# High Mileage vehicles



## iLabmAn (Jan 1, 2003)

I've been looking for a used car for quite some time now. I tend to shy away from cars with high mileage however I have not found anything that meets my needs and budget. I did find a car with 200,000 KM that looks and runs well (Escort GT), however I am reluctant to embrace this deal due to the high KMs.

Thoughts? What are you stories with cars high KMs? Buying? Maintaining?


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## mbangler (Feb 6, 2001)

Speaking from experience It's pretty much a roll of the dice when buying used. You can have a good mechanic look at the vehicle and sure they can check the obvious trouble spots. But there is no way of them knowing if the blower motor for your heater, etc. is going to go in a couple of months. (How can you tell I'm from Winnipeg.  ) Personally, I prob. won't ever buy a vehicle that old/high kms ever again. I've done that a couple of times in the past and when working with the numbers of repair bills vrs. higher payments of a still used but newer vehicle it works out the same in the end.


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## Peter Scharman (Jan 4, 2002)

To add to that, the type of driving and the amount of maintenance is very important. Obviously a car that has seen a lot of stop- and-go driving vs. highway cruising will have more wear and tear on the power train. However some things wear our simply from long term useage, such as belts, alternators, water pumps, hoses, blower motors, suspension parts, etc. I've purchases a few vehicles at the 160-180Km range and have had long use from them, albeit with a bit higher maintenance costs than a much more expensive newer vehicle. I'd suggest going to the library and checking out the LemonAid and Consumers Guide used car editions to see which models have the better all round reliability and if you find a possible candidate, take it to the dealer for a good check over, looking at the known weak points and wear-out items (exhaust, suspension components, brakes) to see if they are showing signs of needing future replacement or have already been changed. Other than that, you're at the mercy of the gods (or is that odds?)


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## BigDL (Apr 16, 2003)

+1


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## iLabmAn (Jan 1, 2003)

Well, I went to go check out that car with 200,000 KM and it was a piece of junk. False advertising and a sneaky dealer. What else is new.

I did find a car with 140,000 KM that I will be testing out tomorrow. Pray for me!


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## MaxPower (Jan 30, 2003)

My wife had a '97 Hyundai Tibeuron with 230,000 KMS on it. Ran like a charm. Absolutly nothing wrong with it when we traded it in.

She also drives her vehicles hard. She does a lot of driving for work which includes Highway and City driving.

Those factors made me rethink my whole attitude towards Hyundai.


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## Britnell (Jan 4, 2002)

What part of the world are you in? If you are in the GTA, I might be able to help you.

Highway/city driving DOES make a difference. But changing the oil every 3 months/5K make a bigger difference.

Take the vehicle to a reputable mechanic, and have him look it over, pay attention to compression, leaks/seals, shocks, welding, rust on the bottom.


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