Do highway miles make a difference?
 

Looking to buy a used vehicle.
I'm looking at a
2003 Buick Regal with 86,000 miles
or
2000 Mercury Grand Marquis with 61,000

The Regal is more money, but is three years newer....but it has a tankload of miles on it. Both of them are certified one owner vehicles, and the Buick was driven by the wife of the service manager of the dealership we're looking at. I can probably find out what the hell she did to put 30k miles per year on the car.

I'm honestly torn. The Mercury has a bigger more powerful engine. Both of them are pretty well loaded, the Grand Marquis has the edge with the fancy trip computer and electronic dash board, but the Regal has a great looking interior.

I'm thinking they're essentially equal. Older car with fewer miles, or a newer car with lots.

City miles have more wear on their engine/brakes because of the constant start-stop-start.

I would have your mechanic check over at least the car you are leaning towards.

I personally would lean towards the Marquis.

Older Car, less miles === Best choice.


newer car, tons of miles === Abused car.

According to consumer reports, here is a little info:

'03 Regal
Pretty good ratings across the board.
Average crash test ratings
Estimated Retail Price $10700 to $16200 (adjust for mileage)

'00 Grand Marquis
Expect ignition troubles
Excellent crash test ratings
Estimated Retail Price $7000 to $10000

That said, I'd probably go with the Grand Marquis despite my aversion to Mercuries.

If I had to choose between those two vehicles I'd choose to walk.

That is a completely absurd conclusion and totally non-helpful to the question at hand.

I'd ride a bike.

Not necessarily true. I have 160K on mine after about 6 years--the vast majority of it highway miles. The car is still in great shape.

But with that being said, I would tread very carefully with high mileage cars. Unless you know who you are buying from, it is quite a leap of faith to take someone at their word that the miles are actually highway miles.

IMO, anyone who puts a truckload of miles on a car in a short period of time is probably so busy and does not have the time to upkeep or maintain the car. Probably the 6 or 7 thousand mile oil change.

While there are always exceptions, generally I'd avoid a vehicle that's been driven 30,000 miles per year like the plague.

Thanks so far for the responses. I'm still torn. I want the Regal, but I think the smart thing to do would be to buy the Grand Marquis.

Most engines only need their oil changed every 7500 miles. The 3,000 mile interval is mainly espoused by the oil change places.

I agree that highway miles are a lot better for a car than city traffic miles. When you are cruising for hours at a constant speed, that is a lot less stress on the components of a car than a bunch of stop and go activity.

As you said, I know why they do it, but I still find it funny that my car's owner's manual recommends it every 3750 miles, yet the dealer still puts the sticker on the windshield telling me it's due in 3000.

Well. Just to end the suspense. I walked away from those two cars.

I mentioned to a banker friend of mine who often deals in car loans, and lease returns and the like. About four hours later he called me with a 2001 Grand Marquis with 18,000 miles. It went for about 500 over book, but I couldn't walk away.

My codriver bought a pickup last year, had 80,000 miles on it and was two years old. For some reason he thought it was no big deal. Things started breaking down a couple months later. I laugh at him for this.