Ok, question for you lot on about low mileage.
Most of you have stated that for 5k, all you can find is cars over 100k. What your not looking at most probably is the age of the cars over 100k.
Why is it better, in your view, to go for an older car with 60k on the clock than a newer car with 100k on the clock?
Personally I have always taken the newer car with higher mileage. Why?
1. High mileage on newer cars means good mileage in 95% of cases. Cruising down the motorway in fifth gear most of its life.
2. Lower mileage on older cars tends to state town driving, using all gears all the time, more wear and tear on the car.
3. Your buying an older car, in this case, 1998 compared to a 2001/2002 model.
Older car means older engine, means older parts. Just because it has 40k less on the clock, it does NOT mean that those parts haven't been used less, if not more in a lot of cases.
Also, buying a car around 60k means cambelt, water pump, clutch (normally around 70-80k on a town driven/ short journey low mileage old car).
I don't get what the obsession is with mileage, probably because I have always been told, by my dad and also my uncle (mechanic) to go for the higher mileage fleet cars. I have never had a problem with any of them, normal problems but nothing like gearboxe's falling out or gaskets going, nothing serious. My most problematic car was a 7 year old car which I bought with 55k on it. Talk about eating my money up and spent loads of time in the garage.