# Should I buy a manual Accord with 250k?

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/should-i-buy-a-manual-accord-with-250k/152345>\
**Category:** Buying/Selling\
**Created:** [November 7, 2019, 10:06pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/should-i-buy-a-manual-accord-with-250k/152345 "2019-11-07T22:06:04Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 18\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Mustafa\_Akbar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@Mustafa\_Akbar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustafa_Akbar)\
**Post date:** [November 7, 2019, 10:06pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/should-i-buy-a-manual-accord-with-250k/152345/1 "2019-11-07T22:06:04Z")

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This is the ad -

> **[2005 Honda Accord · LX Sedan 4D](https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/2397886823664560)**
>
> 2005 Honda Accord LX
> New Tires
> New Battery
> Remote Start
> 245,000 Miles
> Manual Transmission
> Bluetooth Stereo
> Clean Interior
> Great Air Conditioning
> 
> Well taken care of; I always have put full synthetic oil in it and have all maintenance records.

The car is manual and has almost 250K miles. Yes or No? I appreciate the suggestions. Thanks  
and btw I’m from Iowa.

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**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\
**Post date:** [November 7, 2019, 10:14pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/should-i-buy-a-manual-accord-with-250k/152345/2 "2019-11-07T22:14:54Z")

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Entirely up to the answer your mechanic says after he inspects this car top to bottom.

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**Author:** ![bcohen2010](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@bcohen2010](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bcohen2010)\
**Post date:** [November 7, 2019, 10:19pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/should-i-buy-a-manual-accord-with-250k/152345/3 "2019-11-07T22:19:11Z")

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15 years old and 250,000 miles for $3k??? Whatever that person is smoking, must be some good stuff! No car that old, with that many miles is worth that much money. Nor would I buy anything with such high miles **at any price.** I very seriously doubt there are many more miles left in anything with a **quarter of a million miles** on it.

Personally, I would avoid buying anything with more than 120,000 miles for models with normal reliability, or 150,000 miles for models with high reliability. I assume that a car has a design life of 200,000 miles, and will become unprofitable to keep running soon after that.

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**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:** [November 7, 2019, 10:20pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/should-i-buy-a-manual-accord-with-250k/152345/4 "2019-11-07T22:20:41Z")

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OK, just how many ads are you going to post here ? Someone may assume you are a Spammer . You are going to get the same answer almost every time. Pay a shop fee and have what ever vehicle you might want inspected. Since those of us on the web can’t see , hear or drive the vehicle a reasonable recommendation is nearly impossible.

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**Author:** ![Mustafa\_Akbar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@Mustafa\_Akbar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustafa_Akbar)\
**Post date:** [November 7, 2019, 10:24pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/should-i-buy-a-manual-accord-with-250k/152345/5 "2019-11-07T22:24:53Z")

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Got it. Sorry about that.

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**Author:** ![bcohen2010](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@bcohen2010](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bcohen2010)\
**Post date:** [November 7, 2019, 10:24pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/should-i-buy-a-manual-accord-with-250k/152345/6 "2019-11-07T22:24:57Z")

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> [@VOLVO\_V70](#):
>
> OK, just how many ads are you going to post here ? Someone may assume you are a Spammer .

I don’t believe that. I think this is a person looking for a low-cost car, and considering buying this one. Hypothetically speaking, why would a “spammer” post an ad for a car here, where 99.999% of the people looking at it live far away?

> [@VOLVO\_V70](#):
>
> You are going to get the same answer almost every time.

Actually, no. When the car in question is pretty much used-up, and the price is “optimistic” to say the least, I wouldn’t even recommend wasting money to have a mechanic inspect it–I’d say “keep looking”.

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**Author:** ![Mustafa\_Akbar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@Mustafa\_Akbar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustafa_Akbar)\
**Post date:** [November 7, 2019, 10:25pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/should-i-buy-a-manual-accord-with-250k/152345/7 "2019-11-07T22:25:24Z")

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Thank you for your suggestion.

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**Author:** ![wolyrobb](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/wolyrobb/32/45497_2.png) [@wolyrobb](https://community.cartalk.com/u/wolyrobb)\
**Post date:** [November 7, 2019, 11:10pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/should-i-buy-a-manual-accord-with-250k/152345/8 "2019-11-07T23:10:29Z")

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While this is fairly high mileage for most people it’s not impossible for a Honda with this many miles to be still reliable enough for commuting, But it really depends on what your mechanic finds.

As with the Chevy you were asking about on another thread you pay a few thousand more for lower mileage.

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**Author:** ![davepsinbox\_157004](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@davepsinbox\_157004](https://community.cartalk.com/u/davepsinbox_157004)\
**Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 6:17am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/should-i-buy-a-manual-accord-with-250k/152345/9 "2019-11-08T06:17:36Z")

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There’s a 2005 here in St. Louis with auto trans. and 145k going for $5500 so $3k isn’t that far fetched. Still, 250k is a lot of miles, way more than my comfort range.

