Would you consider buying this vehicle?

[PeacefulChaos]

A 2006 Acura MDX with 110,000.

 

I know there are a lot of factors to consider.

I've got the carfax on it and there are no accidents, 3 owners, nothing stands out but I don't comb through carfaxes often lol... I can show it to our mechanic if need be.

We would definitely have our mechanic look at any car before buying it, so he would definitely see it before we made a decision.

 

So any thoughts?

It's more miles than what we'd originally looked for, but it's in our price range and I know there are some cars out there that can go for ever lol.

 

I don't really want any recommendations on other vehicles, I'm just wondering if you would consider purchasing a vehicle with that high of mileage.

Thanks! :)

[SparklyUnicorn]

Not unless I didn't have a choice.

 

 

[Guest]

Yes, absolutely, if it was cheap enough. An Acura isn't one of those cars that can go forever, but you should be able to get another 100,000 miles out of it with minimal replacement of part - some belts, hoses, maybe struts, etc.

 

I'd pay $1000 for it, maybe $1200. Beyond that it's not a good enough car for the cash and other options can be had cheaply :)

[Tap]

Acuras are like an Accord with a few extra bells and whistles. That is nice, but it also means there is more to go wrong especially when you start to get up in  years.   That particular car would likely sell for $8-10,000 around here.  They have a decent reputation, but Horrible gas mileage.  I know several people who have had them (I shopped for one a few years back-so I asked around a lot) and that was the biggest complaint from my city friends.  I remember most people saying they were getting about 14-17mpg with mixed city/freeway driving.   If you live in a cold area where you have to warm the car up outside, it was even worse, burning through even more fuel to warm it up and then drive it in the city.  

 

I wouldn't consider it a 200,000 mile car.  Maybe a 150,000 mile one with some work here or there.  With  the price tag of $8+ I don't think I would buy it.  If you found one for under that (and you can afford repairs), I would maybe consider it, if the mechanic checked it out, ok. 

 

 

ETA: corrected pricing after running quote at edumunds, assuming base model not touring

Edited January 7, 2016 by Tap

[DawnM]

Yes, absolutely, if it was cheap enough. An Acura isn't one of those cars that can go forever, but you should be able to get another 100,000 miles out of it with minimal replacement of part - some belts, hoses, maybe struts, etc.

 

I'd pay $1000 for it, maybe $1200. Beyond that it's not a good enough car for the cash and other options can be had cheaply :)

 

Blue book value is over $7K.  I can't imagine someone would just want next to nothing for it.

[Guest]

Blue book value is over $7K. I can't imagine someone would just want next to nothing for it.

I know what they're valued at. I wouldn't buy it for anywhere near that much without new parts added in, recent servicing, snow tires, and fully detailed before sale. From a private buyer? Heck no. But I'm not a huge Acura fan.

[elegantlion]

When I was married, we generally bought cars with that amount of miles, but we were picky. We would do a lot of research of that particular model, check service records (if possible) for that specific vehicle, and do a thorough test drive. We didn't have a mechanic look it over, but ex was pretty good with cars. That was our price range, so we didn't have much of a choice, but we have been fortunate to get decent cars with that many miles. 

[JumpyTheFrog]

I listened to a podcast a few months ago with advice about how to buy a used car (other than the typical stuff about check Consumer Reports and such). We haven't bought one since I listened, but I intend to follow the advice next time we do. The guest said to only look at cars with one owner and all the records. In addition, meet them at their house and look at how they care for their house and yard. If everything is immaculate, then it is likely they did all the maintenance on the car as scheduled. If the place looks like a dump, they probably didn't take good care of the car.

 

DH and I have said for years (before hearing the above advice) that we should buy a car from someone like his uncle. I'd also add that the guy two houses down keeps the outside of his house and yard in excellent condition. I've lived here for 4 years and have never seen his lawn looking like it needed to be mowed because it mows before it gets long enough to be noticeable. I imagine that guy probably takes great care of his cars and if he ever has one for sale, I'd seriously consider buying it.

[MrsWeasley]

What do they have it priced at? Priced lowly enough, yes, but it'd have to be a real bargain for me to buy a car with over 100,000 miles on it. 

Edited January 7, 2016 by MrsWeasley

[PeacefulChaos]

I forgot to include that - it's currently priced at 9,900 at a small dealership.

