I work at the DMV, and this couple came in to transfer a 2010 Fit into their name at $3500, I said that's a good price, my son needs one. They said well it will be for sale soon, we just need it while their tesla is being fixed. Only bad thing is it has 272k miles. It runs no issues, but the mileage worries me. Id only hope to get 2 years out of it maybe so he can get to work. Its been 2 months it worked fine for them, should I buy it?

 

Fits can live beyond that mileage. See if you can get a pre-purchase inspection. Perhaps negotiate to get the current owners to split cost with you. Post-pandemic price increase saw me fixing more high mileage cars and I can say confidently that I'm no longer discouraged by big numbers on odometers anymore. Neglect, hidden accidents, sitting for extended periods, and amateur repairs. Those are the real enemies.
See if you can't work them down on the price though.. 3k for a near 300,000 mile car is rough... but I guess if it actually runs well, those are the times we're in.
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Thank You, You bring up great points.

 

I read your post earlier today and kind of stewed on it for the rest of the day. I'll add my 2 cents worth here to the conversation. Basically the car you're considering buying has close to 300,000 miles on it. It is basically at the end of it's useful/dependable life. If you give the couple close to what they paid for the car and add sales tax and reg to that amount, you're close to $4K. You didn't mention your ability to work on the car to make future repairs, so that's a factor too. PYTS made some good points in his post here, but to me it boils down to whether you're a gambler at heart. To me this deal could work out well for your needs for a car for a couple of years' use. OR, it could turn into a money pit (no offense PYTS), and become undependable and useless for your needs. I'd pass on it personally, and look for a much lower mileage car. Good luck whichever way you go on it.

 

@56chevydan I'm stoked to see a counterpoint. Honestly, I do not feel like an authority on this stuff. What to buy and when is a question I really struggle with. For family I've tried to get low mileage vehicles with a clean bill of health at a fair price, but timing is always a huge factor. When we got our tacoma, we passed on one that was 2 years younger with 140k miles for ours which only had 45k.

Ours had been in a fairly well disguised accident which the dealership denied. I thought I could sort out any issues and be the better for it given a lower mileage engine, but I still haven't had time/money to do a big overhaul (nor have I had a successful epiphany).

In another recent situation I had a friend that was car shopping following an accident. He was looking at a sporty little sedan (think it was a Mazda 3) that I test drove with him, but it had 300k miles and the seller had other buyers waiting. It drove great but I told him to pass if he couldn't get an inspection. What he wound up getting as a result was so much worse! It took me over 6 months (albeit I'm VERY slow) and $1500 in parts/services to fix his 250k mile Tribute.

I will say that I only charged 500 in labor because I felt so bad. It was a huge loss for me. With that, his tribute runs almost like a new car, and that all aluminum 3.0 v6 is holding up like a champ. But for anyone else, that car (which was also 3k) would have been totaled with the amount of work it needed. His quote from a shop was 2k, and that wouldn't have covered oil leaks, 2 new catalytic converters, trans and coolant leaks..

It's pure fact that buying a high mileage car without (and even with) a mechanic in the family is a gamble. I don't know that modern cars can survive neglect as well as old ones which had looser tolerances and less complex tech. But I feel like if a Fit runs good at high mileage, it's a safer bet than several other cars at high mileage. Honda's got some reliable 4 cylinders and transmissions. Having worked on this car a little I feel like so long as the things I mentioned in my first post ruled out, it could meet the 2 year need without much fuss. But I could be wrong. I can't think of another car in the price range that I'd rather bet on though.. I'd still like to see the price for this one reduced.

No offense taken, my friend!! We both want good for the OP. I positively hate car shopping, unless it's $500 "get it off my driveway".

 

PYTS- Thanks for the feedback. I think we both have a similar approach to our feedback on this forum, and I appreciate your comments whenever you make them. With the high prices for today's used cars, I can understand someone asking for feedback on this forum before they make the plunge in buying a high mileage car. I hope the OP here luck with whatever he buys. Take care.

 

I wish I saw this thread sooner. If you're a DIY kind of person and don't mind getting dirty or busting knuckles when needed, get it. Doing 90% of the work on my Fit made it worthwhile when I bought it at 389k miles in 2016. It's now at 592k.

