How many miles is too many when buying an AWD 2G?

[tokes]

Getting my first car here in May, and I've basically narrowed it down to an AWD 2G DSM, for many reasons. Here's the kicker. My parents, provided I do well in school, are chipping in a large portion of the cost of the car, with all the maintenance, registration, insurance, gas, repairs, etc, falling on my shoulders. We've been browsing lightly through cars and my Dad has this stigma that any car with more than 110-120 thousand KM's on it (approx. 70-75 thousand miles) is not worth getting because he believes repair costs go up exponentially from there. I understand that higher mileage does equal more and more repairs, but in todays world I don't think 160 thousand KM's or 100 thousand miles to be an outrageous amount for a properly maintained car. The only car I can find within about a 12 hour drive that's a TSi AWD with under 120 thousand KM's is a 1996 car with an automatic with badly oxidized paint for 10 thousand. Keep in mind I live in Canada where we did not get Mitsubishi's until ~2002, so Eclipse's pre 2002 are few and far between, and still quite expensive compared to their Eagle counterparts. The best car I've found so far is a 97 Talon TSI AWD. Black, 5-speed, leather, and very importantly unmodded. I don't want to buy a car with mods that I don't know if they were installed properly, or if they even exist. This car has ~100 thousand miles on it, and right off the bat my Dad has deemed it to be not worthy only because of it's high mileage.

I guess I went on a bit of a rant there, but what's your take on this? I'm doing timing belt, balance shaft belt, plugs, and all that good stuff right off the bat no matter how many miles the car has on it, so I don't think it matters that much as long as you get a well maintained car. This is only going to be a April-October driven car as well, so it's not like getting stranded in the snow is going to be a huge concern for me either. Thanks.

 

[blackGSX2g]

Mileage has a bit to do with the condition of the car, but I am a firm believer in care and maintainence. When I was shopping for my car, I was not only looking for the right car, but the right owner as well. If you find a car that has 110k on it, but has been extremely well taken care of with the right owner, I would not hesitate to buy it for the right price.

I've seen plenty of 'raped' cars with well under 100k that I wouldn't even touch.

 

[BergayaJS]

I bought my 95 gsx at 96000 miles stock. Well kept except for my mirror's paint. Other than that underbody rust but that's understandable since it came from a snowy place. So don't judge the car by it miles.

 

[alexsmede]

these are 10+ year old cars your looking at. Its rare to find one that has 50k original miles on the motor. You can find quite a bit rebuilt ones. I would say if your parents are picky about miles, look for something that has 110k and less on it. i bought my 2g Talon TSI AWD for 4600 and it had 98k on it painted lambourgini orange with body kit. You can find some good deals out there, just wait for them.

 

[tokes]

these are 10+ year old cars your looking at. Its rare to find one that has 50k original miles on the motor. You can find quite a bit rebuilt ones. I would say if your parents are picky about miles, look for something that has 110k and less on it. i bought my 2g Talon TSI AWD for 4600 and it had 98k on it painted lambourgini orange with body kit. You can find some good deals out there, just wait for them.

You can find a couple of 200+ thousand KM Talon ESI's for 4600 here. That AWD car for 10K is about the lowest you can get a 2G AWD DSM for, and that's in pretty rough shape. I guess the biggest thing that bothers me about it is they're severely restricting my choices, and over half the price of the car plus all costs after the car are coming out of my pocket, and not theirs.

 

[alexsmede]

yes, when picking out a talon, eclipse, or laser, take your time, look for a good deal, if not, wait. and trust me waiting is not cool, especially when your out on the internet everyday looking at all these beefed up dsms, it can get aggravating. best thing to do is to wait untill a good deal comes up by ya.

 

[tonygst]

best thing to do is to wait untill a good deal comes up by ya.

I waited a year until i found i liked that was unmodified with low miles. I bought my GST @ 13,000 w/ 29000 miles on it. After everything all said and done w/ extended warranty.

 

[fuzzyturtles]

I myself would look for something with under 120k miles and preferably un modded. If it is a awd and modded even lightly chances are someone ran it hard. just some food for thought. Good luck with your search

 

[adam355]

IMO, I wouldn't even get one of these if its your first car unless it is in perfect condition mechanically and hasn't been modded the slightest bit.

 

[pnishr]

Well, I'd have to agree with what a lot of these people are saying. if you're going to get one, it's typically safe around 120,000 miles. As far as mods, if they didn't have a whole lot, and it wasn't "riced" out, the owner probably wasn't a total maniac on it. A lot of people that just do minor mods and take the time to do so are more likely to actually care for the car and not run it into the ground. Kids who put wings on it and "graphics" probably thought they were fast and drove like idiots. Also, see if they have the service records, etc. Again, people who have the consideration to keep the maintenance records probably had the consideration to actually keep it maintained. I bought my first one with 110K miles on it and it ran beautifully except it needed a new clutch slave. That's a cheap fix. And the guy gave me all his old service records of the NEW transmission, turbo, and all the recall work. It's still running great. and for sale. . . but here in the US, sorry.

 

[n0c7]

I'm in Edmonton and I picked up my 2g eclipse w/ 125000 miles on it. It came from Virginia, my friend bought it, slightly modded it, and then I took it off his hands for a reasonable price. I think he paid around $15,000 CDN 2 years ago to bring it up and take care of all the certification. It would have had around 100,000 miles at the time. It wasnt very well taken care of, was stock before my friend bought it. He had it stripped down and repainted and an engine rebuild done. Since I've bought it, its been an expensive hobby, but I havent had any major problems with it although I don't know how it would stand up in our winters here. It gets parked. Hope this helps a bit. Btw, check out www.dsms.ca if you want more info from Canadians, especially the Edmonton area.

 

[wolf20043]

Mileage has a bit to do with the condition of the car, but I am a firm believer in care and maintainence. When I was shopping for my car, I was not only looking for the right car, but the right owner as well. If you find a car that has 110k on it, but has been extremely well taken care of with the right owner, I would not hesitate to buy it for the right price.

I've seen plenty of 'raped' cars with well under 100k that I wouldn't even touch.

Agreed.........it seems these cars tend to spin all the bearings out if not taken care of and maintained properly. But taken care of most all cars can run forever, as said above,shop the owner not the miles.