Are Highway Kilometers Really Better? (1 Viewer)

[Gordon Moore]

My wife and I are looking at an '01 Caravan Sport that is in really nice shape but it has high kilometers (124,000 km(77000 mi)).

As the dealership put it..."but they are highway kilometers" (As if that gets them off the hook).

Maybe it's better for the engine but I would have to think that CV joints etc would still take a beating.

For an '01 it has approximately 5.2 years of driving on it(figuring the standard 24,000 km/year).

20% depreciation the first year and 10-15% for the first 5 years is my and others rule of thumb in trying to ballpark what it's really worth versus what they and others in my area are asking.


So again...Do highway kilometers really get them off the hook or is it some myth that sounds better than it really is?

 

[brentl]

I don't think it means squat. They are trying to save the depreciation and make a few extra bucks.

You may get away with a little fewer repairs and problems for a while, but them saying it's a cherry ride is wrong.

Is it in better shape than other 2001s you've seen?

Chances are it was used for delivery of some sort ... NO?

Brent

 

[Mark Romero]

I wouldn't waste my time.

 

[Jay Heyl]

Allegedly, most of the wear on the engine comes from cold starts when the oil is almost all down in the pan instead of up in the engine where it does some good. Comparing two vehicles with nearly identical mileage, one used for daily 200-mile commutes and the other used strictly around town for short trips, the one with the highway miles is likely to have the better engine, all other things being equal. But, no, you can't just dismiss highway mileage as if it doesn't count. That's a very high mileage vehicle that you'd be best staying away from unless you get a really big break on the price.

 

[Richard Travale]

Plus, can they prove they are highway KMs?

 

[Gordon Moore]

Good points all.

Plus, can they prove they are highway KMs?

Hmmm...we shall see. I highly doubt that.

Course it comes with a story about a longtime customer who uses it to go to model railroad shows and trades up every couple of years when his mileage gets high.

Is it in better shape...physically it appears to be. It's in my price point. Which they were asking 15K but I was thinking more like 13-13,5K

'01's with lower mileage seem to be more in the 18K-20K which is past my limit taxes in.

I may wait till the fall. I'm in no real rush. The neon's running fine It's just getting a little small as my family starts to grow

 

[Denward]

Is there anything similar to kbb.com for Canada? You can input mileage, condition, options, etc. and get some idea of a reasonable price.

BTW, how does the word 'mileage' translate into metric??

 

[Gordon Moore]

BTW, how does the word 'mileage' translate into metric

Slip of the tongue (I know you're being tongue-in-cheek)

That's a fantastic question...it seems to become interchangeable up here. Miles just don't seem to have as much meaning to me any more. I generally know how far a kilometer is but am clueless to a mile. Yet the Manitoba Marathon was held on Father's Day and a marathoner friend of mine said his goal was 3 minute miles...yet the course is 24 Kilometers long?????

Anyone I know has always shortened them to "kliks". Maybe that's the substitute for mileage...I'm not sure.

 

[mark alan]

kilometerage

Except they use mileage. I am always amused when I am in metric countries and someone states that their mileage is so many kilometers/liter

 

[Gordon Moore]

Is there anything similar to kbb.com for Canada

I haven't found it. It's a region specific kind of thing. Minivans are popular in the west and command a higher value. There's the book lemon-aid and Comsumer Reports. The site Canadian Black Book is portaled on Dodge.ca but that's only good for dealer trades (based on wholesale depreciation and therefore not much value).

Blue Book is what others have been asking for like vehicles. Right?

I wonder if there's a book that tells you what they actually got? That would be more useful to me

 

[Gordon Moore]

I am always amused when I am in metric countries and someone states that their mileage is so many kilometers/liter

Fuel economy is usually stated as L/100 Km around these parts. But I get where you are going.

 

[mark alan]

Yea gordon, but I bet you still call it mileage

 

[DaveGTP]

If you are going to buy a vehicle with that many miles, go back a about 3 or 4 more years and save yourself about eight or ten thousand dollars! The model year is not as important as the mileage (kilometer-age?). Ignore the model year. Concentrate on the mileage and the shape of the vehicle, for that is the real value of the vehicle. And personally, I have seen very few dependable, high mileage minivans. Just my take (I saw a lot of cars when I worked for an auto auction).

 

[Chris Lockwood]

Highway miles are better than highway kilometers.

 

[Steve Schaffer]

You are aware of the high failure rate for Chrysler 4 speed automatics??

I'd rather have a Toyota Sienna with 77k miles than a new Chrysler van--if correctly cared for it's got more miles left in it than a brand new Caravan.

 

[Shane Bos]

Highway kilometers also should mean less ware on the brakes.

The 2 best used vehicles my family has ever had were my Moms '92 Chev Lumina mini-van purchased 4 or 5 years old with approx 250,000km on it. It was a great van until it was written off my some women running a red light in a 3/4 ton dodge ram. The other is my '90 Dodge Dakota I purchased it in 2000 with 232,000km and in currently has 307,500km and has been great. My truck was used to commute from Red Deer to Ft. McMurray something like an 8 hour drive. My Mom's van was used by Uncle for business traveling all around western Canada.

 

[Gordon Moore]

Okay, okay enough with the metric hating what do you guys call an odometer?

Alright anywho

I bet you still call it mileage

Nope I honestly, truly don't...unless I'm mistaken...when I think mileage I look to the odometer

 

[Shane Bos]

Kia run away as fast as you possibly can and don't look back at it. My Mom bought a brand new Kia Sportage in 2001 and has had nothing but problems.

 

[Gordon Moore]

Aiyeeeeeee :frowning:

 

[Ted Lee]

just for giggles i went to edmunds.com - but i had to put in my own zip code. not sure if canadian zip's will work, but you can try.

anyway, when i input your 01 dodge, the tmv (true market value - what others are generally paying) it came to around 12k. after i adjusted it for 77k miles, it dropped to around 8k. that is a serious hit for high miles.

http://www.edmunds.com/used/2001/dod...ption.1.Dodge*

the website also has some reviews - you may find it useful.

35k miles a year is pretty darn high, and there is NO WAY (that i can think of) that they can prove that it was all highway.

i would probably skip it. one thing about used cars. no matter how good a deal you think this one is, another one will come along. have you done a lot of shopping yet? if not, i do suggest you go to several places. also, hopefully you're not in a hurry. finally, try to finance outside of wherever you're buying from.