74_Ray

Just was wondering on when i get enough money saved up again for my secound vette, whether or not i should buy one with higher mileage on it? whether it be a regular or zo6? Or would it be a better decissioon to just wait untill I can afford a nicer on with lower mileage? I know its what ever makes me happy but im just thinking about the future I dont wanna be stuck with it forever cause nobody wants it with that many miles.

jrzvette

A lot depends on what you consider "high mileage"; 100k is not really a lot, 250k is. Dispite the claims of some these cars are amazingly bullet proof PROVIDED they have been maintained according to schedule. I would ask for maintenace records on any used car I was considering regardless of the mileage.

74_Ray

high mileage like 70K pluse I dunno to me thats quite a bit. Just to make things a little more clear

Railroadman

Come on now - it's not rocket science. You can argue or agonize over mods vs. stock, you can choose between vert or coupe, there are lots of color choices, auto vs. stick...but think about it - the ONLY trade-off with high mileage is lower price. Nothing else. The car certainly does not get BETTER with more miles. Condition is different from mileage - some cars are worn out after 70K, others have been taken care of and partially restored and are decent at twice that.

Decide on what you want as far as options, style etc. Figure how much money you can spend. Then shop around looking at prices and condition. And buy the one which gives you the lowest miles for a given condition and price.

Frizlefrak

Buy the car you want, in the condition you want, at the price you want. If you can't meet all three of those requirements, move on. It's really that simple.

There are just too many variables to give a simple answer.

azrocketman

Also depends on how long you are going to keep the car and how many miles you are going to put on the car. If you're looking to put 2 to 3K a year on the car, a 100 to 125K car is going to last you a long time. If you are going to use the car as a daily driver putting over 10K a year on the car then I'd go with a 50 to 75K car. Once you are up in the mid 100's it's going to be condition and maintenance history that makes the car sellable.

I purchased, once upon a time, a 1979 Olds Custom Cruiser with 98K miles (paid $2200). I sold the car (for $100) 18 years later with 335K miles. Things that normally do not break, e.g. transmission input splines, front spring, started breaking around 250K miles. The car was used hard but not abused and got good (but not excessive) maintenance (e.g. oil change every 4 to 5K miles). The Corvette is pretty robust for daily use but as indicated above, over 200K is very high miles.

Steve

Bob89c4

70K for a 10 or even 20 year old car is not really high miles. I have said this before, when we were looking for our current C4 I drove a couple of mid-late 80s C4 that had like 210-280k on them and if I did not look at the odometer, I would have never even came close to guessing they had that many miles on them.

I passed on those cars even though they were well maintained because man, at 280,000 miles....how much farther can you go without some major problems cropping up? We ended up with a 89 six speed coup with 79K.

dreamer2468

I bought mine a few years ago with over 135,000 miles on it. I now have over 150,000 on it.

There have been some things that have went wrong with it, but nothing major. Just an oil leak from a worn gasket, which in turn encouraged me to have a new opti installed as the one on there was the original, and I was having the waterpump and other things replaced anyway, so figured it was a good thing to have that replaced as well, as its not something you want to have done later on if it can be avoided.

I imagine down the road if I decide to keep it that I will have other things replaced, such as the engine, transmission, etc, but I figure it cheaper then buying a new car.

I had other maintenaince done as well, but it runs strong and no issues with it other then figuring out which tires will not be as bad in rain as it does tend to hydroplane easily. I live in Oregon, so that is a main concern for me.

Laura

supersmoothpunk

so 150,000 miles is the highest so far, who can top that?

dpd3672

A similar discussion came up a while back on another auto forum that I follow (Miata.net, specifically). Specifically, there was some discussion about the relative advantages of higher miles car, especially older ones (for example, should you look for a 1990 model with 25k miles or 100k miles, and how much is the difference worth in real dollars?). A large number of posters suggested that a higher mileage car might be better than a lower mileage car in many ways, besides the obvious price advantage.

