How many miles is too many?

[NYEmomma]

Now that we're going from a family of 3 to a family of 5, we're minivan shopping.

I've decided I want either a Toyota Sienna or a Honda Odyssey... we've got a serious budget & are thus used car shopping. It seems like, in our budget, we can get anywhere from an '05 to an '08.

But all of them seem to have SO many miles. I'm used to my cars (I've only ever bought used) having under 50k miles on them... with these minivans, I'm hard-pressed to find any under 70k.

So I'm wondering -- do the miles really matter these days? How many miles would be too many for you? We're planning on getting an extended warranty on it for piece of mind (had a bad used car experience that burned me in the past). Most of the Sienna's we're looking at are also Toyota Certified so they have a one-year comprehensive warranty.

 

[Conservative Hippie]

I thought I wanted under 50K, but mine ended up having 68K on it. The price and other features were so great I had to take it. Definitely don't get anything over 100K, but my mechanic friend told me the more important thing is the year - he said don't get anything older than a 2005, the technology has changed so much (mine is a 2006).

 

[andersonsc]

We got our first Odyssey back in 1999 when our twins were born. It was great and we never had any problems. We traded it in for a 2006 b/c we wanted the integrated DVD. BIG MISTAKE!! It was a lemon. After fighting with the dealer for 2 years, we finally traded it in on a 2008 (& got a good deal). After doing some research on our 2006 lemon, I found other information about how many vans in that year had numerous problems. I guess what I'm saying in a round about way is, do some research on specific years, but overall, we have not had problems with the Hondas we've owned(other then the 2006 van).

 

[NYEmomma]

The one I'm most interested in is an '05 Sienna. It's got 71,000 miles on it, which isn't bad for an '05... it's just more miles than I'm typically comfortable with. But it's loaded, which now that I'm thinking more seriously about the minivan concept, it would be REALLY nice. The leather seats would be so much easier to keep clean & the built-in DVD would be awesome -- DH wouldn't have to practically crawl out of his seat while we're driving to switch DVDs in DD's portable DVD player.

We're going to go drive it... see if it *feels* like I'm driving a 7 year old car compared to the 07 we could get for more money, less miles, but not loaded.

 

[cbg1027]

It's not so much the miles on the car, it's how well it's been taken care of.
Unfortunately, that can almost impossible to know. Do these cars have the service records?

Do you have an independent mechanic you know and trust? I would have my mechanic look over any used vehicle before purchasing.

Also, I think in the brands you're considering, longevity is typically higher than people would expect.

Another point is that for a 2005 model, 72k is not high mileage. It is somewhat high for an '08 though. Any idea if these are city or highway miles?

But this is coming from a girl who drives a 1993 Volvo with 230k miles on it.

 

[monkeybug]

I think you would be fine with a Sienna with 70,000 miles. In the past we've bought cars with similar mileage and never had a problem (a Yukon and a Caravan) and they were both well into the 100,000's by the time we traded them in.
The things I would look at is what changes they made in Siennas between '05 and '07, if it's mostly just trim than go with the '05, if it's safety features like traction control and airbags, I'd choose the '07. I'd also want an aux jack to plug in an iphone, ipod, or other type of device.

The things I'd look for (I think you can do side by side comparisons on Edmunds) are-
Airbags, does the '07 have more? Does the '05 have side curtain airbags? We have an '11 Sienna that has knee airbags, did they have those in '07?

Traction control- I've read that this is one of the most important safety innovations in recent years. If the '05 doesn't have this but the '07 does, I'd really research it before I chose the '05.

Tire pressure monitor, fuel economy, latch (how many and where they are located), bluetooth, and safety ratings are things I'd look at too.

You can get a dvd player installed after market (just like the ones they have in the vans at the dealer) and it's usually less than the dealer charges for that upgrade. Leather is nice too, and I agree that it's easier to clean, but I'd pick safety and fuel economy over leather if I had to. One step ahead sells seat covers that do a pretty darn good job of keeping the seats clean if you end up with cloth.

 

[disny_luvr]

We love, love, LOVE our '05 Sienna. We bought it in 2008; it had 45,000 miles on. We haven't had any trouble with ours to-date. It now has 89,000 miles on it. We just went away with friends of ours the other weekend and we drove in our van. Both the husband and wife kept on commenting on how much they liked the van, especially how nice it drives. I think you won't go wrong with the van. We expect to have our van for many, many more years. I'd buy an '05 with 71,000 miles on it.

