If you're planning on buying a high mileage car, here are some important points to keep in mind and explore before making your final decision:
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- Understand the effective mileage
- Be aware of the risks
- Keep an eye for red flags
- Consider pre-purchase inspection
- Learn about the maintenance schedule
- Evaluate the resale value
You probably heard about the surge in the used car prices and the shortage in the chip that plays a major role in producing more vehicles. That's why if you're shopping for a used car, you will find it very challenging to find a car. As a result, we noticed a new trend towards purchasing high mileage cars as the only resort.
A long time ago, people were always very nervous about purchasing cars with more than 100,000 miles. However, more and more people are purchasing high mileage vehicles without worrying about major breakdowns from trusted vehicles brands as automakers produced more reliable vehicles.
While there are some improvements in reliability, it is still a little risky to buy a high mileage car. Therefore, before you make your final decision, you must go through a certain list of important points to keep in mind so you don't end up buying a junk car.
This article serves as the ultimate guidance on buying a high mileage car. It highlights some important keynotes to keep in mind and investigate before making your final decision.
Buying a high mileage car: what to consider?
If you're planning on buying a high mileage car, here are the important points to keep in mind:
- Understand the effective mileage
When we see a high number on the vehicle's odometer, we immediately think that this is a high mileage vehicle that might have major problems or experienced significant issues that make it a bad car. However, you don't know that the number of miles on the odometer is not the full story.
Modern vehicles produced by larger automakers like Honda or Toyota are expected to have high mileage, but you should not immediately assume that these vehicles are bad. In other words, people who drove newer cars and put some high mileage indicate that they've been driving them at higher speeds on highway roads.
Typically, driving at highway speed is gentler because the car produces more energy and reaches the operable temperatures to burn out all carbon buildup. Therefore, you should be more concerned about buying an older car that has lower mileage.
Older cars with lower mileage indicate that the vehicle experienced a lot of stops and start trips at the city roads. If you don't already know, stop-and-go trips are one of the very critical practices that could kill your car, even if your car does not have very high mileage.
- Be aware of the risks
Although you might come across a high mileage car that looks good to you, there aren't many things hidden underneath the high number of mileages. Typically, automotive experts and manufacturers design the vehicle to last for a certain time, and after a certain mileage threshold, some major components are expected to break down.
For example, don't be surprised to need a new transmission once every 120,000 miles. Therefore, if the transmission looks good to you now, there is a very high chance that you might need to install a new one sometime soon.
However, the mileage again should not be the only thing to look at. For instance, if a certain vehicle does not have very high mileage and the driver used to slam the doors or floor the gas, there's a very high chance that this car will have more problems than someone else who took good care of the vehicle and the car reached a very high mileage number.
Thus, before deciding to purchase a high mileage vehicle, it is important that you reviewed all regular maintenance and confirmed that the car was taken care of properly by the previous owners.
- Keep an eye for red flags
Without doing proper research and due diligence when buying a high mileage car, you're buying a black box. That's why automotive experts recommend that you spend some time and effort understanding analyzing all potential information around the vehicle.
That's why you should start with the vehicle history reports. This report tells you the whole story about the car and highlights major issues that the vehicle might experience. For example, if the car was involved in major car accidents, you'll see this listed on the history report. Thus, you'll know that some of the major components need further inspection, like the vehicle structure.
Also, by looking at the history reports, you'll get an idea about whether the vehicle was concerned as salvage or got involved in our flood or any other major issues that could significantly impact the vehicle's health.
Finally, it's also recommended that you understand the reliability of specific vehicles model, years, and automakers. For example, some cars are expected to last longer just because certain automakers produce them. Therefore, do your research and evaluate the main pros and cons of each car before buying.
- Consider pre-purchase inspection
Do not limit your research to looking at the history reports only because you want to understand all aspects of previous maintenance and how the vehicle was treated previously.
Some people even bring a specific mechanic who has previous experience in detecting major problems. While you might familiarize yourself with some of the common symptoms indicating internal breakdowns, having a mechanic look at the vehicle for just 30 minutes will tell you the whole story that might take you days until you figure it out. However, bringing a personal mechanic might be a little pricey, and if you compare the pay rate for the mechanic to the price of the high mileage car, you might find it a bit not worth it.
