Does a car's mileage REALLY matter?

I recently came across this...

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/cto/2621130019.html

... and I was wondering if it would be worth a shot. The car has 166,xxx miles on it (YIKES!) but since it's an 03' model, I'm guessing that it's mostly easy freeway miles, right? For the price, should I even bother checking the car out?

I'll have plenty of time to decide since this car isn't going anywhere. Comments, concerns?

My uncle puts on 40,000 miles a year. Almost none of it highway. We had an 02 SAAB with 140,000 miles, about 1/3 of it highway. Just because it has a lot of miles doesn't mean it was highway; just because it was highway doesn't mean it has lived an easy life.

Condition is more important for most cars. Don't know about the G35, but it wouldn't scare me from looking at it.

KBB has the car priced at around 5-6k. Although we both know KBB isn't worth a grain of salt to fellow enthusiasts, it should be a nice bargaining point against the typical person.

I think I'll just wait till the owner drops the price even more though. The car has been listed for a while now...

A couple of oddities in the pictures:
Ad says 166k, picture shows 64k
Ad says Pioneer radio, picture shows stock.
Picture shows Glendale Hyundai plate.

My guess is that all the pictures are from the day he bought the car. Get some better pictures that may be more representative of the additional 100k miles

i bought a 95 Suburban from an old friend last summer. i gave her $225 for it, figuring that i could double my money at the scrap yard if worse came to worse... her then boyfriend's dad bought it new and drove it all over the country as a part of his job as a salesman of some sort.

it had 380,000 miles showing on the odometer but ran and drove like it had about 50,000 on it.. the only rust on the whole truck was on the passenger side front fender around the wheelwell, and i had to rig the exhaust back together because the front weld on the muffler broke loose. and it had a light out in the dash..

other than that, it was a perfect 2 wheel drive Suburban with a full leather interior and AC that blew ice cold..

i sold it to my brother for $500- he used it as a work commuter for a few months and knocked down close to 20mpg and used no oil. he sold it to a co worker for $800..

i'm buying my brother's '04 Cavalier from him for $1500. it has just shy of 170,000 miles on it and is in pretty good shape.. every warning light in the dash is on all the time and the low beam headlights don't work (it's on it's third headlight switch). the stock motor started knocking at 165,000 miles, so he got a junkyard motor with just over 105,000 on it and had me put it in.. then he parked it and got a 99 Dodge Ram, so i am buying it from him for about twice as much as i'd pay to some random guy for the same car just because i know it's history from the day my brother rolled off the dealer lot in his brand new car in the spring of '04.

so, no, mileage doesn't matter- the condition and history of the vehicle does.

on that last pic on the CL ad- does it say "POWER DUCT" on the air intake tube?

that's kinda silly..

Check power door locks, tranny noise, smoothness of shifts. Check around the plugs for oil. Check the door detents. Check the CD player for skipping. Worry about blowby.

I never check mileage. I check things that have a direct correlation to the condition of the car.

I think dealerships came up with the myth that low mileage means no problems.

Would you rather drive a 89 civic Si with 3,000 miles?
Or one that has proven it's salt by going 180,000 miles without major issue?

I think in most cars condition matters more then mileage but some cars have known problems which pop up at known mileages.

I'm not one to believe stereotypes (ok, sometimes) but it doesn't look like the kind of house you'd find a meticulous owner it. It seems most people I know that take pride in their cars also take pride in their houses...just sayin.

The engine in that car is pretty well engineered, I wouldn't worry about high mileage if it looks like it was maintained. I would worry about tie rod ends, ball joints, etc.

To judge highway miles versus city driving, check the wear on the edges of the drivers seat. Getting in and out of the car a lot indicates more errands and less long hauls.

I don't wish to discount the importance of proper maintenance history when buying a used car--it is obviously paramount. But all else being equal, I'll pick the lower mileage example every time. There are VERY few cars I'd consider with over 100k on the clock.

