I think a big part of it is how the car has been taken care of in the first 100k miles. You can ruin a car in that time, or you can take care of it and drive it another 200k. In my experience, 350k is about when most of the original parts are going to be pretty worn out (if its a well made car).
Our Escort just hit 270k miles this weekend. Runs great, has great power, but burns oil pretty bad due to completely ruined valve seals.
The Celica has just about 240k on it, i think. It runs fine, doesn't leak or burn anything, and that motor was boosted for a few years, and has had much nitrous put through it.
The MX6 has 172k miles on it, and after reading up on the forums, that car in particular seems to be especially long lived. There's reports of the clutches on the turbo cars lasting over 300k miles, and plenty examples of 200k+ mile cars putting down insane power with holset diesel turbo setups. I consider mine a baby.
My 06 GMC Canyon just turned 200k (km), and still has the original brakes, and spark plugs. I changed the OEM air filter last week. If I don't get 500k out of it, I'll be surprised.
Got rid of a 280ZX at 314000 miles. Only after wifey T-boned a pick up with it. Current fleet is a '96 sentra with 220,000 and a '96 Ranger with over 300,000 on it. Both run fine. The truck was not maintained well by it's previous owner, but just keeps truckin' along. I hate car payments. Haven't had one for over 20 years.
For a beater, 200k isn't bad but it depends on the buy in price or whether we are talking about a car that you have had for the past 10 years and have been on top of replacing things.
When looking to buy a used car and it has 200k on the clock, I usually look for another car. There are too many expensive variables to take into account. At that mileage you will need a lot of freshening - suspension bushings, calipers, master cylinders, shocks, springs, shock mounts, PS pumps, A/C compressors, worn out interiors etc.
I was looking for a used E30 BMWs a couple of years ago and was surprised how expensive they were even with 200+k on the Odo. Most needed to have the suspension completely overhauled and new interiors. It was cheaper to get a newer car when you factor in costs to get the car back up to snuff.
Lightweights.
I've got 400,000 on my dd truck- intend to drive it to 1,000,000. Runs perfect, rust free.
I've got 6 running daily drivers with over 200,000, and 5 racers with over 200,000. All run fine.
My lowest mileage vehicle is my oldest- a 1960 El Camino with 48,000 miles on it.
amg_rx7 wrote: When looking to buy a used car and it has 200k on the clock, I usually look for another car. There are too many expensive variables to take into account. At that mileage you will need a lot of freshening - suspension bushings, calipers, master cylinders, shocks, springs, shock mounts, PS pumps, A/C compressors, worn out interiors etc. I was looking for a used E30 BMWs a couple of years ago and was surprised how expensive they were even with 200+k on the Odo. Most needed to have the suspension completely overhauled and new interiors. It was cheaper to get a newer car when you factor in costs to get the car back up to snuff.
Truth.
When I look at what I can find on (reputable) lots for 5-8000, I usually reconsider buying high mileage cars and playing "catch up" on deferred maintenance.
Then I think...5-8k invested into the (rust free..which is key) E30 I have would make a DD that would last a LONG time, and arguably provide much great user satisfaction. 
I love the Geo, but haven't autocrossed - or even driven it - that much in the past six months. It's getting unreliable, and parts cars are few and far between in junkyards. I think that if you want to drive a twenty year old car as a daily driver, you need to make it something that is easier to find parts for.
njansenv wrote:amg_rx7 wrote: When looking to buy a used car and it has 200k on the clock, I usually look for another car. There are too many expensive variables to take into account. At that mileage you will need a lot of freshening - suspension bushings, calipers, master cylinders, shocks, springs, shock mounts, PS pumps, A/C compressors, worn out interiors etc. I was looking for a used E30 BMWs a couple of years ago and was surprised how expensive they were even with 200+k on the Odo. Most needed to have the suspension completely overhauled and new interiors. It was cheaper to get a newer car when you factor in costs to get the car back up to snuff.Truth. When I look at what I can find on (reputable) lots for 5-8000, I usually reconsider buying high mileage cars and playing "catch up" on deferred maintenance. Then I think...5-8k invested into the (rust free..which is key) E30 I have would make a DD that would last a LONG time, and arguably provide much great user satisfaction.
That's what I ended up doing on mine. I would have ~6k in my free E30 if it wasn't for DIY.
we only have 140 thousand on the saturn, but it is already on it's second transmission, and I had to change the rod bearings once. I still, fully expect to get over 200 out of it though. still drives great.
