[Kat]

Seems like the decision is to either (1) spend 10k for an old car with higher miles (125k+) and absorb any risk of higher maintenance as 100k is around the time a car starts needed more fixing.

Or (2) spend 20k for a 3-4 year old car with lower miles (60k+) and hope there’s lower maintenance but for sure you’re paying 10k more.

This is a question about paying cash. Not about getting a loan. So there is no interest factoring into this.

[Kym]

Als, do NOT buy a vehicle that has between 75,000-100,000 miles… here’s why…

Americans don’t maintain shiiiiit. They just throw it away and get a new one. When does all the maintenance come due on a veichle?

75k-100k. So, the brake system is probably original, the suspension, ect ect ect.

Look for veichles above that threshold because it means someone took care of it(check for proof of course) instead of tossed it the second it needed something.

That’s just my 2 cents, but I drive/love shitboxes (my loving term for cash cars).

I also do al my own work which helps.

[David]

I don’t know if this helps but in 2014 I bought a 2008 Ford Taurus with 80k miles for $9k. Now, 9 years later, it has 225k miles and, other than regular oil changes, two sets of brakes, and three sets of tires, I’m only just now doing my first engine repairs and the total of all those repairs (about a half dozen little things) will cost me less than $1k total.

In 2019 I bought a 2015 Ford Edge with 125k miles for $17k. Now, 4 years later, it has 180k miles and all I’ve done to it is regular oil changes, brakes, and a set of tires…no mechanical issues to speak of so far.

Also in 2019 I bought a 2001 Chevy Silverado with 225k miles for $3200. I drove it occasionally (its my spare vehicle) for two years before anything on it broke at which point some of the suspension components needed to be replaced for safety. I decided to replace several suspension and steering components, which cost me ~$3k with labor, but the motor and transmission have still neither had any issues yet. Again, regular oil changes, a set of brakes, and I’m just now about to put my first set of tires on it. It currently has just over 250k miles.

In each case I did ample research on the models and specifically on the motors that each vehicle has. As someone else said, some motors are garbage and will crap out at 100k miles regardless of how you maintenance them and others will give you a 1,000,000 miles with regular maintenance if the body holds up.

I think the ideal sweet spot is 3-6 years old if you’re looking for a daily driver but really no age or mileage limit if it’s not going to be a daily driver. In either case learning how well it was maintained by the previous own is of paramount importance.

Good luck!

Explore these too: Curious about how much you budget for car washing?

[John]

125k on some brands is low mileage. Other brands it is at the end of its life.

I won’t go into which brand is better… just research and go with what makes sense to you.

[Coby]

You can get a lot of maintenance done with 10k, especially if you buy domestic and do the easy work yourself.

I was a mechanic for 15 years so I may be a little biased though.

[Jonathan]

Buy a brand new Toyota corolla and be done with it and worrying about it, maintenance, getting the best deal, etc. It will be reliable, probably last you 10+ years depending how much you drive it. Even if you had to finance the rate would only be 5% on 20 k. Payment would be 350ish.

I say this because in the big picture you’re better off to spend your time with focusing on investing, side hustle, etc. I regret trying to be too cheap about things and it wasted time it ended up costing me more in the end. I didn’t say buy a Mercedes new – Toyota corolla lol. Even though it’s a new car it holds its value really well. I buy one every 3 years and trade it in because I put tons of business miles on it.

Also, check out: Friendly reminder shop around for car insurance!

[Justin]

Toyota, Honda, Lexus, Acura, Tesla. The first four are the most reliable and the last one has the lowest cost of ownership.

There are yearly and lifetime cost of ownership graphs on Google.

[Alisa]

Idk the right answer but bought the 20k car with 60k miles. It was very hard to find a car much cheaper than 20k in a Honda or Toyota.

They get snapped up pretty quickly. You have to go where you’d least expect them like the Jeep/ VW dealer vs the Honda dealer to buy a Honda.

[Andrew]

Buy a base model NEW Ford Maverick or similar. Similar as in cheap base model with high residual / resale value. I bought a brand new 2022 Ford Maverick for $25k out the door, and traded it in to carmax with 19k miles on it for $26k, purchased a new 2023 model for $26k. Now I know that’s exceptional to make money on a trade in due to supply chain shortages, but even without that anomaly my cost of ownership would have been just a couple thousand a year.

I only had to pay for oil changes.

I already have the 2024 model on order.

[DM Washington]

We’ve been a 2 car family for about 25 years. In that time we’ve owned exactly 4 cars. We don’t buy other people’s junk, 2-3 years off lease certified preowned only driven for upwards of 15 years.

I can’t imagine buying a car with those mileage, still FIRED at 46 years old.

[Author]

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