First, if we're talking about C4 Corvettes, we're talking about cars that are 15-25 years old. Even driven low miles each year, the miles do add up. A 1984 driven 5,000 miles a year is at 125,000 miles now...that's just a few weekend drives and maybe a couple long weekends or car shows each year. Driven daily for the first few years when new, then occasionally after that could easily put it at 150k or more, and a daily driver could be well beyond 250,000 miles now. Maintained properly, engine wear is negligible; a 300k motor can pass a compression/leakdown test within factory specs.

On newer cars, higher mileage is consistent with long highway drives, rather than city driving, which can cause more wear on the car. A 2005 car with 125k miles is probably driven by someone with a long commute each way, not someone that runs errands, never letting the car heat up, evaporate the moisture in the exhaust, and fully lubricate the internals. Stop and go driving does a lot more to wear a car than cruising on freshly paved roads at a consistent rpm. In 1997, I bought a 1994 Ford Explorer XLT with 140,000 miles on it, but it looked clean and well maintained. I owned that car for another 7 years, driving it daily and towing a boat with it on weekends, and the only maintainence I did was fluids and filters...Ford even picked up the tab for a new set of tires for me, courtesy of the Firestone fiasco. I paid $5500 for the car and sold it for $3000 with over 250,000 miles on the odometer...The car's still running, 4 years later, driven daily to college by a neighbor kid...a little rust on the wheelwells now, but still looks good from 20 feet away, and the motor still sounds good.

Things like rubber seals, tires, belts, hoses, vacuum lines, suspension bushings, etc can last longer if they're used and maintained frequently; a car that's driven daily and maintained properly won't have the dry rot in these areas like a garage queen can develop. Drivetrain internals benefit from frequent lubrication, rather than sitting for extended periods of time and then being stressed (let's face it, if you have a car for nice days and weekends, you're probably driving it hard when you do have the opportunity to use it). Accessories like air conditioning will last longer if they're turned on and run periodically, rather than sitting for months or years.

Many "garage queens" are stored improperly...never quite put up correctly, and that too can cause problems. UV light is hard on rubber and paint; an open exhaust or intake is an invitation for rodents and insects...anyone who's worked in a garage has probably seen a wasp nest in a tailpipe, or a rat living in an air intake. Also, the reason many cars have low miles is often because something broke, and the car sat for a decade or two before the owner fixed it and put it up for sale...this is not the same as a car someone bought as a collectible and stored carefully in proper conditions.

Daily driven cars are (hopefully) maintained better...if you're driving 1000 miles a year, you're probably not changing maintaining your car on a per mile basis...you might even change your oil once a year, but you're probably not replacing your tires every 5 years, your filters, belts, and hoses every year, your brake fluid, rotors, and pads every year, etc. Ever notice how bad brake rotors look when they've been rusting overnight? Over a weekend? How about over months or years? Brake fluid attracts moisture, so a garage queen could potentially cost you rotors, pads, calipers, brake lines, a master cylinder, and a booster...quite expensive when you add it all up, and that's probably the most neglected maintainance item on every car.

Overall, it's safe to say that a lower mileage car should command a higher premium over a comparable higher mileage car. However, depending on your budget and your intended use, you may be a lot better off with a well maintained high mileage car. Taking some of the prices I've seen looking at C4s lately, I'd probably be better off (looking for a driver, not a show car) with a $3k car that needs a engine rebuild or suspension bushings and shocks or even a Maaco paint job; than a $12,000 car that needs a complete tune up, tires, belts, hoses, fluids and filters, brakes, a radiator, and exhaust.

It really does depend on the car and the price, your intended use, and how much you depend on the car (you can postpone costly work on a second or third car, but your primary car needs to work every day), but don't shy away from a higher mileage car based on mileage alone; you'd be passing up some great opportunities.

