18,000 miles/year - is that high for a 2003 Camry?

I'm in the chicago area and I'm looking to buy this car from a local Toyota dealer:

2003 Camry SE Sedan 4 DR 2.4L L4 EFI DOHC 16V Mileage: 49,600 Asking price: $14,995 Negotiated price: $14,100

The Carfax report stated that the vehicle has had one owner, was registered as a personal vehicle in the chicago area. No problem there. Only thing is, the car has been in service for 2 years and 9 months, and has 49,600 miles on it. That's 1503 miles a month; 18,036 miles a year.

The interior and exterior are in excellent shape. The engine looks, sounds and performs just fine. The car handles and rides just fine. I know Camry's are legendary for their reliability and long life - that's why I'm getting one - but is this mileage too high? I'm of the understanding that anything over 15,000 miles a year is considered high. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Reply to
tron9901
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18k per year is higher than normal, but not necessarily excessive.

Often high miles in a short timespan means a lot of highway miles, which are easier than stop-and-go city driving. But this car seems to have been used for a long commute...

Average 5 day work week x 4 1/3 weeks per month

------------------------------------ =3D 21 2/3 workdays per month

1503 miles/month =F7 21 2/3 workdays/month =3D 69+ miles per day
Reply to
Hopkins

wrote

That's about what I have put on my car. Usually with that many miles, much of it will be highway miles which are generally easier on the drivetrain than city miles. I wouldn't worry about the miles, but the maintenance (which you can't get from the report) - you might ask the dealer for the records.

FloydR

Reply to
Floyd Rogers

from the report) - you might ask the dealer for the records.

Reply to
Hopkins

I should add that no, I don't think every single mile was in commuting to work. The mileage is on the high side, but shouldn't be a concern.

Reply to
Hopkins
18k per year is higher than normal, but not necessarily excessive.

Often high miles in a short timespan means a lot of highway miles, which are easier than stop-and-go city driving. But this car seems to have been used for a long commute...

Average 5 day work week x 4 1/3 weeks per month

------------------------------------ = 21 2/3 workdays per month

1503 miles/month ÷ 21 2/3 workdays/month = 69+ miles per day

I was doing 180 miles a day for a while, then 90. Now I only do the 90 on the weekends.

Reply to
n5hsr
18,000 miles per year is high for ANY car.
Reply to
Scott en Aztlán
49.6K miles on a car less than 3 yrs old... is still a great buy. These cars are likely to be reliable past 200,000 miles, so if you think that this mileage is high, that must mean you drive a lot less than this. That means this car is likely gonna last you a really long time.

Dave Head

Reply to
Dave Head

Ummm . . . it was probably sold new in 2002. That's about 12K per year, which is actually LOW miles. -Dave

Reply to
Dave

Slightly, but we're talking about a four-year-old car with roughly 12K per year, which is below average. -Dave

Reply to
Dave

Oh boy. People keep forgetting that any particular model year car is actually sold the year before. This is a 4 year old car. Nothing wrong with that, it just means that the yearly mileage estimate is off a bit . . . divide by 4. -Dave

Reply to
Dave

Ha! I'm putting on about 32,000 this year if I keep up the pace, which will likely actually increase this summer. And... I'm driving less than I used to.

40,000 a year used to be "normal" but I'm not the race fan I used to be, so those recreational outings don't happen any more. Going to Dayton, Ohio next weekend for the Dayton Hamvention, as well as an annual visit to Cedar Point for some rollercoaster riding.

Its 17 miles to work and 20 miles to the movie and gym, and I hit them all about 5 times a week. Then there's the road rallies with the Sports Car Club of America, both running them and laying them out for others to run.

Lotsa people around here, in the Fredericksburg, Va. area commute to work in DC

- that's 50 - 60 miles or more per day, 5 days a week, and that's _just_ going to work...

Wanna talk about "high" mileage? 18,000 miles a year is small potatos for a lot of us... Can't wait to move back to the midwest, and a big city like Indianapolis, where everything is much closer together. There's multiple, very nice race tracks in the city (Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indianapolis Raceway Park, the State Fairgrounds, and a little figure 8 place on the SE side), and more available with a moderate drive (Terre Haute "Action Track" 60 miles, and El Dora Speedway in Ohio, 90 miles). I'll be a race fan again. And I don't have to think about 60 - 90 mile drives to get to a good airport, nor 60 miles to get to a good concert, etc.

Dave Head

Reply to
Dave Head

(snip)

Funny, those years I lived in Indy, I remember being pissed that I had to spend a hour-plus in the car every damn day. 465 is about 52 miles around, so if you sleep on one side, and the job site is on the other side- that's

50 miles a day right there. (and no, even then, nobody goes through town...)

aem sends...

Reply to
ameijers

On Sat, 13 May 2006 17:08:33 GMT, "Dave" graced this newsgroup with:

then how about this one?

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Reply to
kegler

So my 1995 Camry 2.2 litre has only 80.000miles on it. That must be under usual yearly milage then. But I am retired and have had it from new.

I once bought a Renault R16TS that was one year and one week old it had 47.000miles on it. The medical company I was buying it from ( it was the MDs car ) of a pacemaker company. Asked me if I wanted a job with them.

NO WAY.

Johnny UK.

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Reply to
JM
18K is not 'high' but it is above the 'average' of 15K.. That results in a reduction in the 'average trade price' and retail pricing. Seems to me you might want to consider a Camry with a V6, the 4cy is known in the industry to be too small an engine for a car the size of the current Camry. The four was fine when the Camry was only a compact car, but now that it is a mid size and heaver car, like most it competitors cars, the engine needs to work a lot harder to run with other traffic. Since you are buying used, rather than new, I suspect price is a concern. If that is the case I would suggest you look for a V6 Toyota in a used car lot, the pricing is much more favorable. You could buy one for a few thousand less than at a Toyota dealer.

mike hunt

Reply to
Mike Hunter

That's strange if one listens to the guys in this NG one should always buy at the end of the model year "when they are cheaper" or preferable used. 'Let the other guy take the deprecation hit" they suggest ;)

mike hunt

Reply to
Mike Hunter

Why would mileage per year be important? Only total mileage matters.

Reply to
223rem

The mileage is a little high, but the real issue is that $14,100 is high for a 2003 Camry SE with 50K miles. The 2007 Camrys are already out. In a few months, the 2007's will come down in price to around $16,500 for the LE and $18,000 for the SE.

I wouldn't pay more than $13,000 for a 2003 SE with 50K miles.

Reply to
SMS

As long as the above average mileage is reflected in the price - fine.

Graham

Reply to
Pooh Bear

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