If you're the kind of person that will take it to a shop for almost anything, repair bills will add up and you would've been better off buying a 2010 with half the mileage.

 

Just saw your post. Last year at this time, I sold my M/T Blue 2010 Fit with 260K miles.
It was sold to a gal here in MI...but I heard that she was headed out of state with it.

Just wondering if it was mine. An easy way to tell is that I had recently installed a complete Alpine sound system with a Kicker Sub. It would also have the Sprint throttle controller on the dash.
I sold it for about $2500 and bought a new Civic SI

 

I got a little excited because it came with a set of snow tires, but that’s because the previous owner drove it from Texas to Colorado often.

This is a black base model no aftermarket radio. It’s been a great car so far, I bought it and took it to my son in College station to use, he only put 75miles a week work to home is about all he does.

 

wow 592! That’s great. I am a certified YouTube mechanic if there’s a video on it I can do it may take a year but I’ll get it done. But this was taken to my son and unfortunately I failed him he knows nothing about cars. It’s running great I pulled the trigger on it almost a month ago. It’s such a simple car I foresee it satisfying our needs. The fact that he only puts maybe 75 miles a week on it and sits at home gaming on weekends I’d say is a safe bet. Thank you for your input.

 

Valid points, thanks for the input. I saw this right before I bought it. I do have some ability in maintenance, more than most. Although the vehicle will stay with my son as long as he needs it or lasts for that matter about 2hours away and has no ability. It came down to either this or a bike since he couldn’t get financed. He’s working on building his credit, we just hope this buys him time. My wife and I are focusing on her Nursing school and can’t help him now. This was probably
a wake up call that Daddy can’t really help it’s time to be self sufficient. The good thing is he only drives about 75miles a week. Work, home, store, and stays home the rest of the time.

 

What is the issue with sitting for extended periods?

 

cars have A LOT of different contraptions in them, and I'm not sure I could answer that to an all-encompassing extent. We can skim over a few items though, if you'll pardon my half-baked explanations and "whatever comes to mind" kinda topic choices.

when an engine isn't running it isn't circulating oil. Oil clings and kinda varnishes a lot of components, but given enough time it'll mostly drain off of stuff. I think that's bad news for metal, plastic, and rubber. I've experienced that as causing problems for timing chains. Not sure if it's the lack of oil coating, or if it's from sitting under tension in just one position (potentially creating a weak-point?) but I've experienced their snapping some time after being brought back into service.

Fluids all wear out in some fashion. I'm to understand that's a thing that happens anyways.. but it also stops circulating. brake fluid accumulates water, additives/minerals necessary for lubrication and corrosion prevention "drop out" of coolant, I dont know what happens to oil/atf - maybe the same deal.
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Electrical stuff: I dont really know. If the battery is installed there's a chem reaction going on. they fail/corrode - i've read that this takes place at connections of dissimilar metals but I really cant say. may wind up with a parasitic drain, short, or whatever. You fire a car up and over the next few months several electrical components may just give up the ghost. Could be that all your window motors fail like they were a weak-point in the system. I've got a disrobed relay sitting on my nightstand, let me see if it has a spring in it. 😅

Sealed stuff under pressure.. like struts, shocks. Doesn't seem to be good for the seals. AC system - maybe a seal gives or you get it running and the pag oil (or whatever) in there drained off/out of the compressor.

​​​​​​I mostly just think of it like I do people. As we age, if we stop moving, stuff just goes all to hell. People who live a long time got sh*t to do. Cars that go far get driven a lot.

check out this article about the million mile tundra from motortrend.

 

I hesitated and bought a 209 GE8 with 90k it performed flawlessly until someone hit it in the back and totaled it while it was parked. I replaced it with a 212 GE8 with 187k. On the way home it threw a CEL. Chased the CEL for a year changed the plugs and coils, started using a fuel injector cleaner, changed the injectors, Finally valve adjustment cured all my problems. Changing the brakes and shocks soon. It'll be perfect as a dream after that.
If you're willing to check and keep up with your maintenance (check hoses and belts, brakes and such ) you should be good.