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100k miles from a $5k car (1 Viewer)

moleculo

moleculo

Footballguy
Suppose I wanted to spend $5k on a used car and I expect to get 100k miles out of it.  What kind of car should I be looking at?

Assume I kept up with all maintenance and am willing to spend up to $1000 total on general repairs (not including things like brakes).

Also assume the 100k miles will be typical city driving - not so much highway, no big hills, no snow, no towing...basically a commuter special.

 
I'd expect more than $1k in repairs when you get up there in miles.   So many little things can go by that point that will start adding up.   

 
$5k buys you a car that somebody else put 100k miles on. No frigging way you are getting another 100k out of any car you purchase. 

 
Americans are keeping cars the longest we ever have since the automobile was invented. The average age of a car on the road today is nearly 12 years. That is a major change from historical norms.

10 cars that last owners 200,000 miles or more!

If you want to keep your car on the road a long time, Consumer Reports released this list of the 10 cars that most often last their owners for 200,000 miles or more.

Two brands account for almost every single vehicle on this list, but there is one surprise!

Honda Accord

Honda Civic

Honda CR-V

Toyota Prius

Toyota Camry

Toyota 4Runner

Toyota Corolla

Toyota Sienna

Toyota Highlander

Ford F-150

When Consumer Reports does its automobile surveys, it look at wide swaths of wheels on the road, so you’re getting exhaustive data from their surveys. What they do is the widest survey of automobile ownership just about anywhere in the world, ever.

So these vehicles are the absolute champs of vehicles that stay on the road. Having said that, the overall reliability of all cars is beyond extraordinary these days. It’s just that if you want the best of the best, you probably want to stick with these vehicles.

 
I'd put Subaru on the list as well. But, it will cost you a more than $1k to maintain. My wife drove 3 different, right hand drive, legacy wagons on her rural mail route. The last one was a 1999 and had around 250k miles on it when the steering rack went out. It still had the original motor and transmission and ran great. 

Most people drive between 8-10k miles a year. In order to put another 100k on a vehicle, you will have the car for at least 10 years. Even after you go through 2 sets of tires, brakes, battery, etc, you will have something go wrong that will account for the $1k. 

 
shadyridr said:
$5k buys you a car that somebody else put 100k miles on. No frigging way you are getting another 100k out of any car you purchase. 
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Sorry buddy, but that is just plain wrong. A sensibly driven and well maintained honda or Toyota that has been properly researched(each make and model have their own 'bad' years I.e. transmissions etc.) can easily last a decade at that price point. Make sure the car hasnt been in an accident(welding points on the frame) or has a salvaged title either. A little due diligence goes a long way and it may take a couple of days but those cars are out there.

 
Hastur said:
Sorry buddy, but that is just plain wrong. A sensibly driven and well maintained honda or Toyota that has been properly researched(each make and model have their own 'bad' years I.e. transmissions etc.) can easily last a decade at that price point. Make sure the car hasnt been in an accident(welding points on the frame) or has a salvaged title either. A little due diligence goes a long way and it may take a couple of days but those cars are out there.
Click to expand...
Yes, i wouldn't trust anybody to maintain a car properly.

 
Hastur said:
shadyridr said:
$5k buys you a car that somebody else put 100k miles on. No frigging way you are getting another 100k out of any car you purchase. 
Click to expand...
Sorry buddy, but that is just plain wrong. A sensibly driven and well maintained honda or Toyota that has been properly researched(each make and model have their own 'bad' years I.e. transmissions etc.) can easily last a decade at that price point. Make sure the car hasnt been in an accident(welding points on the frame) or has a salvaged title either. A little due diligence goes a long way and it may take a couple of days but those cars are out there.
Click to expand...
:goodposting:

I've owned several cars that I purchased for less than $5000, then drove for over 100,000 miles while putting less than $1000 into them, then re-sold to happy buyers for a relatively high price.

They've all been Hondas and Toyotas.

Maybe I've just been lucky, but honestly it doesn't seem like it requires pure "luck" -- you just need to do a little due diligence and find a car that has a clean title and looks like it's been taken care of.

 
shadyridr said:
$5k buys you a car that somebody else put 100k miles on. No frigging way you are getting another 100k out of any car you purchase. 
Click to expand...
Disagree.

