How to Buy a High Mileage Car

In this economy, it is best to save your money where you can and invest wisely. Additionally, it is best to limit your exposure to depreciating assets. This specifically applies to automobile purchases. As soon as you drive a new car off the lot, it looses value. With a used car, especially with a high-mileage used car, this depreciation becomes moot. With the right information, a buyer can purchase a used car at or below its value and continue to drive it with little to no depreciation worries. The longer the car is driven, the more value per dollar spent.

Instructions

1

Create a budget. Determine how much you want to spend on your car, and start a basic search for cars in that price range in your area. Cars.com and Ebay.com are great starting points. You can also search your local classified ads in the newspaper. Narrow your options by choosing the cars that are most suited to your need.

2

Take your list of suitable cars and begin to research the type of car. For example, if a Toyota Corolla fits your needs and price range, begin to search for information on how long the average life of the car is in miles. If the mileage on the Corolla that you found is low compared to the average life of the car, you may have found a good deal.Compare the price to the Kelley Blue Book value (kbb.com) and see if it is reasonable for the condition and mileage.

3

Once you have narrowed your options to two or three, take them out for a test drive. If you like one more than the rest, purchase a CarFax report on it to see if there is any accident history.

4

Take the car to a local, reputable mechanic to see if there are any obvious needed repairs. If there are, you can either request that the repairs be made before the purchase or ask that the price of the repairs be taken off the price of the car.