 

Some other details, just about us/cars in general:

 

Usually we would want a used car with less than 80,000, but there's not much to choose from that's what we want in that range.  We're trying to keep the price under $10,000, and that's more non-negotiable than mileage, if we have to forsake one or the other.  

 

We don't buy domestic vehicles because we hate them - all the ones we've ever had were awful, and we literally drive them till they die.  

Usually we're Honda people, but I don't really want a Pilot.  I like the MDX better.  We discussed getting another minivan but chose against it.

 

We're not completely against getting a car instead of an SUV, but then we would almost definitely rent a car to make our 17 hour trips.  I think it would be better to just plan for the 17 hour trips in the car we purchase.

[hjffkj]

For the price you mentioned I would not buy it

[NicksMama-Zack's Mama Too]

I would be a bit concerned with repair costs on the Acura since they are a high-line brand of Honda. Can you get a local dealer to run the VIN and see if there was warranty work done on it? A vehicle with three previous owners gives me pause....

[Guest]

Minivans are so much better for the money in terms of comfort. Do you need the handling of four wheel drive for really steep roads with snow?

[itsheresomewhere]

Check the insurance costs. Acuras can be a higher insurance.

[PeacefulChaos]

Minivans are so much better for the money in terms of comfort. Do you need the handling of four wheel drive for really steep roads with snow?

No. But we have a minivan now (a Chevy uplander) and it's not much in the way of comfort - the biggest plus of minivans is the option of two bucket seats in the middle row rather than the bench seat. But as far as leg room, overall stuff, it's no different than any car or SUV we have been in.

 

I will say that I'd get another minivan before I'd get a Pilot.

 

Minivans - at least the ones we would consider - cost more, which is a factor. They also have no better gas mileage.

Not out of the question, but not my first pick.

[Guest]

It is such an overpriced vehicle for what you get. I'd absolutely go for an Odyssey before an MDX but it's your choice. Especially used, they are quite reasonable.

 

Have fun with whatever you choose :)

[gardenmom5]

Blue book value is over $7K. I can't imagine someone would just want next to nothing for it.

Blue book is a guide. Look in local ads for what similar are selling for.

Here, a good camry always goes for at least 1k OVER kbb. Some cars are less.

I wouldn't buy it - but I don't like honda/acura. Not how they feel as a passenger or handle as a driver. I agree you could probably get 40k miles- and that's not worth it.

 

Eta; I mentioned camry because we've bought 3 used. (Almost 4. Someone else was faster. Sad.). We still own all of them.

Edited January 7, 2016 by gardenmom5

[gardenmom5]

Minivans are so much better for the money in terms of comfort. Do you need the handling of four wheel drive for really steep roads with snow?

And they carry so much more stuff. . . It's the one thing holding me back on replacing mine.

[Guest]

Blue book is a guide. Look in local ads for what similar are selling for.

Here, a good camry always goes for at least 1k OVER kbb. Some cars are less.

I wouldn't buy it - but I don't like honda/acura. Not how they feel as a passenger or handle as a driver. I agree you could probably get 40k miles- and that's not worth it.

 

Eta; I mentioned camry because we've bought 3 used. (Almost 4. Someone else was faster. Sad.). We still own all of them.

We love Toyota too. Saturn is our fave but they are no more, and we were genuinely disappointed that Toyota didn't have an offering in the 12-15 passenger van category. The Nissan has been great and handles beautifully but we wanted a Toyota.

[Guest]

PeacefulChaos, something else occurred to me as re-read your OP. Three owners in ten years seems like a LOT to me. That makes me wonder if they just didn't like the vehicle, and thus kept trading it in.

 

We keep our vehicles until they're undrivable and replace the parts over and over though, so that might be normal and I just don't know it. But that seems really frequent to me and makes me think they didn't love it enough to hang onto it, know what I mean?

Edited January 7, 2016 by Arctic Mama

[itsheresomewhere]

PeacefulChaos, something else occurred to me as re-read your OP. Three owners in ten years seems like a LOT to me. That makes me wonder if they just didn't like the vehicle, and thus kept trading it in.

 

We keep our vehicles until they're undrivable and replace the parts over and over though, so that might be normal and I just don't know it. But that seems really frequent to me and makes me think they didn't love it enough to hang onto it, know what I mean?

