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My dad told me in 2003 to never buy a car with over 100k miles, and I finally stopped listening
My dad was a mechanic for 30 years and back around 2003 he sat me down before I bought my first truck and said flat out, "never touch anything over 100k miles, that's when the money pit opens up." I believed him for almost two decades. I passed on a clean 2001 Tacoma with 140k for $4,800 because of that rule, and I still think about that truck. Then three years ago I picked up a 2005 Corolla with 187k on it for $2,200 just as a commuter beater, and I figured it would die in a year. I've put 60k more miles on it since, and aside from a $90 alternator and basic stuff like brakes and oil, it has not asked me for anything. Turns out the old rules about mileage came from an era of cars that just weren't built to the same tolerances, and maintenance records matter way more than the number on the dash. My dad means well and he's forgotten more about engines than I'll ever know, but I trust a folder of receipts over a mileage cutoff now. Anyone else raised on rules like that and had to unlearn them?
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hannaht2911d ago
the wildest part of this is how much location plays into it too, and nobody talks about it. A 100k mile car from Arizona with no rust is a totally different animal than a 100k mile car from Michigan that's seen 15 winters of road salt. My uncle bought a truck with 90k on it up in Ohio and the frame was already soft, meanwhile my neighbor's 200k mile Colorado truck still looks brand new underneath. So your dad's rule was kinda right and kinda wrong depending on where you lived, the cutoff was never really about the motor.
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