I am currently in the market for a new car. As soon as I graduate college in a year and a half I will be traveling up and down the east coast training for the Navy nuclear power program I was recently accepted into and my current hand me down car just wont cut it. The biggest decision I have to make is whether to buy an upscale car like a 2006-2007 Acura TSX/TL or something along those lines with about 40,000 - 60,000 miles on it or a newer car like a 2009 Mazda6 or Nissan Altima with very low miles on it.

 

I of course would like to have an upscale car, but I don't know if it would be worth taking one with that many miles on it. My train of thought is that now a days 60,000 miles isn't that much, but since I've never bought a car before I don't know a whole lot about the process or what to look for.

 

Any advice on this or any new car buying advice would be greatly appreciated.

Regardless of price range you decide your situation screams for buying a used car. If you're putting that many miles on a brand new car you had better plan on keeping it for quite a while.

Try checking out Enterprise. They sell their cars after they reach a certain mileage, something like between 25,000 and 50,000. They also give you around $1,000 less than the blue book price for the car.

You also have to take into consideration that rental car's/used car's are not always maintained and driven as if you owned the car yourself.

You also have to take into consideration that rental car's/used car's are not always maintained and driven as if you owned the car yourself.

 

Rentals are at least maintained regularly. They have to have regular oil changes, etc. in order to rent them out again. Also, any service problems have to be addressed in order to keep the cars working properly. If the car has a problem, it sits on the lot and doesn't make the company any money.

 

Now, as for the driving, that's something that can't be controlled. Some cars may be driven wide-open and aggressively the entire time they're rented. Others may only be used for light trips around the city.

 

You never know how well it will operate, but you can test drive them if you're interested.

 

IMO, buying a used car from a rental company at least gives you some background info on it's use. You know it was maintained, whereas with any old used car you can never really be sure. Yeah, you may get a car that some old lady only drove to church and the grocery store, or you might get a car that somebody only got the oil changed in once every 10,000 miles.

 

And as we all should know from the recent Toyota recalls, even buying a new (or practically new) car doesn't guarantee that you won't run in to problems with them.

Congrats on your hard work Stallion. I won't give you my opinion on cars, I've made some questionable decisions over the past 20 years when purchasing.

In 1998, I bought a 3 year old Subaru Legacy wagon with 41,000 miles on it from a local dealer to run around doing my consulting side work. A lot of that work involved driving to Orlando and Sarasota almost nightly. I sold her and her 300,000 miles last Monday. She's going to help an old lady get to and from the grocery and church now.

I am currently in the market for a new car. As soon as I graduate college in a year and a half I will be traveling up and down the east coast training for the Navy nuclear power program I was recently accepted into and my current hand me down car just wont cut it. The biggest decision I have to make is whether to buy an upscale car like a 2006-2007 Acura TSX/TL or something along those lines with about 40,000 - 60,000 miles on it or a newer car like a 2009 Mazda6 or Nissan Altima with very low miles on it.

 

I of course would like to have an upscale car, but I don't know if it would be worth taking one with that many miles on it. My train of thought is that now a days 60,000 miles isn't that much, but since I've never bought a car before I don't know a whole lot about the process or what to look for.

 

Any advice on this or any new car buying advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

 

Higher-end cars still have higher-end repair cost, no matter what the age.

 

I would buy a car 1-2 years old from a dealer of that brand. That way all recalls have been taken care of, and get a CarFax.

Regardless of price range you decide your situation screams for buying a used car. If you're putting that many miles on a brand new car you had better plan on keeping it for quite a while.

 

I completely agree with Clyde. While a new car sounds nice...to get one and turn around and put a ton of miles on it right out of the gate probably isn't the smartest thing to do.

 

The "experts" say normal driving mileage is 12,000-15,000 miles per year. Personally, I haven't come close to that since college! I regularly put 20-24k (if not more!) on my vehicles. So, if you find one that's 3-4 years old with under 50k on it, that's not bad in my opinion. And a 4 year old with 30,000 on it would be a cream puff, IMO.

 

In my mind, just about any car out there nowdays, should (if taken care of properly) last a minimum of 150k. I've had 3 vehicles that have gone over 225k...and two of them were still running when I replaced them. (The wife wrecked the other one! :irked: )

 

 

And if you find something that can be taken care of at the "corner garage" (or maybe even yourself, if you're mechanically inclined) instead of having to be taken to a dealer...you could save yourself a few bucks down the line as well.

 

Good luck on your search!

Cars.com is really great. You can find cars new/used. You can read the reviews on used cars put on by experts and by people who own them. You can see recalls on used cars. I have found my last three cars by using them and its fun to just look around. Might go there in a few.

I have buying used cars for 50 years with good sucess. I would look at lease cars that are two or three years old. Personally I would never consider buying a former rental car. I have some experience with fleet vehicles and cars that have a lot of different drivers just seem to not last and require more repairs. If you can find someone in the used car business that you can trust or a reliable mechanic to inspect cars for you, your chances are pretty good to get a decent car at a good price.

Cars.com is really great. You can find cars new/used. You can read the reviews on used cars put on by experts and by people who own them. You can see recalls on used cars. I have found my last three cars by using them and its fun to just look around. Might go there in a few.

 

I found my current vehicle on Cars.com a few years ago.

I said I wouldn't give my opinion but I wouldn't go the fleet route. I know I don't drive rentals like I drive my own. I'm still a conservative driver when I rent but I usually drive them a bit harder knowing I won't have to deal with repairs.

Congrats on your hard work Stallion. I won't give you my opinion on cars, I've made some questionable decisions over the past 20 years when purchasing.

 

Thank you very much. It is a very exciting time for me right now.

 

And yes that's exactly what I'm trying to avoid! You have to have learned some from those questionable decisions and could give me some advice on what not to do.

Buy a Toyota, if you are going to wear it out driving over the next few years don't spend a ton of money and wait until the travel is over to go high scale.