Could also be it has a issue that keeps reoccurring and each owner is tired of fixing it.

[Ravin]

I would not trust a Carfax report to be complete. DH just looked and non of 5he major repairs we have done on our Durango are on Carfax, even though the shop that did some of them reported oil changes.

[Ravin]

I listened to a podcast a few months ago with advice about how to buy a used car (other than the typical stuff about check Consumer Reports and such). We haven't bought one since I listened, but I intend to follow the advice next time we do. The guest said to only look at cars with one owner and all the records. In addition, meet them at their house and look at how they care for their house and yard. If everything is immaculate, then it is likely they did all the maintenance on the car as scheduled. If the place looks like a dump, they probably didn't take good care of the car.

 

DH and I have said for years (before hearing the above advice) that we should buy a car from someone like his uncle. I'd also add that the guy two houses down keeps the outside of his house and yard in excellent condition. I've lived here for 4 years and have never seen his lawn looking like it needed to be mowed because it mows before it gets long enough to be noticeable. I imagine that guy probably takes great care of his cars and if he ever has one for sale, I'd seriously consider buying it.

I don't know. I have a friend whose husband is a mechanic. Their yard looks like a junkyard puked on it, and their house is a mess (both eork, my friend has serious chronic health issues, and her DH has always been a slob about his house), but he keeps their vehicles in good working order.

[PeacefulChaos]

Blue book is a guide. Look in local ads for what similar are selling for.

Here, a good camry always goes for at least 1k OVER kbb. Some cars are less.

I wouldn't buy it - but I don't like honda/acura. Not how they feel as a passenger or handle as a driver. I agree you could probably get 40k miles- and that's not worth it.

 

Eta; I mentioned camry because we've bought 3 used. (Almost 4. Someone else was faster. Sad.). We still own all of them.

Lol! That's so funny - we don't like toyotas for the reasons you mentioned. :)

 

We were hoping that Acura would be the quality of Honda, with the probability of 200,000-300,000+ miles.

[Carol in Cal.]

I buy old cars and I use the techniques mentioned upthread--single owner, meticulous, all maintenance records available, preferably garaged.  I also ask why the car is being sold.  I want a credible reason or else I assume that they just found out that something is majorly wrong with it.  I budget $1000 more for repairs in the first year regardless of how good it is--it's just the nature of things that if a car has 80K miles on it and the owner is selling it it is probably almost due for new brakes or tires or transmission service or a universal belt.  But if the engine has been well maintained, it can still run a long time and be very economical. 

 

I insist on fully functioning AC, because I need it and because for whatever reason my experience with repairing AC is that it never really gets fixed so you have to go to the shop over and over.

 

I buy very reliable cars per Consumer Reports.  I keep them forever.  I have a 98 Camry right now that has over 230,000 miles on it.  It just keeps running and running.  I change the oil about twice as often as the owners' manual recommends, and have the radiator flushed once a year, and that is about it. 

 

Two other things that have been helpful.  It is unavoidable with older cars that every so often you get a really expensive and often lengthy repair to do.  Most of the time that is still a lot cheaper than buying another one.  So we always try to own one more functional, registered vehicle, no matter how decrepit LOL, than the number of frequent drivers in the family.  We can afford that because old cars are so cheap to register and insure.  Also, every once in a while we go test drive new cars in the models that are usually reliable.  That way we know down the road whether they are comfortable and functional and whether we like them or not, when we are ready to buy.  This really helped, for instance, when we bought our 89 Camry.  We had driven these in 89, and 7-8 years later we remembered that they were comfortable, good cars for us.  I try to be courteous to the sales people and let them know that we are really, truly not going to buy that day, and also visit during the middle of the day when they are not that busy with genuine prospects.  Or I go to the credit union sales and test drive 4-5 cars on the same day--they usually have quite a variety.

 

This has saved us a TON of money over the years.  The last car I bought cost $10,500, 4-5 years ago or so, and I paid for it with paypal.  New it would have been in the neighborhood of around $50K I believe, maybe more (it is a 2001 Mercedes Coup).  It looks like a million bucks and I will probably drive it for another 10 years.  (It was nice getting the REI member bonus that next year, for sure, from the Paypal credit card purchase.)

 

 

[gardenmom5]

PeacefulChaos, something else occurred to me as re-read your OP. Three owners in ten years seems like a LOT to me. That makes me wonder if they just didn't like the vehicle, and thus kept trading it in.

