When searching used cars on craigslist price between 5k to 10k, I found many cars with mileage higher than 100k. For example, a 2004 Volvo S80, 119k mileage, asking for $8200. Is this mileage too high to buy? What should I be careful when buying cars with 100k mileage or greater?
What’s most important here is how the car was maintained and treated. Mileage is really secondary. You need to see service records and have the car inspected by your technician to answer this question. Generally, Volvo’s are expensive to maintain; that is also something to consider.
I wouldn’t pay that much for a Volvo with that many miles on it. Ever.
100k is not too old to buy, but it’s too old to spend 8 grand on.
If you are buying European I would suggest being very careful about 100k+ vehicles. Of the choices the best bet likely is BMW.
If you are buying a domestic or asian branded vehicle 100k+ is less of a concern as repair costs are typically more reasonable.
A major concern is timing belt replacement which drives some vehicles to market at this mileage. Not all vehicles have them but some do and it is expensive maintenance.
I drive a 1993 BMW with 196k on it. It just passed NJ inspection no problem. I’ve had the car since 65k miles and done a good amount of work to it but its be extremely reliable and nothing major with the engine or transmission has gone wrong. I have a 2000 BMW with about 93k on it and the car had a very expensive transmission failure. My personal opinion is that you’d be crazy to buy a car with less than 100k miles on it. All the major problems have been resolved by that point. You get the car much cheaper but keep in mind servicable items like tires, brakes, suspension components will need replacing and the occasional electric motor will go. I’d also choose a car thats been driven hard and taken good care of over a care thats been lightly driven and lightly maintained.
Don’t buy the car. The price is much too high. I’m not disparaging the car but you can spend the money on any number of cars in that price range with lower miles and much lower cost of ownership costs and higher quality ratings.
In that price range, buy a newer and equal mileage or lower Toyota. The reason why you want a Toyota has to do with a company-wide obsession with factory tolerances, quality control, and engineering, all of which are very important if you are buying a used car.