# Vehicle Question



## eleewhm (Mar 13, 2010)

whats the cons of buying a car which has hit 100K mileage.....example insurance gets higher premium?? etc

i notice that cars in the range of 50K miles cost at least 10grand and above... is this normal?


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

The real question is how old is the car with 100K on the clock? And how well has it been maintained?

A two year old car with 100K miles has been driven hard, and may sell somewhat cheaper than the same make, model and year with only 30K miles. A 10 year old car with "only" 100K miles will definitely be cheaper to insure (chances are, you won't bother with collision coverage), but it's actual condition will be dependent on how carefully it has been maintained over that time. If it's in good condition, it will be more expensive than a similar car with the expected number of miles on the clock.
Cheers,
Bev


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

It depends on make/model/geographic location and shape the vehicle is in. There is a difference between 100k highway miles and 100k commuter miles:>) 
Go through some sites such as Carmax, nada, Bluebook ...


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## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

eleewhm said:


> whats the cons of buying a car which has hit 100K mileage.....example insurance gets higher premium?? etc
> 
> i notice that cars in the range of 50K miles cost at least 10grand and above... is this normal?


American cars tend to have larger capacity and therefore lower revving engines than the rest of the world. This makes them last longer even if it does mean we use more than our fair share of oil. On the other hand, Americans tend to use lower quality lubricants but change them more frequently -- hence the requirement for regular maintenance.

As others have said, KBB is the place to check prices.

You can have lower insurance on a cheaper car -- knock off the collision part.


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## BritishGav (Jan 26, 2010)

Another point to note is that America uses poor quality fuel, which also has an impact on the engine. But when buying a car be it in the USA or anywhere else, buy on condition, never mileage


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

BritishGav said:


> Another point to note is that America uses poor quality fuel, which also has an impact on the engine. But when buying a car be it in the USA or anywhere else, buy on condition, never mileage


OT - Cannot get worse than BP.

On a serious note - can you elaborate? Thank you.


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## USC (Jun 13, 2010)

twostep said:


> OT - Cannot get worse than BP.
> 
> On a serious note - can you elaborate? Thank you.


OT - BP gasoline is ranked #1 by Car & Driver and several others in the USA. Do not know if that is also the case in the UK. BP also owns Castrol which again is arguably the best lubricant around. 

OP - In addition if you buy a car this old you also can dispense with the comprehensive part of the insurance policy.


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## BritishGav (Jan 26, 2010)

There's nothing wrong with BP fuels, they've been really harshly treated for something that wasn't even their fault, but that's a whole different thread right there.

What i mean is the octane rating of american fuel is lower, which means you need more of it to produce the same power. In addition to that american engines tend to have a lower compression ratio, which further reduces fuel economy. A more refined fuel mixture will leave less crap in the engine in other words


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## eleewhm (Mar 13, 2010)

i have gone on the web to search and there are contradicting opions for cars above 100K ... american vs japanese... the japanese camps says japanese cars are more fuel efficent etc ... and parts tend to last longer.... 

also there is the european camp which says ... a european car above 100K is good to get as long as its mainted by agent.... gosh....

looks like i might settle for a MAZDA MPV when i touch base in NY itself... and might get from the MAZDA agent under their pre owned category....

those cars i see on craiglist are all above 100K or close to it 80 k and above.. and it does not make dollar sense to me... i am thinking of targeting a car 50K approx.. 

but i have another question.. when seasons change from summer to winter.. do i need to go to the mechanic to get it prepared for winter??? i dunno what things are needed to be done for winter in NY as i will be leaving up north about 3 hrs from NY city itself where the winters are harsher....


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## BritishGav (Jan 26, 2010)

100k is low mileage for a modern car, I don't know where you're research is coming from but I completely disagree with it. I'd expect a modern car to be capable of doing well over 200k


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## eleewhm (Mar 13, 2010)

BritishGav said:


> 100k is low mileage for a modern car, I don't know where you're research is coming from but I completely disagree with it. I'd expect a modern car to be capable of doing well over 200k


to clarify we are on the same page... 100K is in us miles .. not km


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## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

eleewhm said:


> i have gone on the web to search and there are contradicting opions for cars above 100K ... american vs japanese... the japanese camps says japanese cars are more fuel efficent etc ... and parts tend to last longer....
> 
> also there is the european camp which says ... a european car above 100K is good to get as long as its mainted by agent.... gosh....
> 
> ...


Upstate NY really requires 4WD. Try a Subaru.


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## USC (Jun 13, 2010)

BritishGav said:


> There's nothing wrong with BP fuels, they've been really harshly treated for something that wasn't even their fault, but that's a whole different thread right there.
> 
> What i mean is the octane rating of american fuel is lower, which means you need more of it to produce the same power. In addition to that american engines tend to have a lower compression ratio, which further reduces fuel economy. A more refined fuel mixture will leave less crap in the engine in other words


OT - Given that a few days ago I purchased stock in BP and that the thread would be OT I will refrain from commenting. As regards, the "American engine" issue, I currently drive a Bentley (Prior to that I have rotated bewteen Mercedes, Jaguars, BMWs) which is an English car with a Volkswagen engine, thus I will also refrain from commenting!


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## BritishGav (Jan 26, 2010)

eleewhm said:


> to clarify we are on the same page... 100K is in us miles .. not km


Yes, 100k miles
My neighbour for instance had a car that was on 250k and it only went because it was in an accident. Modern cars seem to have a whole new issue to worry about, deteriorating plastics.

USC, I don't understand your question


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