 

We keep our vehicles until they're undrivable and replace the parts over and over though, so that might be normal and I just don't know it. But that seems really frequent to me and makes me think they didn't love it enough to hang onto it, know what I mean?

 

many people I know - and from whom I've purchased used cars, keep them for  ten years.  for higher end (re: acura) who might only keep them for five years, I'd expect it to be on no more than it's 2nd owner selling it to a third owner, not a third owner selling to a fourth , . ,

[gardenmom5]

Lol! That's so funny - we don't like toyotas for the reasons you mentioned. :)

 

We were hoping that Acura would be the quality of Honda, with the probability of 200,000-300,000+ miles.

Pretty sure honda makes acura. Dsil loves Honda. - hates his pilot. Was ready to sell it after four months. Then he and dd got engaged. Instead dd drives it. He bought an accord - it was a better deal than an acura.

[DawnM]

Blue book is a guide. Look in local ads for what similar are selling for.

Here, a good camry always goes for at least 1k OVER kbb. Some cars are less.

I wouldn't buy it - but I don't like honda/acura. Not how they feel as a passenger or handle as a driver. I agree you could probably get 40k miles- and that's not worth it.

 

Eta; I mentioned camry because we've bought 3 used. (Almost 4. Someone else was faster. Sad.). We still own all of them.

 

Right, but the previous poster said she would only pay $1,200.....which isn't even remotely close.  

[Guest]

Right, but the previous poster said she would only pay $1,200.....which isn't even remotely close.

I'm cheap and hate that vehicle :lol:

[gardenmom5]

Right, but the previous poster said she would only pay $1,200.....which isn't even remotely close.  

 

and other's have talked about what blue book is - which varies from place to place, and isn't always accurate.

 

eta: and yeah - there are cars I don't give a rip what bb is, I wouldn't pay half that. (and other's I've been willing to pay more.)

Edited January 8, 2016 by gardenmom5

[Starr]

We've done the 17 hour drives with an Accord and a Camry. We finally gave up the accord after 18 years and 240,000 miles.

[gardenmom5]

We've done the 17 hour drives with an Accord and a Camry. We finally gave up the accord after 18 years and 240,000 miles.

 

the worst 17 hr drive - was in a kia. (we were going somewhere people drive like maniacs, so dh figured he'd let them wreck a rental)  even though it was just dh and myself, NEVER again.  I loathed that thing within hours.

[poppy]

The range of vehicles you can get for $10,000 is huge. There is no way I'd spend that much on a car over 10 years old with 100,000 miles. The safety features alone have improved so much in the past decade.

 

I recently purchased a vehicle with that price point. We came up with a list of 8 vehicles to test drive- all consumer reports best buys, all with awd, all with less than 60,000 miles, no sedans. I don't believe any were luxury brands. But the only non-Japanese vehicle was Ford Flex. Im the end I got a single owner a Subaru Outback with leather seat that's 5 years old and 40,000 miles for $11.

[TranquilMind]

A 2006 Acura MDX with 110,000.

 

I know there are a lot of factors to consider.

I've got the carfax on it and there are no accidents, 3 owners, nothing stands out but I don't comb through carfaxes often lol... I can show it to our mechanic if need be.

We would definitely have our mechanic look at any car before buying it, so he would definitely see it before we made a decision.

 

So any thoughts?

It's more miles than what we'd originally looked for, but it's in our price range and I know there are some cars out there that can go for ever lol.

 

I don't really want any recommendations on other vehicles, I'm just wondering if you would consider purchasing a vehicle with that high of mileage.

Thanks! :)

No.  Too many owners.  Too much mileage.  I only buy 1 owner vehicles under 50K.

 

What is the price?  Go to edmunds.com "Appraise my vehicle" and plug in all the details.  You can find out what it should cost. 

 

 

Edited January 8, 2016 by TranquilMind

[Cinder]

We have bought a few older vehicles that had around 100K on them already. They were all Honda or Toyota with only one owner and complete service records. I'm more concerned about the vehicle having 3 owners than I am about the mileage. But, not being familiar with this model, I'm not sure if 100K on this vehicle is no big deal or a pretty big deal, iykwim.

[flyingiguana]

We bought a Subaru with 300K on it. 