Elitist, yes I know. Sorry.

doc_speeder wrote: I'm not one to believe stereotypes (ok, sometimes) but it doesn't look like the kind of house you'd find a meticulous owner it. It seems most people I know that take pride in their cars also take pride in their houses...just sayin.

Never been in the south have you. We have an abundance of nice cars parked in front of ratty old mobile homes.

One of our work trucks just left on a four hour trip to the other side of the state. That truck has a little over 420000 miles on it. Mileage isn't a problem. Abuse is.

Don't forget, there are alot of other parts to the car besides the engine.

Think of all the things that would go wrong when a car sat for 20 years. I'd rather it be driven during that time.

Also, the most mechanically sound vehicles I've bought had the highest miles. For me it's almost like proof of self worth. A subaru that has gone 230k miles and still runs like a dream with no issues, oil leaks, or oil burning... What better proof do you want that the thing was put together well and maintained well?

My 02 IS300 (bought new) has ~147k on it now, did the timing belt/water pump/ new suspension, balljoints and bushings/ sparkplugs/etc... and it runs great and is still solid. Will need LCA and prob motormounts soon, though.

I bought a 93 LS4 with ~247k and it is remarkably solid, of course I'm doing deferred maintenance bit by bit but even without touching any suspension bushings it's driving manner and how well it's held up is an impressive testament to build quality.

I'd be confident these either of these cars, if kept up on maintenance, will continue serving me well for the next 10 years.

Most BiTurbos have low miles...

How much do the ls400s run? Love the motors and the body style.

Taiden wrote: How much do the ls400s run? Love the motors and the body style.

Cheap. Like... often under $3000 cheap.

Bought my 02 Acura MDX with 150K on it 4 years ago. My wife kept showing me the ad day after day when we were car shopping. I kept blowing it off because it seemed to high of miles. When she finally talked me into seeing the car in person I was impressed. Obvious freeway miles because the car was in mint condition, so I bought it for $5K under KBB. Unfortunately the truck was totalled earlier this year by a d-bag running a red light. Had 197K on it with zero problems.

Replaced it with an 04 MDX with 57K assuming I have another 150K of trouble free miles ahead of me.

jrw1621 wrote: A couple of oddities in the pictures: Ad says 166k, picture shows 64k Ad says Pioneer radio, picture shows stock. Picture shows Glendale Hyundai plate. My guess is that all the pictures are from the day he bought the car. Get some better pictures that may be more representative of the additional 100k miles

As for the odometer, I think that the "1" is still there, but the glare from the cluster is making it harder to see. I'm not too sure about the other things but good eye! I'll make sure to ask for additional pictures.

Datsun1500 wrote:

vincephan wrote: I'll have plenty of time to decide since this car isn't going anywhere.

Why do you think it's not going anywhere? I'm sure other people are in the market for it too....

I'm sure someone else might be looking at this car as well but it's definitely not going to sell above KBB value right now. That and the market for six-speed G35 sedans are slim. Most people want to use the sedan as an appliance; they'll stick to finding autos.

Mileage does matter. Never buy a car with under 200k on it. If it lasted that long, you know it was well maintained.

I once figured that if I sold my truck and got a Prius, it would take something like 150,000 miles to break even on the "improvement" in fuel economy. Pretty eye-openning, actually.

Most cars in the junkyard have about 120k on them, but I bought my daily driver with the odometer stopped at 376k. I think anything under 200k is low mileage though, I wouldn't ever pass up a car because of mileage if it was ok otherwise.

kb58 wrote: I once figured that if I sold my truck and got a Prius, it would take something like 150,000 miles to break even on the "improvement" in fuel economy. Pretty eye-openning, actually.

Mom wanted a prius. She has a 1.8L prizm that gets about 35 mpg highway. At the time gas was $3.50 a gallon. I can't remember how much the prius was but I calculated she'd have to drive something insane like 270,000 miles before it paid off a cent.