Cars are meant to be driven, not left to sit around, and exercise is as good for them as it is for us. Generally, I feel like high-mileage cars are a safer bet than low-mileage ones. But it’s cheap enough to not care about such things you could use it as a winter beater with 4WD for a couple years yet. The “Minnesota weight reduction program” has been hard at work on this truck the seller says the rocker panels are rusted away. The seller says it currently could use ball joints and brakes, but it runs and drives well as-is. This one has been in the same family since new, and has been worked hard, but well cared-for. The Ford F-series has a good reputation for durability as well, as long as it has been well-maintained. These doors give a ton of access to the back seat, but are kind of a pain in the ass in parking lots, since the rear doors can’t be opened unless the fronts are open, so the doors themselves get in your way. This is a 4 door truck, but the rear doors are “suicide” doors, opening at the front, with no center post between them and the front doors, similar to the Saturn Ion and SC coupes, and the Honda Element. This tenth-generation F150 was a major redesign after sixteen years, to a softer look and a smoother, more car-like ride, as well as a more car-like interior.
Here it is, the best-selling vehicle in America since, what, the Civil War? Ford sells a couple thousand of these things per day, and has for years. Runs/drives? Yes, but needs brake and front end work 1999 Ford F150 Lariat 4×4 – $1,400Įngine/drivetrain: 5.4 liter SOHC V8, 4 speed automatic, part-time 4WD But it’s a cheap stickshift Volvo wagon, which is nearly universally a good thing. A good thorough inspection is a good idea, to uncover any hidden surprises. Of course, all those miles do take their toll on every part of the car. New converters are available for around $400 from Rock Auto, which, if that cures the problem, makes this a pretty good bargain. If the converter is plugged up, that could cause the rough running, and also make it fail emissions. But the one thing I don’t see listed is the catalytic converter. There is a list of recently-replaced parts in the ad, many of which should have cured rough running. The seller says the car drives fine, but runs a bit rough. If it has been a Colorado car all along, that makes sense Colorado doesn’t use road salt. There isn’t much visible wear inside, and the exterior looks clean and rust-free. And frankly, for that many miles, it looks pretty damn good. Yep, that’s right: Four hundred thousand miles. I hadn’t heard the same reports of durability from the later front-wheel-drive 850 models, but it seems they are capable of racking up the miles as well. The old red-block engines just run and run, and the rest of the car wears like iron as well. It’s not uncommon to see old 240s and 740s with a 2 or a 3 as the first digit of the odometer (when the odometer works). Volvos of a certain age have a reputation for durability. Runs/drives? Yes, but runs rough and failed emissions 1996 Volvo 850 Wagon – $1,200Įngine/drivetrain: 2.4 liter DOHC inline 5, 5 speed manual, FWD Are these two cars at that point? Let’s take a look and see what you think. These things may “run forever” if you take care of them, but at some point they stop being nice enough to bother fixing. I’ve had plenty of cars whose keys could be taken out of the ignition with it running.
And it’s not just engines and drivetrains, or body rust: My Toyota’s high-beam headlight switch is worn out, and the driver’s seat has almost no padding left. High mileage, to me, just means a car has been good at its job, so it has been asked to do it a lot.īut at some point, you have to start to question how many more trips around the world a car has got left in it. I’ve had a Miata that was over 250,000, and a Nissan Pathfinder whose odometer broke and was replaced with a junkyard unit, but was somewhere north of 360,000 when we gave up and sold it (but it still ran and drove). My Toyota is just about to hit 260,000 miles, and my truck is sitting at 208,000. Now: I’m no stranger to cars with high miles. I know I’d really rather have the Buick, but I didn’t expect most of you would agree. I honestly expected the little Civic to walk away with this one. Have they got enough life left to give to be worth it? We’ll see in a minute.įirst, let’s see how yesterday turned out. Our two contestants have covered more than seven hundred thousand miles between them. How many? A hundred thousand? Two hundred? Nope. On today’s Shitbox Showdown, we’re looking at two cars with lots of miles.
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