relationship between car age and acceptable mileage

[dixon]

say a car is ten year old how low should the mileage be for you to consider buying one?
what about 8-5 year old?
the conditions are that the car is assumed to be stock and will be used daily for at least 3 years

some of the fun cars i was looking at is the 200sx,mx-5,supra(seems awesome hp/$)
how are the reliabilities of tuner cars in general(assume i'm buying stock)?

 

[Gillbot]

~10k a year is average mileage for a typical car.

 

[dixon]

cool
anything i should watch out for if i go with a supra of say about 10 year old with 60k miles?
also the price is about 17k without registration is this a good deal?(everything is stock)

 

[Jumpem]

~10k a year is average mileage for a typical car.

That seems low. I would think 12-15k would be more normal.

That said I drive 30k. I would never buy a ten year old car. I don't buy used cars unless they are only one model year old, and have no more than 3-7k miles.

 

[Jumpem]

cool
anything i should watch out for if i go with a supra of say about 10 year old with 60k miles?
also the price is about 17k without registration is this a good deal?(everything is stock)

$17k is a rediculous price for a ten year old car. You could get a brand new reliable and safe car for that.

 

[BassBomb]

Can't you scramble a GTO for something like that price?

 

[MJinZ]

Supra? That car cost like $50k+. I wouldn't call it a "tuner" car. That's like saying a BMW M3 is a tuner car.

 

[Paperlantern]

$17k is a rediculous price for a ten year old car. You could get a brand new reliable and safe car for that.

Agreed, you can get a sexy loaded scion tC thats practically new for that much. A couple quick searches turned up a 2009 with about 20k miles for $15,999. That car will be fun to drive, look sharp, and last 10+ years properly maintained.

 

[dawp]

$17k is a rediculous price for a ten year old car. You could get a brand new reliable and safe car for that.

not for a supra it isn't.

a quick look on cars.com has them for well over 30k depending on year and mileage.

you have to remember a supra is a fairly rare model.

It's not something i'd use for a daily driver.

 

[HarryLui]

cool
anything i should watch out for if i go with a supra of say about 10 year old with 60k miles?
also the price is about 17k without registration is this a good deal?(everything is stock)

Anandtech is the last place to ask about old cars purchase advice.

Sign up the cars forum focus on the specific make and model, you'll get way better info there than here.

Tc over Supra... sure..

 

[AstroManLuca]

Mark IV Supras aren't bad cars but they're overpriced. You're paying the ricer tax (aka Fast & the Furious tax).

Besides, I wouldn't recommend a car like that if you are using it as your daily driver. Sports cars tend to get driven a lot harder and a lot less frequently than other cars. So 60k on a Supra would actually seem high to me, and I'd be concerned that those 60k miles were rougher than 120k miles on something like a Ford Taurus.

Hell, for 17k you can get a pretty recent Infiniti G35. It's RWD, fun to drive, much newer, safer, and more reliable than an old Supra, and probably hasn't been driven nearly as hard as a Supra.

If you want a Supra, get a Mark III for a couple grand and make it a project car and keep another car around as a daily driver. That's what my brother does. He has an old Accord as because he's always tinkering with his Supra (I should say Supras, plural; he has two right now).

 

[Gillbot]

That seems low. I would think 12-15k would be more normal.

That said I drive 30k. I would never buy a ten year old car. I don't buy used cars unless they are only one model year old, and have no more than 3-7k miles.

If I recall correctly, out HR department said 10k was the IRS "norm" with 15-20k being on the higher side.

 

[MikeMike]

If I recall correctly, out HR department said 10k was the IRS "norm" with 15-20k being on the higher side.

12.5k is the number always tossed around that i hear... 15k is high, 10k is low...

 

[ElFenix]

15k is the new 12k.

 

[iGas]

$17k is a rediculous price for a ten year old car. You could get a brand new reliable and safe car for that.

I concur unless it is a 60~70 year old collectible & I have money to burn.

For that money the OP can by a decent 1~2 year old used car. Or just simply purchase a new Civic/Jetta/etc...

[add] and there are a lot of after market parts to rice the hella out of a Civic/Jetta.

 

[Paperlantern]

Tc over Supra... sure..

In a heartbeat...

A new supra vs a new tc? Hell no, but a $17k supra vs a $17k tC? No brainer... tC every time

 

[Gillbot]

12.5k is the number always tossed around that i hear... 15k is high, 10k is low...

15k is the new 12k.

Could be, it's been a while since I asked but anyway if you use the "lower" number then you will be lower and therefore ahead of the game if buying.

 

[Zap]

I would never buy a ten year old car.

I wouldn't either, but it really depends on your budget and ability to fix stuff yourself, plus your tolerance to having stuff break down.

Personally I really hate having to deal with breakdowns, so I prefer newer cars.

I really like the look of these Supras over the more recent (and more potent) newer ones.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Depending on what you're looking for in a car and how much you know about evaluating a used car, 8-10 year old cars can be either a fantastic bargain or a horrible, horrible money pit.

If you've been wrenching for a while and know how to look a car over and know where to go to learn about the weak points for a particular year/make/model, and if you can be patient, there are some definite bargains to be had. With proper maintenance and good treatment, most cars should easily hit 200,000 miles or more so a 10-year-old car with 100,000 miles on it isn't always a problem child.

However, it's also very easy to dress a car up and make it look much better than it really is. If you don't know how to evaluate a car, it's very easy to end up with one that has not been treated well and that has impending issues. That might be OK for something that you're planning on using as a weekend semi-project car, but it's a disaster if you're looking for reliable daily transportation.

The average for a commuter car seems to be around 12,500/year based on what I see when I scan the used car ads. Sportscars tend to be used less, but they also tend to be driven harder and, especially if they've been through more than one owner, have a spotty maintenance/modification history.

Basically, once you're in the 7-8 or more years old for a car, you need to be pretty sure of your ability to correctly evaluate the car's condition and your ability to understand the potential pitfalls that apply to that specific year/make/model. There are bargains out there, but there are a lot more cars with iffy histories that are money pits waiting to happen.

ZV

 

[boomhower]

A Supra isn't your typical 10 year old car. They are relatively rare and are a great base to mod. The motors support massive amounts of power with relatively little work. The six speed is dead nuts reliable and supports a ton of power. A 400RWHP car is easy. You'll run out of traction before you approach the limits of the engine or tranny. As long as you keep up with fuel needs the rest of it is pretty much good to go. Strip out the dual turbos, slap on a nice single and you have a highway killer. They pretty much suck at the strip though.

That said, this car tends to be riced out badly. It is up to you what you do with it. They are expensive for a reason, their sought after and rare.

 

[Doggiedog]

The average would be about 12K a year. If you look at standard leases, that's the default number.

 

[reallyscrued]

In a heartbeat...

A new supra vs a new tc? Hell n.o

...What?

 

[alkalinetaupehat]

Foot in mouth...

Anyways, 12k/yr is the norm.

 

[dixon]

great suggestion on the g35, i found one for 20k with 30k miles, its a 2001 car
very low mileage for a car that age isnt it?
i would really love to buy a tc but they dont have one in australia

 

[thedarkwolf]

Miatas have pretty reliable drive trains so I wouldn't worry too much about the miles. Worry more about the overall condition. My 95 has 150k miles on it and still going strong well it is a miata so strong might be an over statement . Still autox the hell out of it too. They have crappy hydraulic lash adjusters, lifters, though and they do like to click clack when hot, cold, ran hard, old oil, etc. They may have fixed that on the newer 2.0l engines but I'm fairly sure all the 1.6l and 1.8l have that problem.