Any Toyota or Honda properly maintained and not beat upon will easily make 250,000 miles without any serious failures. Expect one or two peripheral components, perhaps an alternator, a water pump, or a starter, but those are truely minor inconveniences. As long as they’re dealt with properly when they happen (do NOT continue to drive a vehicle with a bad water pump) , they don’t shorten the life of the vehicle or damage other stuff when they fail.
If you have $20K to spend, I’d suggest a new economy odel rather than a used vehicle.
I concur with TSM. Properly maintained and not beat…a Toyota or Honda can easily reach 250k miles. We’ve had 2 Accords that went well past 300k miles. Wifes 87 Accord…last we knew was approaching 500k miles. Her 96 Accord was approaching 400k miles. No major failures what-so-ever. In fact the only failure on the 96 Accord for it’s first 250k miles was one of the heater knobs ($4). Just follow the maintenance schedule.
It would be difficult, if not impossible for me to realistically base a 10 year family financial plan on the predicted cost of any vehicle and I earned a living repairing automobiles for nearly 30 years… Any vehicle you choose could blow a head gasket on the way home. What then?
I will offer some unsolicited advice, read Dave Ramsey’s book on basic finance and consider it as a good starting place. Getting the house paid off and having no debt whatsoever with enough cash to live for a year makes life much more manageable and getting to that position is a learning experience. BTW, what are you currently driving? Why get rid of it?
^ +(∞*∞)
That’s the most sensible and sage advice I’ve seen here in awhile.
@RodKnox Great advice! We’ve mostly (except for the Dodge dart) had used cars until we were completely debt-free and had enough cash around to buy new. And we’ve always minimized our transportation expenses.
I have a 2002 Sienna with 196,000 miles. It has had some repairs, but overall well within the $1,000 a year total. I no longer rotate tires, since the guarantees disappear the instant I cross the border into Mexico. Last time I wore out my tires, the tire store said the tires wore so evenly they did not even recommend alignment.
And, I do drive on rather rough dirt and rock roads at times.
8 years ago, I hit a road hazard, and at that time did need to align the front end.
Minor things such as the hatch lever by the license plate, broke inside.
And, the rear windows that crank open have had two failures. So, no car is immune from problems. But, original motor and transmission. Original struts; and exhaust system.
No. Be prepared for costs and hope for the best.
If you are not into bell’s and whistles I would get the ODY LX model. No power doors to cause trouble, nor power hatch that could break. Timing belt intervals on the 3.5 are 110k, 220k. change the transmission fluid yearly, and you will find the van reliable.
I would steer clear of the older touring models. There are some issues with ride quality on PAX models.