Buying a 2003 with 140,000 miles

[efusco]

IMO there's no reason to carte blanc exclude the car from consideration just due to the high mileage. If the price is good (?$10-12K), the car's in good condition and had all the required recall work and scheduled maintenance and it has all the features, size, speed, etc. that you want, then it's probably fine.

Many of us are spoiled by our fancy second gen vehicles, but I bet there are some bargains to be had on the first gens. I think you should be able to get another 100k miles out of that car and can probably get the price down to a very good level.

[mikel 52]

I bought a 2002 w/ 59000 on it last July and I currently have 81000 on it . It has been great. It came with Michelin Pilot tires that are not LRR and in the warm weather I'm around 50 mpg so I don't think the tires are an issue. It does have side airbags that were an option then.
I expect to get at least 200,000 miles on it before I think about selling it. I see no reason why with proper maintenance it would not last that long.
Last fall I changed the PSD fluid to the Castrol synthetic that is listed as being T-IV compatible. I'll find out how long that is good for, but I'm sure it will be well over 15000 miles.

Mike

[ohershey]

I am also a bit confused about the negativity. Admittedly, I'm driving an '04
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(gippah @ Jun 21 2007, 11:36 PM) [snapback]466231[/snapback]</div>

the one that would shut off at highway speeds until a software patch was applied. [/b]

However, I have nothing but good things to say about Toyotas in general. I have friends who still drive their 280000 mile Camry without major issues.

As with any high mileage vehicle have the brakes, transmission, etc. inspected, and in this case you probably want the battery/charging system looked at. Replacing the main battery can be expensive. Also, be aware that our lovely prii are indeed a little more costly than some to maintain, in that there really aren't a lot of machanics shops who can handle them, and you have to go through the dealership for most service.

Consumer reports says it best. When they are predicting expected reliability, the top three are:
Toyota
Honda
Lexus

Have a good Toyota dealership inspect it, buy it if it's good, and drive it for another 100k miles.

[jhinton]

Any modern car should easily go 200K miles if not 300K miles. I'm not sure why people seam pick 100K miles as the magic number that makes a car "High Mileage" Be advised that ALL cars require maintenance. Parts that will need to be replaced during the life of a car are:

Brake pads and rotors
Shocks, Struts, and Springs
Control arm bushings
Exhaust systems
Clutches

Yes, some of these parts are expensive, but even if you have the work done by the dealer it is far less expensive to maintain a car and keep it then to keep buying or leasing a new car every couple of years. Even a new or rebuild engine will only cost you $3K to $4K. That sounds expensive but when a new car is $20K it starts looking pretty cheap in comparison. The key is to have a car repair fund with $500 to $1000 in it so that when you have a large car related expense the money is there. I can't count how many of my friends have traded in a car because they didn't have the cash to fix something relatively minor and took a HUGE loss on the car too.

I'll use my VW TDI as an example. It has 140K miles on it and still looks and drives like new. Why, because we have taken care of it. That care has been expensive but worth it.

Examples: At 100K the timing belt needed to be changed. I had the water pump changed to because it is only another 1/2 hour labor now vs. another 8 hours labor if it fails latter. That was $1200 but it only happens every 100K miles so we will only have to do it twice. We started saving for it a year ahead of time because it's not like you don't know that 100K is coming.
At 110K miles we had the entire suspension replaced / rebuilt with performance parts. Struts, Shocks, Bushings, Springs, etc. That was another $1000 but it made the car handle better than new and it will be ready for another 100K miles. At 200K miles I can have the quality Bilstein shocks and struts rebuilt instead of replacing them.

So I wouldn't shy away from a car with only 140K miles. If the unibody is in good condition and not rusty then you should be fine. Just be aware that some of those consumables like brakes and suspension parts are going to need to be replaced. Take your savings over buying new and start a savings account for maintenance. You'll still come out ahead in the long run.