My dad bought a honda accord with 150k on it.  It now has 300k with only preventative/usual maintenance.

 
Yea, cars last a lot longer these days with a little maintenance and common sense. 

Agree with everyone that has said toyota/honda/subaru are the ones to look at.  Climate also helps... my last car was put out to pasture at 220K miles more from the beating it took from salt and snow in NE Ohio than anything mechanical.  Part of the body were literally done for and not worth repairing. 

 
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avoiding injuries said:
Honda Civic/accord

toyota camry/Corolla 
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For $5k, you're probably more in the Civic/Corolla market than Accord/Camry,  but with some work it can probably happen.  Another option is to spend a bit more and get into the Acura TL/Lexus ES range.  These are the same cars, but for me it seemed easier to find low-mileage, very well maintained cars on the used market without going through a dealership. 

 
I bought a 2005 Corolla 2 years ago with 125,000 miles for $3500. I guarantee it will go to 225,000 miles with routine maintenance and maybe minor repairs.

 
My neighbor bought a 2004 accord with about 150,000 miles for about $4000.  It's got over 200,000 now and no end in sight.

 
culdeus said:
I looked on autotrader.  Lol at Accord. 

Only Civic I could find were 2000-2005 model years.  

I'm sure there are some out there but a 100kmi 5$k dollar car is rare and old AF. 
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took about 10 seconds on cargurus to find a bunch of accords with less than 100k and $5k or under.

 
Years ago I bought a ‘96 Acura Integra for $4000 with 120k on it. I put 80k on it over 6 years and sold it for $4500.  No major repairs, just oil changes and tires 

 
yellowdog said:
I bought a 2005 Corolla 2 years ago with 125,000 miles for $3500. I guarantee it will go to 225,000 miles with routine maintenance and maybe minor repairs.
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I knew a guy with an old toyota that would not die. Even though it did seem to be suffering from terminal rust.

 
This is the shark move for your finances.  I haven't been disciplined enough( I like having new-to-me cars every few years), but I hope to be settling into this plan. 

 
My 2003 Accord had 270K on it before I decided to part with it.

I did start have issues near the end.  Motor mount/valve civer gasket.   

 
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Having kids, this is something I've researched a lot. 

Good suggestions with the Toyota's and Honda's.  

I found Hyundai to be perfect for this scenario.  Not as quite as high resale value as the aforementioned makes, but just as solid.  Little Korean tanks.

 
shadyridr said:
$5k buys you a car that somebody else put 100k miles on. No frigging way you are getting another 100k out of any car you purchase. 
Click to expand...
Not without putting another 2-3K into it.

Also be lucky to get a good car for 5K with 100K miles.   My daughter just sold her Fusion with 130K for 6K

 
culdeus said:
I looked on autotrader.  Lol at Accord. 

Only Civic I could find were 2000-2005 model years.  

I'm sure there are some out there but a 100kmi 5$k dollar car is rare and old AF. 
Click to expand...
I missed a 2005 CRV last week at a local dealer. It had 82k on it, they were asking 7500. Yes, higher than the $5k price tag for the OP. I use searchtempest to search craigslists nationwide. I can find a dozen 2000-2006 CRV's at 100k for $5-6k. (if I want to go get one)

 
Leroy Hoard said:
I knew a guy with an old toyota that would not die. Even though it did seem to be suffering from terminal rust.
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Buddy of mine had a mid 90's escort with 70k miles that he drove 25 miles to and from work every day. He never changed the oil in the 2 years he owned it. He refused to put anything but gas into it. You definitely don't know how the previous owner treated it.

 
Just bought my sister's 2010 Ford Escape (no bells and whistles) for $5k with 140k miles for this very reason.  My son will be starting PA school and his current car is a 4RUnner with 230k miles and I also had a 2005 Nissan Quest with 200k that was starting to go real bad that we got rid of.  When I researched local dealer prices for similar cars I found them all to be at least $7k or $8k.  Used cars are just really expensive these days.  Of course I had to turn around and put $1k right into the car to fix the stupid check engine light (gas tank neck, tune it up, and fix the variable speed heater/ac blower.  

 
I'd go Honda/Toyota

Years that are later in the model run (first-year after re-design runs have more issues typically)

Buy for-sale-by-owner and you'll get more bang for your buck (if you know how to identify any possible issues)

 
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