# In general, is it worth trying to maintain a vehicle that has more than 100,000 miles or are you better off with a newer car? **URL:** \ **Category:** Buying/Selling\ **Tags:** camry, toyota\ **Created:** [May 25, 2020, 8:38am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/in-general-is-it-worth-trying-to-maintain-a-vehicle-that-has-more-than-100-000-miles-or-are-you-better-off-with-a-newer-car/164807 "2020-05-25T08:38:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![pyrolord314](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/6a8cbe/32.png) [@pyrolord314](https://community.cartalk.com/u/pyrolord314)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 3:14pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/in-general-is-it-worth-trying-to-maintain-a-vehicle-that-has-more-than-100-000-miles-or-are-you-better-off-with-a-newer-car/164807/62 "2020-05-27T15:14:05Z")
> [@ToyotaWill](#): > > There are mostly only “vestiges” of metal bumper behind all the over-done, over-priced, plastic shelled bumpers that has gone along with the mandatory gas-mileage and emission guidelines that our EPA has foisted upon us. Actually there is still a solid steel bumper behind the plastic shell. And I’m quite happy to not breath in horrible quality of air we had prior to the EPA “foisting” emission guidelines ---
**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 3:44pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/in-general-is-it-worth-trying-to-maintain-a-vehicle-that-has-more-than-100-000-miles-or-are-you-better-off-with-a-newer-car/164807/63 "2020-05-27T15:44:27Z")
I think Will would prefer a '65 Chevy. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/48514_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 5:07pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/in-general-is-it-worth-trying-to-maintain-a-vehicle-that-has-more-than-100-000-miles-or-are-you-better-off-with-a-newer-car/164807/64 "2020-05-27T17:07:35Z")
> [@texases](#): > > a '65 Chevy … complete with the notorious _X-frame_… ---
**Author:** ![bing](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bing/32/4619_2.png) [@bing](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bing)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 7:22pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/in-general-is-it-worth-trying-to-maintain-a-vehicle-that-has-more-than-100-000-miles-or-are-you-better-off-with-a-newer-car/164807/65 "2020-05-27T19:22:32Z")
> [@shadowfax](#): > > “In good shape” is the key phrase. When we were shopping for our house something like 10 years ago, it was astonishing how many houses were absolutely trashed. I’m going to go out on a limb without thinking too much about it but I think older houses in Minnesota are different than older houses out east. A lot of the older houses in Minnesota, let’s say from the 30’s, 40’s etc. are not very well built but were cranked out to meet housing needs at the time. Same cramped floor plans repeated over and over, walls crooked, floors uneven, foundations deteriorating, and so on. The interior millwork was either purchased from yards or hewn by the local carpenters. Not to mention no insulation or newspaper, knob wiring, lead pipes and so on. Then in rural areas where the houses can date back to the turn of the century, a lot of people just burn them down and start over. Trying to restore one of these houses though is a costly and time-consuming process. Now I think out east, the quality was/is better with more stone similar to Europe. I guess it maybe depends on the era they were built and the common construction methods at the time. For me though, I always preferred starting new rather than trying to fix something old with really no architectural value. ---
**Author:** ![Barkydog](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/barkydog/32/2470_2.png) [@Barkydog](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Barkydog)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 7:56pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/in-general-is-it-worth-trying-to-maintain-a-vehicle-that-has-more-than-100-000-miles-or-are-you-better-off-with-a-newer-car/164807/66 "2020-05-27T19:56:34Z")
My house was built in 1918, quality construction, maybe. Double brick exterior, plaster is good, floors are nice wood, natural wood trim to match. Front door is beveled glass, deadbolt in addition to door lock that opens from the inside no problem. Yes if we set the deadbolt you would need a skeleton key from the inside or outside to set it or unlock it. Back door I installed thumbscrew for deadbolt from the inside, but you have to turn the button on the knob to get out. Have reconstruction of house insurance, estimate is 2x taxed value. Cars open from the inside, no key needed, it only makes sense. ---
