40,000 miles to high?
40,000 miles to high?
Ok i have been wanting a WRX for a while now and i found a 2002 with 40,000 miles on it. The price is right for me. And the car is in great condition! I understand that 40,000 is very very high for a 2002 but do they last a long time? if treated right im sure they do but what should i look for when buying a new car with this many miles? Or am i just worrying about nothing. I know suby's run forever just wandering if buying a 2002 with 40,000 miles is a good decision?
PS i will have a hard time affording one with low miles (going to college)
Thanks!
-Brandon
PS i will have a hard time affording one with low miles (going to college)
Thanks!
-Brandon
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iTrader: (7)
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 25,095
From: Funtown
Car Info: A limousine with a chauffer
what are they asking? I think that's excessively high for a 2k2, but the miles are likely mostly freeway. I'd have it thouroghly checked, and I'd look in to some other options first.
The cars last quite a while, but 40k miles is a lot...
The cars last quite a while, but 40k miles is a lot...
Guest
Posts: n/a
That mileage isn't unusual, my car was bought new in April and has almost 9,000 on it. Here's what I would do if I were looking at a secondhand WRX:
- You need to have full service records, if the car doesn’t have a full service history then stop reading now.
- Is the car stock? If so then had it ever been modified? It's becoming the norm for people selling WRX's to return the car to stock and sell the mods separately. Personally I would stay away from cars that have mods.
- Clutch Shudder when cold? Has the clutch been replaced under warranty?
- Has the car ever been launched and if so how many times? Ask the seller this and if they don't know whet you're talking about it's a good thing.
A secondhand WRX is a good proposition if it has been well looked after and not abused.
- You need to have full service records, if the car doesn’t have a full service history then stop reading now.
- Is the car stock? If so then had it ever been modified? It's becoming the norm for people selling WRX's to return the car to stock and sell the mods separately. Personally I would stay away from cars that have mods.
- Clutch Shudder when cold? Has the clutch been replaced under warranty?
- Has the car ever been launched and if so how many times? Ask the seller this and if they don't know whet you're talking about it's a good thing.
A secondhand WRX is a good proposition if it has been well looked after and not abused.
Registered User
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 194
From: Seattle, WA
Car Info: '03 Impreza WRX
2002 so it could've been bought mid-late '01.
Let's be generous and say it's two years old, that's 20k a year. (Worst case, it was bought this time '02 and is 40k in one year!)
Average mileage is what, 12/13k per year?
Low is 7.5k or less at least by my insurance company's standards.
I would want to know who owned it and how the miles were put on so fast.
Even then I'd be leery - the price isn't right if you have to dump money into it a few months after you buy it. Yeah I know about the lemon law but any kinda legal action involves time, money and headaches.
Let's be generous and say it's two years old, that's 20k a year. (Worst case, it was bought this time '02 and is 40k in one year!)
Average mileage is what, 12/13k per year?
Low is 7.5k or less at least by my insurance company's standards.
I would want to know who owned it and how the miles were put on so fast.
Even then I'd be leery - the price isn't right if you have to dump money into it a few months after you buy it. Yeah I know about the lemon law but any kinda legal action involves time, money and headaches.
Last edited by bonkers; Aug 20, 2003 at 09:03 PM.
Registered User
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 290
From: San Mateo, CA
Car Info: 2007 Mazdaspeed 3
I bought my car 6 weeks ago and I already have 3,700 miles on it. They are almost all highway miles, too. I have a 30 mile each way commute, and the people I want to see all live 45 min to 1 hour away. I am always surprised how so many people *don't* put more miles than they do on their car.
Registered User
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 570
From: Nor Cal
Car Info: 2010 370z Roadster, 2008 Frontier CrewCab
You might want to run a carfax.com report on the VIN just to see the history. It's not foolproof, but it's usually informative to see the detailed info. For instance, the report usually shows the milage and date of each vehicle inspection. If the milage logged seems consistent with the dates, it's probably ok.
They are asking 18000 for it and im sure he will take less. He has all the service records but i have not seen them yet. I drove it and it drove just like the 2003 that i test drove in the lot. I do not know these cars well enough yet to tell in aminor differences but i did not notice anything major. Im going to ask him some of the questions that you guys suggested! Thanks alot, you will start to see me here all the time 
Registered User
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 204
From: New England
Car Info: '03 Black Sedan
$18K seems a bit high to me for a car with 40K miles on it...say it's 25K to start with brand new and it depreciates $2500-3000 per year you're down to around $18K value just in depreciation, then you have to determine how much more the fact it's got 40K miles (maybe hard, maybe not) should depreciate the cost...
You could get a relatively new rebuilt WRX (anywhere from 100-4000 miles) for about that much...BUT ONLY IF you're into that sort of thing (many people aren't) and know someone who knows what he's doing / what to look for...
You could get a relatively new rebuilt WRX (anywhere from 100-4000 miles) for about that much...BUT ONLY IF you're into that sort of thing (many people aren't) and know someone who knows what he's doing / what to look for...
Guest
Posts: n/a
If you can try to save, keep on saving. You might want to look into financing an 03 from a dealership if you plan to spend 18K. At Carlsen Subaru in California (the dealership is in Redwood City) they are offering the 03 WRX Sedan & Wagon for 750 under invoice. That is an awesome deal.
With 750 under invoice, say you got only the armrest and security system, you could get a brand new 10 mile car for about 20K. I think that's about right.
Signed,
Outferno
With 750 under invoice, say you got only the armrest and security system, you could get a brand new 10 mile car for about 20K. I think that's about right.
Signed,
Outferno
Guest
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yeah I found many brand new wrx up here where I live(WA) for like 23k out the door. That is only 5k more than you were planning but you know exactly what has happened to the car from day one. If you roll the 5k into a 5 year payment that turns out to be a relatively small amount more per month, that is just the route I would go.
Stephen
Stephen
Registered User
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 204
From: New England
Car Info: '03 Black Sedan
Or bring this fact up to the guy selling it to get his price down a bit more...it's definitely reasonable to get a WRX out the door for 23K...just make sure you find a reasonable dealer...yes that's close to their 'invoice' cost but they still make up in Dealer reserve...etc..
Guest
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Not so high. I bought mine in April 2002. I now have 39000 very enjoyable miles including a 3500mi vacation to Glacier, Yellowstone, and the Tetons, many ski trip, many trip mountainbiking, and many more trips bicycle racing.
As long as they aren't short distance many trips people (ie pizza delivery)...I can obviously see how the mileage got so high so fast and really don't think it is a problem.
As long as they aren't short distance many trips people (ie pizza delivery)...I can obviously see how the mileage got so high so fast and really don't think it is a problem.
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