Age vs miliage for a used vehicle

[geojim]

If you had to decide between buying a used older car with lower mileage, or a newer car with higher mileage, which would you take? All else being equal.

 

For instance: a 15 year old car with 90K or a 6 year old car with 150K.

[BlackHole]

The one with the better service records.

[chenc544]

The one with the better service records.

 

I agree but OP says:

 

All else being equal.

 

Personally I would go with 6 year old car with 150k. There are a lot of things in a car that ages badly. From personal experience I know that 15 years old plastic in the engine bay usually is not doing too well. This could be a lot more expensive to fix and problematic then you might realize. Also you are talking about 9 years worth of technological/safety advancements between the two. A 6 year old car with 150k most likely did a lot of that on the highway, so it's wear and tear is probably not as bad as the mileage would indicate.

[geojim]

Interesting point about the engine plastic. Also probably true that a car with more age is going to have more of a chance of body rust, cracked and dried hoses, undercarriage wear from road salt, other weather/age related items or issues, etc.

Knowing all that, I went with the older Legacy wagon with low mileage for its age because it appeared to be in relativity good shape and the price was much lower than newer ones. But what do I know, my little Geo Metro has 344K miles on it - feel free to call me crazy.

Barring an accident, knock on wood, I hope to have the Subaru for a long time.

[dr_sharp]

Time doesn't really age a car... use does. I'd go lower mileage older car.

[pillboy]

Time doesn't really age a car... use does. I'd go lower mileage older car.

Depends on if you are down south or up in the rust belt.

[mlrtime]

lower miles is better. Age only hurts things that are easy to fix unless it has been sitting in a barn for 10 years.

[dr_sharp]

Depends on if you are down south or up in the rust belt.

rust is much better than powertrain problems

[Gire]

Time doesn't really age a car... use does. I'd go lower mileage older car.

 

 

This is how I buy my used cars. I like the older ones that were taken back and forth by mom to the grocery store and soccer field and not much more.

[chenc544]

Time doesn't really age a car... use does. I'd go lower mileage older car.

 

I guess I will share my personal experience in this regard. '94 300ZX TT with ~80,000 miles right now. Plastic/rubber in the engine bay, such as coil pack, fuel line, power steering line, electrical connectors/wires, etc, are decomposing due to heat and age. Needless to say some of those things I listed falling apart is not easy nor cheap to repair. I have also notice similar issues starting to show up for the interior wiring. Don't get me wrong, I love the Z and don't regret buying it at all but I wouldn't want to have it as a DD. Again 9 years worth of technological advancement could mean better materials or designs because of lessons learn. I would also go with the newer car because I know the parts will be easier to get and cheaper as well. My $0.02.

[executor485]

Also depends on the car your comparing. Even if they are equal... Lets take a Honda civic into account, for both cars... I'd say the newer one without a doubt because of the technology and proven track record, styling, comforts, etc.

Lets compare that to a Ford Crown Victoria, or something of the like... You might wanna go with the lower milage and older.

Maybe not the best comparisons, but its just another thing you have to consider. Not all cars are equal... Regardless of milage and age

[naimouasta]

This is how I buy my used cars. I like the older ones that were taken back and forth by mom to the grocery store and soccer field and not much more.

 

 

but these are the ones that are run for at least 10-12k miles between oil changes. not to mention full throttle coldstarts trying not to be late running to the soccer game or errands . i cringe everytime i see my neighbor across the street speed off every morning in her fairly new maibu. light puff of blue smoke everytime.

[G35C_WRX_MX5_MR2]

I guess I will share my personal experience in this regard. '94 300ZX TT with ~80,000 miles right now. Plastic/rubber in the engine bay, such as coil pack, fuel line, power steering line, electrical connectors/wires, etc, are decomposing due to heat and age. Needless to say some of those things I listed falling apart is not easy nor cheap to repair. I have also notice similar issues starting to show up for the interior wiring. Don't get me wrong, I love the Z and don't regret buying it at all but I wouldn't want to have it as a DD. Again 9 years worth of technological advancement could mean better materials or designs because of lessons learn. I would also go with the newer car because I know the parts will be easier to get and cheaper as well. My $0.02.

 

one of my car mags recently did a "used car classic" article of the 300ZX TT and the high under hood heat was mentioned as one of the potential problem areas. I've had the same thing happen on many cars over 10 years old. Vacuum hoses and gaskets etc break down and these can get costly. My brother is going through the same thing now on his '93 Mazda RX7.

[geojim]

Maybe I'm missing a good point here, but you only get high under the hood heat when the engine is running. An older used car with less miles on it than a newer used car with more miles, would have less run time on the engine.

[chenc544]

Rubber/plastic also becomes brittle over time because it "dries out" and UV exposure in addition to heat.

[Vimy101]

Time doesn't really age a car... use does. I'd go lower mileage older car.

Time does indeed age cars. Aside from the obvious leteral sense, all the rubber and plastic bits and pieces oxidize and UV takes its toll. Then there are the multiple heat/cooling cycles.

[dr_sharp]

Ok you buy the car with the nice body and plastic with a worn down drivetrain and I'll buy the car with rust, "worn" plastic, and a drivetrain with plenty of carefree miles ahead.

 

60k miles is a significant portion of a cars life... especially a GT.

[chenc544]

I'll buy the car with rust, "worn" plastic, and a drivetrain with plenty of carefree miles ahead.

 

That drivetrain is not so carefree when the turbo coolant line bursts...

 

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o19/oftoast/ZClubTrackDay009.jpg

 

Or when the fuel line bursts and causing the car to catch on fire... Or a brake line bursts and leaves you without brake... Or the coil pack falls apart and leaving you with all kinds of engine miss fire fun... Or the wiring harness falls apart and leaving the car dead... Just some food for thought.

[pillboy]

rust is much better than powertrain problems

Powertrain problems are easier to fix than rust. Once it starts rusting it is almost impossible to eradicate all of it. Notice I didn't say cheaper. The rust will always come back, especially if the car stays up north.

[Gire]

but these are the ones that are run for at least 10-12k miles between oil changes. not to mention full throttle coldstarts trying not to be late running to the soccer game or errands . i cringe everytime i see my neighbor across the street speed off every morning in her fairly new maibu. light puff of blue smoke everytime.

 

 

eh, most engines nowadays are over-built to handle that kind of soccer-mom abuse.

[nm]

Remember that a low mile car is more likely to have hard city miles and not have been warmed up properly. There's also a better chance that oil changes were not done on time (most people don't know to change based on time as well as milage).

A high mile car is more likely to have highway miles which are easier on the car.

[dr_sharp]

What are you, a Subie N00bie?

 

That's barely broken in!

 

How many 05+ LGTs are out there with more than 100k+ miles? Not many... and I'm not willing to make assumptions based on manufacturer... especially given the problems that have been noted with these car in the first 2-3 years.

 

Don't get me wrong, I hope that 60k is only 1/10th of my cars life... but I'm being realistic here...

[dr_sharp]

Powertrain problems are easier to fix than rust. Once it starts rusting it is almost impossible to eradicate all of it. Notice I didn't say cheaper. The rust will always come back, especially if the car stays up north.

:lol: