What model/make car or van would you buy used if it had 100k miles on it?

[6packofun]

(Assuming you couldn't buy anything better, of course! LOL) We're considering trying to get a new-to-us, very used vehicle that will probably have close to 100k miles on it when our tax return comes. What are the most reliable high-mileage vehicles in your experience?

 

Is there a website that you can point me to that will give a quick list?

 

Thank you!

[kokotg]

My '99 Toyota Sienna is still going strong with 175,000 miles on it.

[Ottakee]

If you don't want a foreign brand (which my husband doesn't know much about) he would suggest a Poniac Bonneville or Buick LeSabre with the 3.8L engine--NOT the 3.1L engine. The Lumina mini van with the 3.8 is good too.

 

 

(Assuming you couldn't buy anything better, of course! LOL) We're considering trying to get a new-to-us, very used vehicle that will probably have close to 100k miles on it when our tax return comes. What are the most reliable high-mileage vehicles in your experience?

 

Is there a website that you can point me to that will give a quick list?

 

Thank you!

[Tammyla]

Not a Ford.

[Catwoman]

Toyota Land Cruiser or Lexus LX.

 

For a smaller car, an older Toyota Camry.

 

Cat

[Suzanne in ABQ]

I love my '97 Subaru Outback, and will buy another one some day -- if this one ever dies. It's got 175,000 miles and is still going strong!

[hsmomto5]

NT.

[Ann.without.an.e]

Nissan Quest (Mercury Villager is identical, just different brand)

It is a small minivan and drives like a car, but can seat 7. Their reputation is as high, or higher on some sites, as the Honda Odyssey but they are more reasonably priced used. I have seen many for sale with high miles and still going strong.

 

Just my two cents.

[KatieJ]

Suburbans

[EKS]

Toyota.

[Georgiana Daniels]

We recently bought a 2000 Honda Odyssey with 105,000 on it. But it had all the service records and the previous owner babied it. If you can find a vehicle that someone took excellent care of with the records to prove it, a used car is the way to go!

[Ailaena]

My first car was an 88 Jetta that had almost 300,000 miles on it before it's engine needed more work than it was worth.

 

Then I inherited a 93 Subaru Impreza and drove it to just under 300,000 miles before I let it go. The biggest thing it ever needed was a new alternator.

 

I finally relinquished that car (still running) 2ish years ago and bought a $3000, 97 Jetta that had 97000 miles. It now has 170000 and I have no complaints (wood! where is the wood!?!).

[Carol in Cal.]

Toyota Camry.

Honda Accord.

Toyota Corolla.

 

I always buy my cars that way. I look for single owner vehicles where the owner is selling the car himself, with a good reason for selling it (like they got prosperous and upgraded to a BMW or something.) I check the maintenance records--oil changes every 3-4K and regular maintenance are good. I asked about accidents and overheating incidents--overheating is a deal breaker for me. It causes a lot of latent damage that bites you later on. I take the car to a mechanic to be looked over quickly, sometimes during the test drive.

 

Usually a car like this is snapped up quickly, but if I compromise and get a standard transmission, it can stay on the market long enough for me to take it and feel very satisfied with it.

 

I have saved SO MUCH MONEY this way over the years. I can usually buy an 8-10 year old car and get another 5-10 years out of it. And with no car payments I can save up for the next one, simultaneously.

[Kipling]

We were in the minivan market during the the summer, and we were looking for something similar. Consumer Reports ranks the Honda Odyssey and the Toyota Sienna as the best minivans hands-down. We narrowed our search down to a 2000-2002 Odyssey or Sienna with around 100K miles or a 2005 or better Grand Caravan with 60K miles or less. These were based on CR and our mechanic's recommendation (basically, we asked him what kind of car would give him the LEAST business :tongue_smilie:). We bought a 2001 Sienna from a private seller who listed on autotrader, and we have been very happy with it. We spent a little more than we planned, but it only had 70K miles on it, was exceptionally clean, and had many of the service records, so we thought the extra was worth it.

[JudoMom]

Our Toyota Previa has 212,425 miles and is still going strong.

[AuntieM]

A Jeep. Those things run a long, long time. We have three in the driveway right now. ;)

[Alyce]

for long term reliability. That is Toyota and Honda. We have seen this first hand and except for one time these are all we owned. We did buy a Dodge Caravan but it has needed quite a lot of work over time. We bought it because kids were getting bigger and we needed more space for them and the things we had to carry around for them. Now that both kids have gone to college. My Dd has a Honda Accord for the last 3 years and it had slightly over 100,000 miles on it and it has done great. Ds owns a Toyota Carolla and has not had any problems. My husband owns a 1985 Toyota long bed truck. It has over 850,00 miles on it. He has had to replace to engine once and this truck still runs like crazy. We just bought a Toyota Prius for ourselves know that we no longer need the van. It's not cheap but it's been worth it. We have plenty of space to pack our stuff and we get 48-50 Miles per gallon. Now that gas prices are going up again we don't regret our decision.

[OnTheBrink]

 

http://www.edmunds.com is an excellent source for used car info.

[jewellsmommy]

Toyota.

 

Agreed. We went through a few Fords before we finally learned this lesson.

[Sandra in FL]

Honda (rougher ride - more feel of the road) or Toyota (smoother ride - less feel).

 

minivans - Odyssey or Sienna

small car - Civic or Corolla

midsize sedan - Accord or Camry

 

Or if you have more money (upscale) - Acura or Lexus

 

All very, very reliable.

[coralloyd]

Toyota Sienna

[Tutor]

We've bought a Chevy Suburban and a Toyota Camry with high miles and haven't regretted either.

[MotherGoose]

:iagree:

Toyota.

[alpidarkomama]

We just keep buying whatever Honda or Toyota minivan we can find for $5-6K whenever our "new to us" one poops out. We've had VERY low car costs over the years! :)