looking to buy my girl a car and had a few options.

we saw a 2006 g sedan with 200k miles seller is asking 6k for it (im assuming some wiggle room to haggle) car looks very well taken care of and the seller has service history on it. this would be a direct cash purchase.

other options were financing a 10-13k car and was thinking of mazda 3, nissan, honda, toyota

thoughts?

 

200k? Stay away. Get a camry.

 

With 200K miles regardless of price that sedan could easily become a $$ hole! Look for a nice clean Nissan sedan with 50K miles where she'll be safe and last a long time! Keeping it serviced w/b your job!
Gary

 

For 13k-15k you can get a 05+ like the one you had with under 100k miles.

 

A lot of it boils down to how much of your own work you can do. Any car with 200K is going to require work to be performed on it more often then a sub-100K vehicle. A vehicle as complex as the G requires much more understanding of many electrical systems than most. There are more things to fail in a G than a something like a Mazda3 or Toyota Corolla.

Just for instance, if you look at the 05 Service manual you will see two engine chapters. The first is the engine mechanical at about 160 pages. The second is the engine controls chapter at nearly 750 pages.

When I look at cars to buy I always think to myself, "I might be able to afford to buy that car, but can I afford to own that car?". And since this is a car for your SO, you'll be on the hook if anything starts to fail.

Buy a simpler car with less miles for her, especially if you can't or are unwilling to do the work yourself.

 

I would not buy a car with 200k just to say I have that car. 6k seems kinda high too

 

Thanks for everyone's feedback.

 

How about an '03 with 84K miles for $10.5K ? Want to take it off my hands?

 

Are you really trying to get 10.5k? I was thinking 6-7 k was a high price for an 03. Ill personally deliver my car anywhere in the continental US for 10.5k.

 

I think ur about 3-4k too high on your asking price.

 

My car only has 84K miles. I'm the only owner.

 

how many of the posters here has owned a car with 200k on it???


Thats the real question. I haven't owned one but a friend of mines, well his whole family all they buy is 200k+ cars. They love them for some reason. Mainly because the low cost of entry and the little amount of work they need. They normally go for high mileage benzs, like the E series V8 or the Lexus V8. They buy them and drive them until they rust out or crash them.

If you know simple DIY stuff, i wouldn't mind getting a higher mileage car. My 05 sedan with 88k now will need a water pump, and cam sensor. I put in a crank sensor about 10k miles ago. Just saying... Cars are crap shoots, sometimes you hit your number and sometimes you hit 7.

My friend has been driving his E55 AMG for the past 3 years, i remember him having 225k when he bought it. He just cracks jokes at how my G needs more work then his AMG. All he bought was tires and oil changes.

 

Buying a high mileage car is a crap shoot, I agree, but the odds are usually in the house's favour. From what I have researched, for example, a water pump replacement on a VQ engine is no small task.
On the other hand, I consider my self lucky driving an '05 G Sedan Sport package with 137k with no current issues. I've replaced exhaust and oil cooler o ring. The previous owner replaced all 4 wheel bearings. 200k is still a ways away and leaves lots of room for further repairs. But hey, I really like the car and I got it for a really good price.

 

I have a 93 Maxima SE with almost 300K. Runs great,never a tick.

 

Is the Mazda 3 a Mazdaspeed 3 by any chance? Those are fun. Haha