What to look for on high mileage vehicle?

>>17007843
Look at what the car looks like, ask to see the maintenance records, check electronics.

Besides that it is pretty irrelevant. Some old Hondas from the 90s can have like 300k miles and everything still works great on them.

OH if buying manual check clutch ware before you buy. That is a shitty 1000 bill to get shoved right when you buy a car.

>>17007843
Wear and tear.
Parts wearing down, especially those "lifetime" parts.

Every car has different weak points to look out for, like rusty chassis/underbody for early Mazdas and everything after 120K miles for VWs.

Don't bother looking at the car. Just deal the price to shit ridiculous low level as even the seller knows no one wants to buy it and you are the first person in a month to even bother come and see it.

>>17007843
Mileage doesn't matter. Pay attention to how clean the car is. Pay attention to the owner. Pay attention to the listing itself. You can easily pick a good car from listing itself.

>>17007843
>an engine rarely lasts much more than 250k miles before needing a rebuild
>hoses and belts have a limited lifespan, and higher mileage means they've been subjected to heat longer than a similar year vehicle with less miles
>suspension springs wear out and the car sags and doesn't handle like it should
>valves, bearings, cams, chains etc all wear out
>some fuel filters are not designed to be replaced
>wheel bearings wear out
>haven't even mentioned the transmission, differential, u-joints, tie rods body rust etc.

All these things can only last so long, and when you get to a certain mileage on a car it becomes no longer worth fixing the next breakdown, because dozens of other problems are sure to follow.

>>17007861
I agree, ~2000 and newer VWs are designed to run good for like 120k and after that ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ and you can't repair anything

>>17007843
Neglected suspention componets ball joints struts/shocks tie rods and leaky engine seals hell even look at the tires for signs of uneven wear can tell you a whole lot about the cars health

Appreciate the input. How worth is it to take a high mileage car to get a pre purchase inspection at a shop?

>>17011516
Depends on the car. Some cars you should get a ppi on no matter the mileage. But I wouldn't get a ppi on a 3k civic with 200k miles

>>17008203
This is a good start. Technically everything is replaceable on a car (except the unibody/chassis as that is the car itself), but some stuff is a bitch to replace. For instance, if the engine block gets cracked, you basically have to do a full rebuild in order to replace it. Like this post says, eventually it becomes easier to get a new car than to buy ten new parts and pull half the car apart to replace them. Radiator hoses are a big one though, and many people replace them with silicone hoses and constant tension clamps for more reliability. Head gaskets also have an aftermarket on some vehicles and can be replaced with better ones.

>>17007996
kind of this, but that is a hard skill.
Is the owner able to write in complete and clear sentences. Do they accurately describe the vehicle, how long they have owned it, do the address any issues upfront. Do they have maintenance records or can they talk about maintenance? are they are car person or mechanic?

I have purchased a couple of higher mileage cars, two had 140k miles one had 212k miles.
In both cases the adds were clear and concise. In the first one they took clear pictures of the failed clear coat and listed recent repairs. Took clear pictures of the torn stitching in the seat leather.

Look for honesty and intelligence.

>>17007859
What's a bad clutch feel like?

>>17011744
Floor the car in a high gear, if it revs without moving you forward the clutch is slipping.

>>17011754
Good to know, thanks, anon. I got my first standard a few weeks ago and that's still been something in the back of my head

Consider the kind of person the owner is. The best cars can be bought from certain car guys / engineers (but so can the worst. The safest bet is to buy from upper-middle class people over age 40.

>>17007843
Always ask the last time the transmission was repaired, shits hella expensive to fix. People tend to sell the car the second the transmission takes a shit.