I was doing some research, exploring options, keeping my LR4, but looking at backup plans too. Researching the used vehicle market (mostly private party because I feel like dealers know what a car is worth). I came across a handful that I thought looked promising (at least on paper). However, most of those were between 150,000 and 200,000 miles (sometimes a bit more). Back in the day, a 150,000 mile vehicle would never sell because everyone knew it was destined for the scrap heap. Today, they talk about how vehicles are built better and can go 200,000 miles, or more. So I decided to do some background research to see what the actual numbers were. How many vehicles went 200,000 miles and what were those brands/models? The results I found were shocking!
Based upon the percentages, almost no vehicles go 200,000 miles. The best were the Toyota Land Cruisers and Sequoias in the mid-teens. After that, the percentages dropped to under 5%. In other words, unless it is a Land Cruiser or Sequoia, the chances your vehicle will die before 200,000 miles is 95%, or higher. Even if you get one of the most reliable vehicles (Land Cruiser or Sequoia) the chances are well over 80% that your vehicle will die before 200,000 miles. Given that most vehicles get driven 15,000 miles per year on average if you buy a vehicle with 150,000 miles AND it is one of the brands/models that are reliable, you'd be lucky to get a couple years out of it. For instance, let's say you buy a Toyota Tundra with 185,000 miles in good condition for $10,000, you'd be lucky to get a year out of it before it hits 200,000 miles and you're done. That's a lot of money for 12-months of transportation!
Does this sound about right, or is there something I'm missing here?