**Author:** ![MikeInNH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a587f6/32.png) [@MikeInNH](https://community.cartalk.com/u/MikeInNH)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 8:54pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/in-general-is-it-worth-trying-to-maintain-a-vehicle-that-has-more-than-100-000-miles-or-are-you-better-off-with-a-newer-car/164807/67 "2020-05-27T20:54:48Z")
> [@bing](#): > > A lot of the older houses in Minnesota, let’s say from the 30’s, 40’s etc. are not very well built but were cranked out to meet housing needs at the time. Many people here like the Nostalgia of these old homes. They overlook the no insulation and knob wiring. I’m NOT one of them…that’s why I bought new. I know a guy that bought this huge Victorian Home in Andover MA about 30 years ago. Even then he paid well over $400k. Didn’t have to worry about lead pipes or knob wiring because it didn’t have running water or house wiring. No thanks. Some homes built in the 1800’s are very desirable because they are Timber-Frame. But many who buy them take the house down to the timbers and rebuild a modern home from there, or they take the timbers and build elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/48514_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 9:09pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/in-general-is-it-worth-trying-to-maintain-a-vehicle-that-has-more-than-100-000-miles-or-are-you-better-off-with-a-newer-car/164807/68 "2020-05-27T21:09:14Z")
> [@MikeInNH](#): > > Some homes built in the 1800’s are very desirable because they are Timber-Frame. I know a family that lives in a farmhouse that was built sometime in the late 1700s. They decided to have some improvements done a few years ago, and the contractor first did a full cellar to attic inspection. To everyone’s shock, he found that a section of the first floor framing didn’t align with the stone foundation walls. Yes, it was only a section of about 8 feet, but that section was not actually supported by the foundation. So, before any updates could be done, they had to have the contractor do the foundation work necessary to support the framing from below. When asked how the house could have stood like that for a few hundred years, his answer was… “only by habit”. Old “workmanship” isn’t always good. ---
**Author:** ![bing](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bing/32/4619_2.png) [@bing](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bing)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 9:31pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/in-general-is-it-worth-trying-to-maintain-a-vehicle-that-has-more-than-100-000-miles-or-are-you-better-off-with-a-newer-car/164807/69 "2020-05-27T21:31:34Z")
I probably spoke too soon without a lot of thought but my FIL in South Dakota had several “farms” with houses on each one, prolly built in the 1880’s or so when the land was settled. At any rate they spent a little time salvaging some of the wood work and trim and cut glass panels, then burned the things down and plowed over it for crops. Not uncommon in that part of the country. Just ordinary farm house put up by people with varied skills on a budget. I’ve helped on some older homes too and it’s a nightmare and you never know where to stop. When my cousins went into an older house they had the right idea and just gutted the whole thing to modernize. Of course their labor was all free. ---
**Author:** ![Tom777](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e79b87/32.png) [@Tom777](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Tom777)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 11:29am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/in-general-is-it-worth-trying-to-maintain-a-vehicle-that-has-more-than-100-000-miles-or-are-you-better-off-with-a-newer-car/164807/70 "2020-05-28T11:29:28Z")
I had a 1969 VW Bug that I put 150,00 miles on it in 14 years. Although, the floor boards were starting to rust badly. ---
**Author:** ![MikeInNH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a587f6/32.png) [@MikeInNH](https://community.cartalk.com/u/MikeInNH)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 12:12pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/in-general-is-it-worth-trying-to-maintain-a-vehicle-that-has-more-than-100-000-miles-or-are-you-better-off-with-a-newer-car/164807/71 "2020-05-28T12:12:03Z")
> [@VDCdriver](#): > > . To everyone’s shock, he found that a section of the first floor framing didn’t align with the stone foundation walls. Foundation work from then was not an exact science. The vast majority of homes from that era didn’t survive…and one of the big culprits were the foundations. At best they used field stones just laid on top of each other. I’ve seen a few restored timber-frames from that era. Most were just taken apart and then reassembled on a new foundation. There are a few companies around here here that buy old barns and old timberframe homes just for the timber. They then mill the timber and build new homes with it, or mix the old and new timbers in. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/48514_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 12:23pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/in-general-is-it-worth-trying-to-maintain-a-vehicle-that-has-more-than-100-000-miles-or-are-you-better-off-with-a-newer-car/164807/72 "2020-05-28T12:23:55Z")