 

I never would have done this 20 years ago.  Cars just didn't last beyond 100K.  But now some of them do.  It depends on the brand.  If you're reading a lot of things that say the brand you're looking at lasts well beyond that mileage, then you're probably ok. 

 

I'd also talk to a mechanic that you trust who has worked on a lot of cars of that brand in that mileage range.  One of the reasons we went ahead with the 300K car was because our mechanic said he's got a lot of customers still driving that model of Subaru well into that mileage range.  And that no one could convince them to get rid of them.  They seem to just keep running.

 

We also had full service records, knew the guy who owned it fairly well, knew that he'd maintained it meticulously, and were really only planning on driving it around town (well, town is a midsized metropolis).  And it was cheap.

 

eta: we've now had it a year.  We've only had to do minor repairs.  My husband loves it.  I never get to drive it.

 

Edited January 8, 2016 by flyingiguana

[flyingiguana]

I'll add that AGE may be a bigger factor than mileage for a lot of cars.  We have a 20 yr old van that's still going strong, except that we can't fix a lot of things on it anymore.  The parts just aren't available.  Up until a few years ago, we could get parts salvaged out of junked cars but even they have disappeared.

[flyingiguana]

I forgot to include that - it's currently priced at 9,900 at a small dealership.

 

 

That is starting to seem a little high. 

 

Are they leaving bargaining room?

 

I might want to see if there are other options in the area.

 

Have you checked Carsoup to see what that sort of car is selling for? 

 

If you're going to go for high mileage, you want the tradeoff of a lower price to begin with.  We got a much lower mileage car that was only a year old for not a huge amount more than that a few years back.  And there were a number to choose from in the area with that general price/mileage etc.

[Guest]

No. Too many owners. Too much mileage. I only buy 1 owner vehicles under 50K.

 

What is the price? Go to edmunds.com "Appraise my vehicle" and plug in all the details. You can find out what it should cost.

I brought this up to my husband last night and he said something similar. With three owners, all it takes is either taking the vehicle to a mechanic who doesn't use carfax or there being an intermittent problem that just hasn't been repaired. It's extremely easy to get around that service, especially if an owner does the repair themselves or they choose a shadier mechanic.

 

But that mileage for that money? He said you're being ripped off big time, blue book aside. Half the miles and one or two owners, max, would be more sensible for a price point about 5k for a non-luxury vehicle.

Edited January 8, 2016 by Arctic Mama

[gardenmom5]

 

 

I'd also talk to a mechanic that you trust who has worked on a lot of cars of that brand in that mileage range.  One of the reasons we went ahead with the 300K car was because our mechanic said he's got a lot of customers still driving that model of Subaru well into that mileage range.  And that no one could convince them to get rid of them.  They seem to just keep running.

 

I had a 70's era volvo like that.  the body was sad, the a/c didn't work, but the engine kept going and going and going . . . I drove it for two years - and sold it for about what we paid for it.

 

makes me think of the toyota pick-up truck that english car show tried to break. chained it to a dock while the 45ft tide rolled in (the chain broke.  the car was half buried in sand. they dried it out - and it started), dropped it from a building being blow up, etc.  . . . they finally admitted defeat and drove it into the studio to show it off under its own power.

[DawnM]

I'm cheap and hate that vehicle :lol:

 

 

I couldn't tell you had an opinion on it!

 

I actually prefer Honda to Toyota, but we have two Toyotas and no Hondas, so, there ya go.  

Edited January 8, 2016 by DawnM

[PeacefulChaos]

I think DH is strongly against getting a vehicle with that many miles anyway, so I think the question has ended up being moot.

 

 

 

Sigh.  I hate buying cars.  I would just like, just once, to be able to get a car that I like instead of just the cheapest thing we can find that's available, kwim?  

 

But in the end I think I'm swinging back to the minivan option.  We STOCK our minivan for our trips as it is, and the kids aren't getting any smaller.  The whole time we've considered an SUV I've wondered if I'd end up regretting it.  

 

So I guess we'll look at Odysseys.  *whine* 

 

Oh well.  Hopefully we won't need to buy another car for like, 10 years or more (unless we get a second car for DH, but that would just be a small cheapo car anyway), and at that point I'll get what I want.  Hopefully.  :lol:

[Guest]

How many people do you need to seat? Some options are better than others, even in the mid size SUV market.