Buying a Used Car: What’s more important, mileage or age?

As some of you may know, I bought a car about 2 weeks ago, It's a 2003 Saturn L200, but even though it's 15 years old, it had a little less that 75,000 miles on it...which comes out to a little less than 5,000 miles a year! It had been well maintained but I was a little worried about the age. I had looked at this article from Kelley Blue Book, but I didn't read it until last night. According to the article:

Shopping for a used vehicle? Well, the factors that determine value are mileage, age and condition. But in the used car world, you might find a few surprises that might leave you scratching your head.

Here’s two scenarios:

Scenario 1: Say your family needs a second or third vehicle and you come across an unbelievably low-mileage cream puff. The car looks nearly new, there’s only 35,000 miles on the odometer, but the sedan is eight years old. The price is right, you feel like you have won the lottery, but you are wondering what issues might later materialize because of the vehicle’s age.

Scenario 2: Perhaps you’re shopping for a used vehicle that has the latest technology such as adaptive cruise control and cameras that provide a 360-degree view of the surroundings. You can’t afford a 2-year-old model with average miles, but the dealer has the car of your dreams, and it’s thousands less. There’s one problem: This 2-year-old model has over 100,000 miles. Should you stay clear?

Scenario 1 sounds just like this car. The article goes on to say:

A much older car, such as the 8-year-old model in Scenario 1, has components that rust over a longer period of time. The underside of cars from states that use salt to melt snow should be inspected before purchase to determine if the brake lines and suspension systems are safe. In addition, if scheduled maintenance has not been followed, shock absorbers, brake rotors and pads, tires and other components likely will need to be replaced. If the tires are old, they likely have dry rot, essentially cracking due to age, that makes them dangerous.

I did get the Carfax report, and it looked pretty good but I wondered about the hoses and belts since it had been sitting for about 9 months.

And of course they advise:

In any event, have the vehicle inspected before you buy.

I was going to do that but I decided to wait. I got it inspected about 2 weeks after I bought it and one of the belts needed replacing, a light bulb, air filter and a few minor things which I expected. The tires are also cracked...just like it said in the article...not expected but understandable. But the last thing was unexpected and totally surprising...the fuel tank is leaking...a lot! I took it in this past Friday for the inspection and set an appointment for this coming Friday since I get paid this week. I talked to the mechanic that worked on it and he said only if I was not planning on driving it or if I carried a fire extinguisher, so I'm taking it in today!

So, if you decide to buy an older car, be sure to get the Carfax report and make sure you get it inspected before you buy...even if it's been well maintained!

 Interesting days

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