 

[tvguy]

The one I'm most interested in is an '05 Sienna. It's got 71,000 miles on it, which isn't bad for an '05... it's just more miles than I'm typically comfortable with. But it's loaded, which now that I'm thinking more seriously about the minivan concept, it would be REALLY nice. The leather seats would be so much easier to keep clean & the built-in DVD would be awesome -- DH wouldn't have to practically crawl out of his seat while we're driving to switch DVDs in DD's portable DVD player.

We're going to go drive it... see if it *feels* like I'm driving a 7 year old car compared to the 07 we could get for more money, less miles, but not loaded.

You need a good independent mechanic to check it out. That's more important that the miles. 71,000 miles is about average for a car that has been on the road between 6 and 7 years. The big chain used car places like CarMax routinely have used cars on their lots with over 100,000 miles on them, so these days with proper upkeep, that should give you a lot more life.
Personally, I've never kept a car more than 140,000 miles, but it took me 18 years to get that many miles, and only got rid of it because it was totaled, and my family car is 24 years old, I bought it new, but only has 138,000 miles on it.
The companies my wife and I work for routinely run our Ford Explorers 300,000 miles which takes 10 years, and they rarely need major repairs. So cars today can easily rack up that many miles.

 

[mom2boys]

We have two Odysseys. My son now drives the 1999 - it has over 260,000 miles on it. We did replace the transmission about 3 years ago. It's not pretty or in great shape at this point but he only drive less than 10 miles to school & back. I have a 2009 with just over 70,000 miles on it - yes I put all of those miles on it. I haven't had any trouble with it.

 

[tvguy]

We have two Odysseys. My son now drives the 1999 - it has over 260,000 miles on it. We did replace the transmission about 3 years ago. It's not pretty or in great shape at this point but he only drive less than 10 miles to school & back. I have a 2009 with just over 70,000 miles on it - yes I put all of those miles on it. I haven't had any trouble with it.

Wow, on the 2009 that's like 95 miles a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year for the 2 years you've had it. That's a lot of time behind the wheel!

 

[arminnie]

I have a loaded '06 Ody with only 40,000 miles - most of that highway miles. I guess I won't have any trouble selling it.

 

[mrodgers]

I consider a Ford or Chevy practically at the end of it's life at 100,000 miles.

I consider a Toyota or Honda not even broken in yet until 100,000 miles.



4 Toyotas, 1 Nissan, and 1 Honda, I drive my cars to near 200,000 miles. At about 150,000 or so I start rust repairs here in mid-northern Pennsylvania and at around 175-190,000, I get sick of fixing the rust every year. They are always mechanically sound, probably more mechanically sound than our current Ford at under 100,000 or any previous Ford or Chevy I've owned which I've never owned more than 100,000 miles.

 

[dngnb8]

Now that we're going from a family of 3 to a family of 5, we're minivan shopping.

I've decided I want either a Toyota Sienna or a Honda Odyssey... we've got a serious budget & are thus used car shopping. It seems like, in our budget, we can get anywhere from an '05 to an '08.

But all of them seem to have SO many miles. I'm used to my cars (I've only ever bought used) having under 50k miles on them... with these minivans, I'm hard-pressed to find any under 70k.

So I'm wondering -- do the miles really matter these days? How many miles would be too many for you? We're planning on getting an extended warranty on it for piece of mind (had a bad used car experience that burned me in the past). Most of the Sienna's we're looking at are also Toyota Certified so they have a one-year comprehensive warranty.

I look at it like this.

1. Warranties are up to 100k miles for a reason.

However

2. Toys and Hondas as a general rule, if taken care of (oil change, tune ups etc) can last 200k miles.


While I do not have a need for a minivan, I have owned used Camry's for my last 4 cars. I put about 30k a year on my car (I drive 90 miles a day round trip to work). I usually get them with 40k miles on them, and I usually have them to around 210k miles.

What I dont know is how the "Minivans" have faired. Personally, I would never get a minivan. It is a child cargo vehicle and from what I have heard, they arent all that safe. I would look more for station wagon types, or even SUV.

Minivans scare me

 

[tlbwriter]

What I dont know is how the "Minivans" have faired. Personally, I would never get a minivan. It is a child cargo vehicle and from what I have heard, they arent all that safe. I would look more for station wagon types, or even SUV.

Not sure where you heard that - they're generally considered quite safe (when driven properly of course; you must account for the higher center of gravity).

As for reliability, I drive an 06 Honda with 90K miles on it. No problems whatsoever. I'm sure I could easily get 200K.

 

[vettechick99]

Don't get any older than an 06 Odyssey because that's the year they changed the body style. I have an 06 and it has 90k miles now. Had it 5 years! Never had any trouble out of it...never once took it to the shop. I love it!

