor it is older than 6 years. What happens in cars that are older and not driven frequently is that the seals start drying out and things start to leak. I would have no issues with a 6 year old Toyota Avalon with 29K.

Answer 4

The 2 sound very even, personally i would go with the 2000 with 29K, but if it wasnt taken care of then its a total waste, someone could have changed the oil once in it, and the one with 75k was changed every 3-4K if u think of it this way, the one with 75k was most definitly taken care of in some way, for it to still be on the road, but i know someone who put 20,000 on the same oil, and its still runnin, but i cant see it lasting very much longer, but overall i would flip a coin, and try and get any background info on the car that you can....

Answer 5

Unless you are very mechanically savvy, you are looking at as crap-shoot.
As a RULE, if you can find one that was used for highway driving (salesman's car for example) you won't get hurt if it has high mileage, as the freeway mileage isn't near as hard on the engine and transmission as commuter or around-town driving.
In addition, if the high mileage car has been maintained well, over-all the value per dollar can be substantially better than the higher-priced newer car.
You would be wise to locate some information for purchasing a used car on the net (Google?) and follow it.
If you ARE pretty sharp with mechanical judgment, follow it.

Good Luck and Merry Christmas

Answer 6

you need a mechinic to look at the car you are considering to buy----if the owner of that car has a problem with you taking the car to yourmechanic it is a real safe bet that you need to find a different car to consider for purchase-----if you can drive a small pick-up it will last longer than any Avalon----- if you are set on the Avalon be sure to look in the local newspaper (not on a used car lot) and compare several____ best of luck