Tour of Duty Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 Hello, I'm in the market for a used car and have no clue what to buy. I dont care what the make/model is I just need some quick advise on what too many miles is for each make. Obviously I know I need to see/drive the vehicles but I dont want to waste my time with cars I shouldnt even be looking at. My price range is $1500-$2500 so I know I cant be too picky. I need something that will last me a year or maybe two and about 40k miles without problems. So far I've found: 1996 Nissan Maxima 156k miles for $2500. Too many miles? or is Nissan good for 200k? 1995 Mitsubishi Mirage 80k miles $1800 1995 Ford Taurus $95k miles $1250 1997 Nissan Altima 125k miles $2500 Any advise is much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GibbsFactor Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 I'd jump on the Altima from that selection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickalino Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 i second the Altima. I work with lien holders at my job and found it be a very popular car Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrumanB Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 1996 Nissan Maxima 156k miles for $2500. Too many miles? or is Nissan good for 200k? 1995 Mitsubishi Mirage 80k miles $1800 1995 Ford Taurus $95k miles $1250 1997 Nissan Altima 125k miles $2500 Any advise is much appreciated. My personal experience with Mitsubishi was not pleasant. I bought my daughter a 1997 Galant with less than 100,000 miles for $2000 and the thing started to fall apart 2 months in. It was a money pit for the year we had it. I dumped it and got something a little newer for her (but 4 times the money). I bought a used Nissan 240 several years ago and ran that thing up to 200,000 miles before I started having problems. I'm not sure about the Maxima or Altima though. One place I used a lot in my car searches was MSN's auto site: http://autos.msn.com/ You should also make sure you get a Carfax report on the car. Make the seller provide one for you instead of paying for it yourself. I look at the consumer reviews more than the "expert" reviews on that site, since you get real life experiences. Make sure you look at the bad reviews, not just the good reviews. Also, compare the consumer rating score that's on there with each of the models you're looking at. Also, make sure you look at MSN's consumer reliability rating for the year of the model you're looking at. If you do not get any maintenance records with the car, make sure you do all of the service maintenance stuff after you buy the vehicle (oil change, transmission flush, radiator flush). Don't rely on someone saying they did these things recently. It's well worth the $150-200 maintenance cost up front than having to pay for repairs later. Good luck. Finding a good, reliable car at an inexpensive price is a tough thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big#44 Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 i say whichever looks to be the best taken care of. you cant tell by talking to the owner if the car was beat to crap or not, sometimes. i dont believe in any rule of thumb such as "nissans are good to 200k" blah blah. i could probably go buy a mitsubishi evo with 30k miles, but would i? no way. cause i know that theres a 95 percent chance it was beat up for those 30k. but thats a different story, sport compacts, but im rambling now so ill stop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tour of Duty Posted October 10, 2008 Author Share Posted October 10, 2008 Thanks for the advice so far guys. So far it's between the two Nissans. I've read great reviews on both but I'm a bit weary of the 156k miles but after I see it tonight I'm sure I'll be able to tell if its been well maintained. I'm also waiting on a seller to get back to me with the mileage of a 94 Accord. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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