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Originally Posted by nhdoc
Hi all,
I've been watching sales on eBay and elswhere and have come to the conclusion that people overpay for "low mileage" examples of the MB diesel line and I can't really understand why. Say, you are looking at 6-20 year old diesel. The prices tend to escalate exponentially when mileage is below 100K. Get one below 50K and forget about it. People will pay insane money (IMHO) for one of these. Even a 20 year old model people will consider paying $15K-$20K or more for when the same model in comparable condition with higher (100K-150K) miles can be had for half or sometimes much less than half the price.
Low mileage cars, in my opinion have some real pitfalls associated with them, namely that many parts "wear out" from age just as much as from use...maybe moreso. Vacuum and cooling hoses and rubber diaphrams, rubber bushings, flex plates, fuel lines, etc. Chances are that a car which is 6-20 years old will still need significant work done on it anyway. High mileage cars probably have a higher percentage of highway miles which are far less stressful on a car than city miles. I would sooner buy a car with 150K highway miles on it than one with 30K all city miles. Not to mention a certain eBay seller in NJ who always seems to find 20+ year old Benzs with crazy low miles on them. Who knows how many of these cars with "low miles" don't have just as many miles on them as any others after some work on the odometer. I saw one on ebay yesterday with 70K miles on it with a hole worn clear through the driver's mat under the gas pedal. Never saw that on any model with under 200K-300K before 
Why do people pay a 100%+ premium for a car with 50K-100K fewer miles on it when these cars will all last to at least 200K-300K miles with reasonable PM attention? It's not like these are museum pieces that they will buy and put away, I assume most people who buy these drive them.
I think if you buy one in the low to mid 100K mile range you get the benefit of the most depreciation and still can get an easy 100K miles out of most of these fine cars with as little (or as much) trouble as a low mileage version. If the car is straight and rust free then anything else can be fixed for less than the difference in price, including a new engine and transmission if necessary! Even if you have to invest some money in replacing aging or worn out parts you at least have the peace of mind knowing that your car now has brand new parts instead of 6-20 year ones.
I just don't get it, but I guess there is something to be said to buy a 20 year old car with low mileage, but I think ultimately these cars are money pits that depreciate so much faster for every mile they are driven that it is crazy to buy one.
Anyone else have thoughts on this? |
You make a valid point. A recent case in point--here in North Miami where I live I saw a 81 Rabbit Diesel advertised 2 weeks ago in our Auto Trader with 39K original miles. Only 3 blocks from my house.
When I got there-the seller related it belonged to an old fellow he bought his house from and it was left as part of the deal. He also related it had been parked under a a carport, UNSTARTED for 5-6 years. While it started OK with minimal smoke-his selling story did not add up. Many items such as hoses, mounts were not replaced. Car had no Maint. History--small items were dry rotted from lack of use. In the end I passed on it as much as I wanted it. I would rather find one that has been Used but maintained with records. In these days of Rising Fuel prices, my thought is, why would someone get rid of one of these gems that get 40-50mpg? Low mileage cars are not always what they appear to be.