- Learn about the maintenance schedule
Every vehicle requires a certain level of maintenance at some point in time. By the time the car hits the 100,000 miles, it should have gone through major inspections. One way to confirm that the owner has been taking good care of the vehicle is by monitoring how many times the vehicle was inspected and regular maintenance.
Therefore, you must consider expected services that you might need to take care of after the 100,000 miles and factor that out in your calculations before purchasing the high mileage car.
- Evaluate the resale value
Some people think that buying a high mileage vehicle is not worth saying because it will not have a good resale value. However, that's not the case, and it's the other way around.
When you buy a vehicle with about 90,000 miles, you should not see a big difference when selling it with about 120,000 miles. In other words, prices for cars depreciate at the first couple of years of ownership, and once the vehicle hits a certain mileage threshold, the resale value does not change drastically.
Therefore, if you're planning to drive a high mileage car for about 20,000 miles, you can determine a specific mileage threshold where you enjoy a free ride without worrying about car value depreciation.
Are high mileage cars worth buying?
As you might already know, sometimes buying a high mileage car is worth it. However, especially if this high mileage car is a more modern vehicle because buying this car is better than buying another older car with lower mileage, we advise that you go through the details. We will sit in the previous section to confirm whether the high mileage car of your interest is worth it or not.
What mileage is too high when buying a car?
On average, it is expected that people put about 12,000 to 15,000 miles on their vehicles every year. Therefore, hitting the 100,000 miles can be considered too high for cars, and that's when your vehicle is listed as a high mileage car.
Many vehicles put the 200,000 miles easily, which means that whenever the car hits the 100,000 miles, it should not be very concerning, especially if a trusted automaker made the car.
It is important to understand that the 100,000 miles threshold is a critical number because that's when the vehicle is expected to have major breakdowns, and that's when most of the extended warranties are expired, which means that you are expected to install major components like the engine or the transmission.
At what mileage should I not buy a car?
It's very hard to specify a mileage threshold where you are not recommended to buy a car. However, as we highlighted before, some older low mileage vehicles are expected to have major breakdowns more than newer cars with more mileage.
Therefore, we typically recommend that you do not only look at the mileage number as you only have one clue to tell you whether you should buy this vehicle or not here there are many factors, but we will also say earlier that you should consider before making your final decision of purchasing a high mileage car.
At what mileage should I sell my car?
On the other hand, if you have a high mileage vehicle and planning to sell it, automotive experts recommend that you sell before it hits the 100,000 miles. According to statistics, your vehicle's value will drop significantly once it hits the 100,000 miles.
Therefore, whether you’re planning to sell your vehicle to a private buyer or traded it in with the dealership, you should not reach the 100,000 miles if you're planning to get the most money out of this vehicle.
However, if your car is already past 100,000 miles, we advise you to reach out to Cash Cars Buyer, who guarantees to buy your car despite its type, condition, or mileage. You can reach customer service by giving us a call at 866-924-4608.
At what mileage do cars start having problems?
At 100,000 miles. Most warranties and major components are expected to expire and break down once the vehicle hits the 100,000 miles. Therefore, if your car is approaching this threshold, be prepared for high repair costs.
That's why you might want to evaluate selling your vehicle before it hits the 100,000 miles so you can get the most money out of it without dealing with all the headaches related to major card breakdowns.
Conclusion
Buying a high mileage car might be a good decision, especially considering the current increase and surges in car prices. However, many people are still hesitant about purchasing high mileage cars.
This article provided you with some important tips and tricks, and other elements to consider before buying your high mileage vehicle. Once you go through the list and familiarize yourself with what to expect from this high mileage vehicle, you will have the best decision based on good research.
If you have a high mileage vehicle and are looking for a potential buyer, you might find it challenging to convince private buyers to buy this vehicle. Even worse, dealerships will not pay you the top dollars for this car. But, the good news is that Cash Cars Buyer is one of the top-rated companies that will accept this high mileage vehicle!
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Our process is very straightforward and doesn't take more than a couple of days to get your car removed safely and for the most money.
All it takes you is to:
- Describe your car’s type and condition
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