> [@MikeInNH](#): > > At best they used field stones just laid on top of each other. Yup! That is how the foundation was constructed. The big problem was that the foundation was “off” by several inches for that stretch of ~8 feet. The contractor said that whoever built it must have been drunk that day. ---
**Author:** ![shadowfax](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/shadowfax/32/13026_2.png) [@shadowfax](https://community.cartalk.com/u/shadowfax)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 1:38pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/in-general-is-it-worth-trying-to-maintain-a-vehicle-that-has-more-than-100-000-miles-or-are-you-better-off-with-a-newer-car/164807/73 "2020-05-28T13:38:27Z")
> [@MikeInNH](#): > > Foundation work from then was not an exact science. My grandma’s house was on a cement pad (you don’t do basements in south Louisiana). When it burned down shortly before my dad was born, they had an exact replica re-built on the same pad. Only the builder must’ve been drunk because he offset the house about 50 feet which was great on the side of the house that now had a hard surface to park cars on, but not so wonderful on the side of the house that was now hovering over bare soil. Grandma spent the next 60 years wondering why the floor tiles kept cracking on that side of the house. Erm… 'Cause you guys hired an idiot to rebuild your house. ---
**Author:** ![MikeInNH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a587f6/32.png) [@MikeInNH](https://community.cartalk.com/u/MikeInNH)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 2:03pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/in-general-is-it-worth-trying-to-maintain-a-vehicle-that-has-more-than-100-000-miles-or-are-you-better-off-with-a-newer-car/164807/74 "2020-05-28T14:03:26Z")
> [@shadowfax](#): > > My grandma’s house was on a cement pad (you don’t do basements in south Louisiana). We have a few homes around here on pads also. But they still have to have a foundation on the parameter going down 4’ because of Frost. Personally I like a Cellar. That’s where we store a lot of junk. ---
**Author:** ![37chev](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/94ad74/32.png) [@37chev](https://community.cartalk.com/u/37chev)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 2:04pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/in-general-is-it-worth-trying-to-maintain-a-vehicle-that-has-more-than-100-000-miles-or-are-you-better-off-with-a-newer-car/164807/75 "2020-05-28T14:04:31Z")
226K miles on my '04 V6 Camry. I’ve done all of the routine maintenance including 2 brake jobs, but not the timing belt changes. One dead starter. Better car than our '15 Camry. ---
**Author:** ![ToyotaWill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9a140/32.png) [@ToyotaWill](https://community.cartalk.com/u/ToyotaWill)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 3:27am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/in-general-is-it-worth-trying-to-maintain-a-vehicle-that-has-more-than-100-000-miles-or-are-you-better-off-with-a-newer-car/164807/76 "2020-05-29T03:27:27Z")
> [@MikeInNH](#): > > > [@ToyotaWill](#): > > > > If you have had vehicles with 300k+ miles, unless you put 50k on them a year, would be OLD, and suffer from the frame and major components (wheel assemblies, gas tank) would corrode and rust to h\*ll, even if you go to a car wash. > > Math a problem for you? 300k miles divided by 30k = 10 years. What do you consider an old car? Vehicles don’t rust like they did 20 years ago. My wife’s 07 Lexus with over 250k miles has ZERO signs of rust. It’s in excellent condition. My 98 Pathfinder which I drove to over 300k miles and then my oldest put another 150k miles and then her ex boyfriend finally took it to, the junk yard when it was approaching 500k miles. The frame was NOT falling apart. You really need to check your facts. > > I don’t need to be degraded by your comments, “Math a problem for you?” and, “check your facts.” > > Hardly deserving of any reply, I’ll clarify. First off, I’ve never had a car that I put 30k on per year. That’s a lot of mileage. For the majority of cars I or my family, relatives or friends owned, I think the highest mileage was 15k a year. And, my own cars never even reached 10k a year. > > You’re in NH? And your cars have ZERO signs of rust? Sorry, but simply implausible. And, you apparently didn’t bother to note that in my posts on this chain, I specifically indicated rust from areas with COLD winters, and road salt used profusely. And, they were meant to be in response to the guy who lives in Florida, where if you not near the ocean or the Gulf, you don’t get rust. No 23 year old 1998 Pathfinder with 500k miles in NH would not have extensive deterioration of major components attached to the frame. Plus, you don’t say it had no rust - just that the frame was “not falling apart.” > > * * * > > I don’t need to “check your facts”. People who post need to provide them, or not get into an arrogant hissy-fit when I post an informative response. Don’t like them? Then don’t respond with nasty