A lot of the items people are talking about are age-out issues and not mileage-out. Interiors are definitely an age-out thing, unless the car is kept hermetically sealed in a pressurized chamber, or the vehicle owner uses it as an ashtray or they use it to transport kids. Kids that throw up and poop in the car a lot.
The way I look at it, if a car has 200k and is in decent shape, it has been maintained. It wouldn't have made it that long via neglect.
SVreX wrote: Lightweights. I've got 400,000 on my dd truck- intend to drive it to 1,000,000. Runs perfect, rust free. I've got 6 running daily drivers with over 200,000, and 5 racers with over 200,000. All run fine. My lowest mileage vehicle is my oldest- a 1960 El Camino with 48,000 miles on it.
<<< In awe 
In the northeast, rust is definitely an age-out thing. Rustproofing has improved over the years, but it's still quite normal for a car to be declared unroadworthy due to rust related damage before the drivetrain or even the interior have given out. There aren't nearly as many EF or EG Civics on the road around here as there were a few years ago, for instance. Their engines last forever, but their bodies don't.
I've made a new rule of buying only cars with over 100,000 on them. I let the previous owners eat the bulk of the depreciation, and I pick them up when people assume they are getting worn out. I run them (if possible) to over 200,000 before I bail, and then only if something expensive to fix comes up (it was the a/c on the last one) or if we're simply ready for something else (our needs also changed).
Would I buy a 200,000 mile car? I think only if I knew the full history on it. Without knowing how it was maintained or treated, it's probably too big of a risk. It also matters a lot on the vehicle make/model and if they are problematic or not. So, not afraid of owning one I've taken to that mileage, but not too excited about buying one. And yep, they can be a tough sell when you go to dump them.
My fleet:
83 RX-7 187K. Autocross toy. Bought at 175K for $200.
99 Chevy Venture 180K Kid hauler and wife's DD. She has put 100K on it since we bought it.
97 E-150 - Odometer broke at 112K three years ago. Probably at 130K or so. Tow beast. Mostly sits now. It might get 5000 miles a year put on it. Most of those towing the car trailer or the boat.
99 E250 - 389K Work van. Bought at 257K for $900. It's on it's second 4.2L V6. The first engine went 298K when it pitched a rod. It hauls 1000# of tools and parts in the back 24/7. Tows a trailer all over the state as well. It gets about 50-60K miles a year on it.
95 E150 - 326K Bought at 245K. Work van. Original engine, 5.0L. I put a transmission in it last year at 260K. Also full of tools and parts. This one probably won't be around much longer. The body is starting to rust. When the engine goes it will too. It only gets 10-15K miles a year on it now. We just pulled it off the road. It will be a backup until the new employee gets fully trained. If the engine makes another 50K I will be surprised.
97 E150 - 250K Work van. Bought at 195K for $1000. It's on it's 2nd engine. Also a 4.2L V6. The first died at 220K. Lost an intake gasket and filled the crank case with coolant. Also full of tools and parts. This is my partners van and only gets around 25K miles a year on it.
02 E150 - 230K on it. Work van. Bought at 214K in December for $2000. Original engine and transmission. Full of tools and parts. This one is my DD. It travels around 70-80K miles a year.
For a work van, it's cheaper to fix them. The interiors never go bad. The chassis stay together. Most of the work vans I bought at over 200K. I can get them for $2000 or less. The 99 was only $900 because the engine was tired. I still put over 40K on it before it broke. The only thing I really look at when buying them is the body. If the body and paint are good, the mechanical are secondary. I know that is kind of backwards, but it is harder to find a van that hasn't been beat to death than one that runs good. I would rather buy a $1-2000 van with a good body at 200+K and put an $4000 engine in it than buy a $10000 van with 100K on it. Then I know the engine is good. Everything else is cheap.
I wasn't really impressed with the CNN article. The mileage on all those vehicles wasn't really impressive. What was impressive is they weren't wrecked in all those miles. It probably says as much about their drivers as it says about their mechanics.
My '95 Civic hatch has 321k on the chassis/171 on the motor. Enough is wrong with it that I'm done with it. Still starts and runs great, though.
Wife's '99 CR-V has 208k on it. Issues w/ the EVAP system started popping up around 175k--other issues here and there plus a bunch of upcoming neccessary maintenance make buying something new a more sensible decision.
Honestly, if a car gives me 200k miles, it owes me nothing.
Not really, unless it was beat on and hot seated by cops for 120,000 miles. That, and 15 years in Illinois' salt and it'll kill ANY car.
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