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**Author:** ![Docnick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Docnick](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Docnick)\
**Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 12:38pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/should-i-buy-a-manual-accord-with-250k/152345/10 "2019-11-08T12:38:01Z")

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The going rate for a car that age and running is about $750-$800!!!

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**Author:** ![Cavell](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/cavell/32/43396_2.png) [@Cavell](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Cavell)\
**Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 1:41pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/should-i-buy-a-manual-accord-with-250k/152345/11 "2019-11-08T13:41:56Z")

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its easy to find other cars and compare prices? is this the only one for sale in iowa?

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**Author:** ![bcohen2010](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@bcohen2010](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bcohen2010)\
**Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 2:42pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/should-i-buy-a-manual-accord-with-250k/152345/12 "2019-11-08T14:42:43Z")

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> [@davepsinbox\_157004](#):
>
> There’s a 2005 here in St. Louis with auto trans. and 145k going for $5500 so $3k isn’t that far fetched.

The person asking $5500 for the 2005 with 145,000 miles needs to lay off the crack pipe too, I guess. There is a big difference between “asking” and “getting”. I see people posting the same ad on Craigslist month after month asking stupid money for an old worn-out car or truck with super-high miles. Sure, you can say the price is “firm” but then people just won’t call.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![davepsinbox\_157004](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@davepsinbox\_157004](https://community.cartalk.com/u/davepsinbox_157004)\
**Post date:** [November 9, 2019, 12:29am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/should-i-buy-a-manual-accord-with-250k/152345/13 "2019-11-09T00:29:45Z")

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I’ll be sure and tell the _dealer_ selling the car that some character on the Internet says he doesn’t know how to sell cars. I’m sure he’ll be amused. I searched [Autotrader.com](http://Autotrader.com) for 2004-2006 Accords within 25 miles of my Zip code, 63130. Feel free to try it yourself. In my case, there were 6 results, all from dealers, ranging from $4800 to a whopping $7000! Mileage was from 119k to 149k so no direct comparison and I wouldn’t pay $7000 in any case but it makes the OP’s example look a bit better.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![wolyrobb](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/wolyrobb/32/45497_2.png) [@wolyrobb](https://community.cartalk.com/u/wolyrobb)\
**Post date:** [November 10, 2019, 4:56am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/should-i-buy-a-manual-accord-with-250k/152345/14 "2019-11-10T04:56:49Z")

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I’m finding similar results here on the west coast, $5,000+ buye a lower mileage car or there are comparable examples around. Found one with an asking just under $2,000 with 282,000 miles and a pattern of regular oil changes and services according to Carfax. I’ve known owners of Honda’s with this mileage to have very little mechanical troubles, it’s rust that kills these first.

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**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:** [November 10, 2019, 5:16am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/should-i-buy-a-manual-accord-with-250k/152345/15 "2019-11-10T05:16:02Z")

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> [@Docnick](#):
>
> The going rate for a car that age and running is about $750-$800!!!

Perhaps in your area a 15 year old car is junk but in some parts on United States used cars have much more life in them. In my area a drive-able used car starts at $2000.

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**Author:** ![Michael\_Quinlan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e19b73/32.png) [@Michael\_Quinlan](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Michael_Quinlan)\
**Post date:** [November 10, 2019, 2:12pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/should-i-buy-a-manual-accord-with-250k/152345/16 "2019-11-10T14:12:36Z")

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From the ad  
2005 Honda Accord LX  
New Tires  
New Battery  
Remote Start  
245,000 Miles  
Manual Transmission  
Bluetooth Stereo  
Clean Interior  
Great Air Conditioning

Well taken care of; I always have put full synthetic oil in it and have all maintenance records.

Now the guy might be overly optimistic about the price he can get, but he might also know that his vehicle was looked after and is running great. Have a look at the servicing requirements for it. If it uses a timing belt when was that changed, same deal for the clutch plate. It might be a great vehicle, and it might be even better if you can get it for 2K.

In my mind overpriced high mileage private sale vehicles, can often correspond to an owner who knows that it runs and has been maintained better than most and so values it highly.  
If you can bond with them in loving the vehicle, and promise to give it a good life for more years, you may just walk away with it for a fair bit less.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**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:** [November 10, 2019, 2:15pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/should-i-buy-a-manual-accord-with-250k/152345/17 "2019-11-10T14:15:57Z")

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> [@Michael\_Quinlan](#):
>
> If you can bond with them in loving the vehicle, and promise to give it a good life for more years,

Seriously ? It is an old vehicle , not a Puppy Dog .

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Michael\_Quinlan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e19b73/32.png) [@Michael\_Quinlan](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Michael_Quinlan)\
**Post date:** [November 10, 2019, 2:25pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/should-i-buy-a-manual-accord-with-250k/152345/18 "2019-11-10T14:25:40Z")

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Its a high mileage manual Honda Accord not exactly the worse vehicle ever built. People who hang on to their vehicles for a decade or more tend to like them, and are a bit invested in them. Why some even give their car’s names. In such cases it pretty much exactly like buying a puppy dog. Some will put more importance on it finding a good home rather than who is willing to pay the highest price. When it comes to individual transactions the laws of economics do not really apply. Salesmanship makes a huge difference.