comments. > > > [@ToyotaWill](#): > > > > I know this to be a fact, not just from body shop guys and mechanics, but from my relatives’ and friends’ cars, who experienced things liked wheel assemblies just busting off, and the car couldn’t even be driven, with a wheel(s) cocked out on the top side due to no more frame attachment. > > While I say that might happen - it surely is extremely rare. If that was the case we’d be seeing it happening to cars all the time…and it’s NOT. Again…you need to check your facts. No, it’s not extremely rare. In the Midwest or the Northeast Coast, cars are commonly called “rust-buckets”. You’ be seeing it widespread in NH’s climate. Your claim you are not “we’d be seeing it happening to cars all the time…and it’s NOT” is hardly believable. I’m sure others who live in Central and Eastern (not South) climates would not deny heavily rusted cars that are older. Again, YOU need to check the facts of the posts you want to tear apart. ---
**Author:** ![ToyotaWill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9a140/32.png) [@ToyotaWill](https://community.cartalk.com/u/ToyotaWill)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 3:36am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/in-general-is-it-worth-trying-to-maintain-a-vehicle-that-has-more-than-100-000-miles-or-are-you-better-off-with-a-newer-car/164807/77 "2020-05-29T03:36:10Z")
> [@texases](#): > > I think Will would prefer a '65 Chevy. How about a 1969 Chevelle SS with a 427? Then you’re talking metal bumpers. You find them 1970’s cars as well. ---
**Author:** ![Nevada\_545](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/nevada_545/32/41232_2.png) [@Nevada\_545](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Nevada_545)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 4:30am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/in-general-is-it-worth-trying-to-maintain-a-vehicle-that-has-more-than-100-000-miles-or-are-you-better-off-with-a-newer-car/164807/78 "2020-05-29T04:30:00Z")
> [@MikeInNH](#): > > I don’t need to be degraded by your comments, “Math a problem for you?” and, “check your facts.” Rude replies are permitted here but others have been banned for arguing with Mike, you could be next. > [@MikeInNH](#): > > I’ve never had a car that I put 30k on per year. That is the key, use up your vehicle as soon as possible and pass in on to the next person. > [@MikeInNH](#): > > No 23 year old 1998 Pathfinder with 500k miles in NH would not have extensive deterioration of major components attached to the frame. Long gone, replaced many years ago, forget that it mentioned. My 1996 Dodge on the other hand, daily driver (no rust here). ---
**Author:** ![Barkydog](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/barkydog/32/2470_2.png) [@Barkydog](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Barkydog)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 5:51am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/in-general-is-it-worth-trying-to-maintain-a-vehicle-that-has-more-than-100-000-miles-or-are-you-better-off-with-a-newer-car/164807/79 "2020-05-29T05:51:09Z")
I responded way earlier, going to a new Level I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Ralph-66](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7feea3/32.png) [@Ralph-66](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Ralph-66)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 7:39am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/in-general-is-it-worth-trying-to-maintain-a-vehicle-that-has-more-than-100-000-miles-or-are-you-better-off-with-a-newer-car/164807/80 "2020-05-29T07:39:10Z")
100,000 miles on a Toyota Camry is equivalent to about 20,000 miles on the domestics cars for future cost and reliability. Pick out a used one that is in good condition and maintain it systematically with good oil and filters. They have non-interference engines. With the belt drive cams I refuse to own one with a belt and interference internals, good luck. ---
**Author:** ![VOLVO-V70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8e8cbc/32.png) [@VOLVO-V70](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VOLVO-V70)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 1:03pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/in-general-is-it-worth-trying-to-maintain-a-vehicle-that-has-more-than-100-000-miles-or-are-you-better-off-with-a-newer-car/164807/81 "2020-05-29T13:03:23Z")
> [@Ralph-66](#): > > 100,000 miles on a Toyota Camry is equivalent to about 20,000 miles on the domestics cars You can’t be serious . Besides how do you determine a domestic vehicle in a global manufacturing environment . I guess if a Toyota Camry is made in the U.S. it will only last 20000 miles. [Previous page](https://community.cartalk.com/t/in-general-is-it-worth-trying-to-maintain-a-vehicle-that-has-more-than-100-000-miles-or-are-you-better-off-with-a-newer-car/164807.md?page=3) [Next page](https://community.cartalk.com/t/in-general-is-it-worth-trying-to-maintain-a-vehicle-that-has-more-than-100-000-miles-or-are-you-better-off-with-a-newer-car/164807.md?page=5)