quote:

Originally posted by AKSuperDually:
Anymore, high mileage is after the original factory warranty is expired on the vehicle, or would have expired...by mileage. That's the amount of miles that the manufacture was comfortable staking their money on, with proper preventative maintenance.

Toyota powertrain warranties are only 3 years, 36,000 miles.

quote:

Originally posted by Edmond:
Toyota powertrain warranties are only 3 years, 36,000 miles.

No, that's Toyota's full new car warranty term.

Toyota's powertrain warranty runs nearly double that, to 60 months/60,000 miles. This more limited warranty only covers the engine, transmission/transaxle, front-wheel-drive system, rear-wheel drive, seatbelts, and airbags.


Most manufacturers have similar these days... A more widely applicable full warranty for the first few years (typically 3-4 years and 36k-48k miles), then a more limited powertrain-only warranty for longer (typically 6-10 years and 60k-100k miles)

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:

quote:

Originally posted by Edmond:
Toyota powertrain warranties are only 3 years, 36,000 miles.

No, that's Toyota's full new car warranty term.

Toyota's powertrain warranty runs nearly double that, to 60 months/60,000 miles. This more limited warranty only covers the engine, transmission/transaxle, front-wheel-drive system, rear-wheel drive, seatbelts, and airbags.


Most manufacturers have similar these days... A more widely applicable full warranty for the first few years (typically 3-4 years and 36k-48k miles), then a more limited powertrain-only warranty for longer (typically 6-10 years and 60k-100k miles)

Also 10 year, 150k mikes on hybrid components

I have 385,000 miles on my 2016 Honda CRV. Any takers?!!!!!!

I've got an old Dodge with 147,000 fun filled haulin' ass V10 roaring miles on it.

It is just getting started.

I factor several other metrics into the equation besides mileage in determining whether a used vehicle is a good acquisition.

--Does the vehicle have comprehensive maintenance records which reflect prudent prior ownership?
--Does the particular make / model have known critical maintenance history issues such as timing belt replacement or head gasket leakage? Have they been performed or now due?
--Does the exterior/interior reflect abuse or care?
--Is there a carfax or other reliable report reflecting any damage / accident history?

Over the years a number of cars have attained a good rep for lasting well into 6 digit mileage territory. Those that immediately come to mind are the old Dodge Dart slant 6, 2nd Gen Toyota 4Runner V8. some Mercedes diesel, and Lexus sedans, etc.

No specific reccomendations, but I have an anecdote. In 1980 I retired from USAF and moved to Dallas, Texas. I was driving a 1980 Mercury Capri and fter 6 years decided I wanted aa new car. One of the biggest Ford dealers in the area was a member of my church, so I went to that place to look. I ended up buying a new 1986 Ford Mustang GT with the 302 (5.0 L) engine and a 5-spd manual trans. Some years later I was shooting at the local indoor range and a man and his son shooting next to me commented favorably on my ability with my Grizzly pistols (.45 Win Mag and .50AE) and we had friendly chats. We lest about the same time and he commented on the name plate on the rear of my car, expressing his pleasure that I'd purchased it at his dealership. (I assusmed he worked there. He commented that it was a sound car and if I kept upp with the routine maintenance it would go at least 200,000 miles without major repairs. (I later found out that he owned the dealership.) I drove that vehicle for 20 years and put 183,000 miles on it. I sold it after buying my current daily driver, a 2006 Mustang GT. For a short time I had 3 red Mustangs (rebuilt 1966 in garage--still there).

flashguy

In the 80's and 90's, my extended family primarily purchased Hondas and Toyotas. We favored Hondas until the early 2000's when we experienced several with peeling clearcoats. The transmission issues with several V6 Hondas in the 2010s pretty much shifted everyone to Toyotas or Lexus. We do have a few who liked the MBs, BMWs and Audis, but those were not kept too long. It wasn't because of reliability issues but more due to the cost of maintenance.

Toyota T-100/1st gen Tundra - 2 models with 200K+, and currently driven
Toyota 2nd gen Tundra - 3 w/ 150K+ - 2 of which are still owned and in used, 1 traded in for a 3rd gen Tundra
Toy 3rd gen 4Runner - 287k, wrecked but was still going strong until then; another sold with 200K
'89 Acura Integra GS, 187K, sold (wished I kept it)
'96 Accord, wrecked @220K, experienced blown rear seal around 110K (recall TSB)
Lexus RXs/GXs, numerous generation models, none have given us any problems. We joke these were the ubiquitous Asian soccer moms' SUVs in our family.
3 Lexus LSes - 1 XF30 & 2 XF40. Not dailies and all have low mileage
3 Audi G5s, all over 100k. No major issues.
Audi A5, brake job for all four wheel costing close to $500 at shop cost in parts prompted the sale with under 60K on the odometer

In short any Toyota or Lexus models. Preference to those built in Japanese plants. This is demoted by a "J" as the first character in the VIN. Low milage is sub 100K. I expected no major issues beyond scheduled maintenance and timing belts(as applicable) until 200K. After 200K, expect ball joints and other suspension components needing to be replaced.