 

[mrodgers]

Don't get any older than an 06 Odyssey because that's the year they changed the body style. I have an 06 and it has 90k miles now. Had it 5 years! Never had any trouble out of it...never once took it to the shop. I love it!

a. It's just a body style, and very minimal other than changing the grill to look similar to a big ugly Chevy grill.

b. See "big ugly Chevy grill". Perhaps there are people who would prefer it to not look like a Chevy POS. I would prefer the older Odyssey.

c. Body style doesn't mean anything on how it runs mechanically.

d. I believe it was the 2005 that changed to the big ugly Chevylike grill.

 

[NYEmomma]

After figuring out our finances & budget, there's basically 2 cars that are within our price range & wants that we're going to look at:

- 2005 Sienna XLE w/ 71k miles -- leather, moonroof, DVD system -- clean Carfax report

- 2005 Odyssey EX-L w/ 69k miles -- leather, no DVD -- clean Carfax

Between those two, does anyone have any opinions?? I've never even driven a minivan before so this first trip car shopping is mainly to get a feel for them & determine whether I have a preference for one over the other. We don't HAVE to buy right now.

Couple of questions, if anyone would care to provide some insight:

1) When is the best time of year to buy a car? We have ~6 months before I need a new car... that's 6 months of us paying down what we owe on our current car, but I'm not sure if prices are going to rise as the weather gets better?

2) Are dealers at all hesitant to take a trade on a vehicle that would be more than the vehicle the buyer is purchasing? The vehicle we're trading in is worth around $1,000 more than what we'd be buying... but that's all we can really afford since we've only had our Rav4 for about 6 months thanks to someone totaling my Santa Fe. Tax on 2 cars within 6 months of one another sucks.

 

[tinatark]

We bought both of our teenagers cars with near/over 100k miles. I took them to the dealerships to get a pre-purchase inspection. It was around $100 but worth every $$ we spent!

 

[monkeybug]

After figuring out our finances & budget, there's basically 2 cars that are within our price range & wants that we're going to look at:

- 2005 Sienna XLE w/ 71k miles -- leather, moonroof, DVD system -- clean Carfax report

- 2005 Odyssey EX-L w/ 69k miles -- leather, no DVD -- clean Carfax

Between those two, does anyone have any opinions?? I've never even driven a minivan before so this first trip car shopping is mainly to get a feel for them & determine whether I have a preference for one over the other. We don't HAVE to buy right now.

Couple of questions, if anyone would care to provide some insight:

1) When is the best time of year to buy a car? We have ~6 months before I need a new car... that's 6 months of us paying down what we owe on our current car, but I'm not sure if prices are going to rise as the weather gets better?

2) Are dealers at all hesitant to take a trade on a vehicle that would be more than the vehicle the buyer is purchasing? The vehicle we're trading in is worth around $1,000 more than what we'd be buying... but that's all we can really afford since we've only had our Rav4 for about 6 months thanks to someone totaling my Santa Fe. Tax on 2 cars within 6 months of one another sucks.

I think it's best to drive the both of them and see which one you prefer! I actually liked the interior of the odyssey more than the Sienna, but the finance rate was much better through Toyota, so we bought a Sienna.

As far as your trade in, your best bet might be carmax. They will buy the car from you as part of a separate transaction, and you usually get more than you would with a traditional trade in. You don't have to tell them your buying a car when you go to have it appraised, and they will buy it from you even if you don't buy a car from them.

 

[dodukes]

It's not so much the miles on the car, it's how well it's been taken care of.
Unfortunately, that can almost impossible to know. Do these cars have the service records?

Do you have an independent mechanic you know and trust? I would have my mechanic look over any used vehicle before purchasing.

Also, I think in the brands you're considering, longevity is typically higher than people would expect.

Another point is that for a 2005 model, 72k is not high mileage. It is somewhat high for an '08 though. Any idea if these are city or highway miles?

But this is coming from a girl who drives a 1993 Volvo with 230k miles on it.

agreed, its not how many miles its how the car has been taken care of, you can see pretty much right away an overall condition, if people are keeping up the car as if if its dented and dings and the interior is a disaster, chances are the mechanical is the same 9coudl be different i know if you are a worker vehicle or a kid vehicle ) but still. I got my 03 explorer in 07 with 115k miles on it. It was impeccably maintained (by a ford parts man none the less) and it has stayed that way. I now have 186k on it and i can guarantee that its in better shape than msot cars out there with "only" 70k. But yeah there's no way to tell, especailly at the dealer, i have bought my cars used and have had good luck.
My advice is not to fret on the miles but look at the overall package and do research on the year and model like another pp suggested.