2K/year or 50K/year on a vehicle? Which is better?

I get this question a lot and figured it could make a good Blog to help you used car buyers out there.

Question: I am looking to buy a minivan for the family and am thinking of a Toyota Sienna.  In particular I am looking at a 2001 XLE with only 20,000 miles (not a misprint) for $11,200.  I spoke to the seller and it was his grandparents car, and they hardly drove it.  As this mileage is so rare for a car almost 10 years old, my question is whether this is a better way to go in general (I know it depends on each vehicle) or would it be better to get a the $11,000 equivalent in a newer car like a 2005 but with a 100,000 miles. I guess ultimately my question is what role the simple age of a car plays in car performance/reliability if it has been hardly driven.

My Professional Opinion: In my opinion I would pick a 50K mile a year vehicle over a 2K mile a year one assuming it was properly maintained. What people forget is the best kind of driving you can do is highway driving that is because the motor is up to temp longer and in this kind or driving everything is running on oil and believe it or not there is virtually no engine wear.  Most of your engine wear comes from cold starts as for those few second there isn’t a thin layer of oil under pressure and coating everything.  Also the engine emissions are highest at this point which most people don’t realize the engine oil catches much off these pollutants in combination of with moisture (byproduct of normal combustion) causes an acidic mixture in the crank case which can and will attack everything including bearings.  When a vehicle is constantly driven in short trips, the engine oil is never able to get up to temp to actually boil off this moisture. This is why the oil should also be replaced by time and not only mileage.  This means this vehicle really should have had the oil changed 20-40 times in the last 10 years, has it?  Anything rubber will deteriorate over time and not necessarily mileage.  There are a lot of rubber items including engine seals, drivetrain seals and boots, suspension seals, tires and more. Not to mention there is a big difference the quality of vehicles manufactures are producing now from even 2000.  Other benefits are newer model, better economy, better technologies, better resale, safer vehicle, etc…

These are things to consider, as I often mention to my clients, there is a reason many manufactures are now stepping up to 100K warranties.  The day will soon come where 200K miles is pretty normal mileage for most manufactures.  The most important thing you can do is to follow the manufactures maintenance manuals (and not necessarily the dealers if you want to protect your wallet) Change all fluids regularly and you should have trouble free operation for the life of the vehicle.

Josh – Owner

http://PDXinspections.com

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