Tommy T-Bone

I've seen low milage cars with problems. High milage cars with problems and both with little or no problems. If a vehicle is well maintained with quality products then I wouldn't have any question about buying a high mile vehicle. I bought my 1990 8 years ago with 126000 miles. It now has 139000. I fix things as needed and change oil every 6 months regardless of mileage. I use it year round. No internal mechanical failures. Battery, alternator, belt, exhaust system, brake booster, injectors, tires, egr valve, plugs, wires, air filter, instument cluster and a few more odds and ends here and there. Hell you could by a low mile vehicle that got most of it's mileage 1/4 mile at a time.

HVAC111

I just bought a 80,000 mile 91 vert, for my second vette. I don't think it needs a thing. But then again if it does i have others to drive. If it's your only car go low miles, but if it's a toy, i don't think 80-125,000 on a vette is to high.

dreamer2468

It does depend on what you are going to be using it for. Is it a DD or a show toy?

If its a show toy, then lower miles is usually better because its a garage queen, but if its for a DD, then as long as it is well maintained, then you are good to go.

Mine personally is not a show car, but I have had people tell me it could be with a bit more bling, but that is not my interest. I drive it because I love the power, the fun, and the ease of travel.

Laura

my85redvette

I traded mine for my streetrod. My vette had 149,000 on it when I got it. Had the tranny rebuilt with a shift kit. Put exhaust on it. New carpet kit. New tires and different wheels. Just got done replacing the shocks and the brakes. Just depends how far you are willing to spend (and bleed---these cars suck to work on!) As you probably guessed its my first vette! My streetrod buddies thought I was CRAZY for trading, and a few were mad, but I love my vette!!

74_Ray

Yes. I see now. And yes it will be a third car. My ford ranger is my everyday, and my 74 vette is my collectible she’s not quite reliable yet herself. But you guys have really helped out on thinking this through. thanks everyone that help my decision making on this post and thank you dpd3672. You guys are awesome

aminnich

Easy! I have over 216,400 on my 95. The engine is all original, never been touched, so is most of the rest of the car, except of course the el cheapo factory sun visors. Those I did replace a few years back. It is a daily driver, but I also drag race it on the weekends and have had it on the track at Road Atlanta and Atlanta Motor Speedway, no nascar driver but I did push 145 at the track.

It looks like this:

supersmoothpunk

that is a lot of miles! a daily driver and you still race it thats impressive, what is your best 1/4 mile time?

aminnich

The nearest 1/4 mile track is too far away, so I run on an 1/8th mile. Best time so far is an 8.55, best mph was on a different run at 88mph.
Going out again to a different track this sunday if the weather is good.

mnstrlt1

i think everyone essentially got to the point with this OP's questions.

I am also a firm believer that an OLDER car with low miles might yield a lot of up coming repairs! I would shy away from a car with 50K miles on it if it's a c4 because chances are all the stuff on it is original (i.e. needs to be replaced, coming due for major maintance and preventative repairs).

I also agree that I would rather find a well DOCUMENTED car instead of a low mileage car. The miles don't tell the story. If the owner has thurough documents on the repairs, maintanence, etc. that would be great!

Jimcol711

Mileage is all but irrelevant at this point.

First of all, ALL C4 Vettes are now exempt from mileage reporting on titles due to their age, this opens up the flood gates to any and all shinanigans that people sometimes like to play.

Secondly, as many have said, you can have a low mileage car that has been wrecked and raced and beat down or a well maintained high mileage car...its about finding one you LIKE....for ALL of its attributes...appearance, condition inside and out, how it runs, how it handles, and sure, mileage, but id much rather have a C4 with high mileage that runs well, is reliable, is in good shape, and has all interior features (every little light bulb, power seat function, stereo, speakers) in working order than a C4 with low mileage but quirks.

I have a 1992 with 121k on it, bought last year with 116k on it. EVERYTHING on this car works besides A/C...i gave up that battle and decided i dont care that it doesnt work. To me that was a personal trade off i was willing to make. The car has cost me absolutely nothing to keep running, all ive ever done to it is an oil change and a bottle of power steering fluid. All other things ive done were totally voluntary (weatherstrips, magnaflow exhaust, replaced speakers). Id drive my "high mileage" C4 cross country with no concern whatsoever.