Many cars made in the last 20 years or so will last well over 100,000 miles easily, if given proper care. Especially if they spent their life below the rust belt, areas that have real winters, bad road conditions, and salt. Some areas near salt water environments may also be negatively effected.

Before that, my experience has been since the late '60, the cars were crap by comparison. The main chassis and components would start rusting from both internal and external causes to eventual structural failure. Within five years many were at or approaching structural failure due to rust.
Materials were much less durable, belts, hoses and other rubber parts were frequent replacement items. Tune ups, valve adjustments, etc.? Mostly a non-issue now. Lubricants have been created that are far superior and long lasting since then. Manufacturing techniques, tolerances and just fundamental design are far better in most areas.

Another area of tremendous improvement is safety. The death rate per million miles started coming down in the early 70's and is a little under half what it was in the late 60's. Probably the most obvious factor is the seat belt requirements but there have been lots of other improvements causing a continuous drop in that rate.

So back to the original question, I wouldn't hesitate to purchase many well maintained cars with 100,000 miles (or go on a long trip) as long as the price reflected the age and condition. Especially for utilitarian purposes. Impressing the friends or neighbors, if that's you thing, is obviously a different issue.
The brand and exact model are important too as some can be much more costly for even routine maintenance (European cars especially).

132,000 miles on my dog hauler, Chevy HHR
181,000 on my 1998 Silverado. Both vehicles have not needed anything more than routine maintenance.

quote:

Many cars made in the last 20 years or so will last well over 100,000 miles easily, if given proper care

I believe this is accurate. We've always been a buy new or very close to it, take great care of car mechanically and cosmetically, and it will give great, long service. We are in the over 100K club with no major services/cost issues for everything from our first '86 CRX to our more recent 2014 ML350.

We got that one with 14K, now has 160K and we've not had any major issues. First front brake replacement was about 10K ago......

I get the fears for non-Japanese foreign makes, but every time I see the arguments about not driving beyond warranty I'm always reminded of my own math - the incremental cost just in taxes for replacing a $40-$80K car every 3-4 years will pay for a few minor or a major repair item.

Not talking about an engine/transmission, but for example the stability control system pump on an M3. Yeah I paid $4K for that, but on a 12 year old car I love and for a fraction of the costs I'd have spent updating the whole car 3-4 times by then it's nothing.

There was a recent article stating that 54% of Ford Super Duty trucks make it to 250,000 miles.

I don't remember any cars in the top 10.

quote:

Originally posted by bryan11:
Purchasing several 80's and 90's Hondas with 100K to 120K and keeping them to 200K to 300K has worked well. Most were purchased privately with good maintenance records so there were no big surprises. Around 140K to 160K they typically need suspension work like struts and CV joints. Alternators and AC also typically needed attention before 200K. I'd expect Toyotas to be similar.

Some specific models and years seem to have issues with transmissions or other major things, so it does pay to research well.

I'm rebuilding an old Camry, replacing ALL that stuff you listed and more. When finished I should be able to drive it another 100k or more without looking sideways. I think modern front and awd drive systems in modern cars are not particularly durable past 100k or a little more, at least downstream the drive shafts. I calculated the mileage of my last full tank on that old camry, 30.9 mpg. Not bad for an old gasoline sedan, I'm pretty happy with that figure. This weekend I hope to start and finish replacing the tensioner and water pump with new (genuine Toyota) units. On this car you have to disconnect the passenger side motor mount and jack up the engine a couple inches to secure access to the tensioner main bolt, and removal of the alternator to gain access to the water pump. I'm not sure the condition of the water pump, but the tensioner is 100% shot, and I'm not going in again to do a water pump later, since those two parts wear out together.

I only keep a vehicle to 100k and that's when they start to give a lot of problems, not necessarily with the engine, but the electrical components in the vehicle and etc. The problem nowadays is there is SO MANY different electrical systems in a vehicle and all complex with $$$ parts.