Buying a used high mileage minivan

I've found a Honda ody for sale on the local CL that I hope to go look at soon.

http://raleigh.craigslist.org/cto/3938614464.html

Pros: - Its a one-owner, and they included the VIN in the add( this always seems like an act of transparency to me ) - Its an 2005, which I hear has alot less transmission issues than the earlier models - Does not have a tow hitch - Has a recent a/c repair( which is one of the trouble spots for this model ) - Has a somewhat recent timing belt change - nada has price around $1k too high( PO has room to bargin )

http://www.nadaguides.com/Cars/2005/Honda/Odyssey-V6/Wagon-5D-LX/Values

Personal areas of concern: - Has over 200k on the clock - Its an 2005( they didnt switch to the ridgeline tranny until 2006 )

Whats the general consensus on: 1) Buying a high mileage, one-owner car? 2) Buying a high mileage ody minivan?

- nada has price around $1k too high( PO has room to bargin )

I think you are misunderstanding what trade-in value means. Trade-in value is what a dealer will pay with 99% certainty that they can sell it for enough over that to make it worth it (which is where the 8k+ number comes from).

So in reality 5k is VERY cheap for that van, the cheapest ive ever seen. If you think you can get it for less than 5k you might be charged with theft after PO grows a brain. Seriously.

In reply to Vigo:

Well, crap...even w/ that mileage?? Ok, thats good to know. I was very confused, then.

Any concerns about the mileage, assuming that its been mostly well maintained?

It's going to have issues. As long as you're prepared for that, then go for it. Typical Honda EGR/powersteering/Trans issues. It's not a Touring, so you don't have to worry about those craptastic runflats.

If that was what you just had to have, then $5k is probably not a bad price.

The tranny issues scare me. The egr clogging and noisy power steering are just a matter of cleaning the egr port and placing the power steering reservoir, correct?

Googling now for more info........

This guy has great honda/car info on his site: ericthecarguy.com

Edmunds sez $4,500 in "clean" condition at that mileage for a private party sale. KBB shows $5,100 in "excellent" and $4,700 in "Very Good".

Personally, I wouldn't trust a Honda transmission further than I could throw it, but that's pretty much an emotional response with no real logic or fact to back it up. The transmission problem rate fell like a cliff starting in 2004 and the 3rd gens didn't suffer from reliability issues like the 2nd. If you ask Consumer Reports (and I waffle on how I feel about their reports) the 05 is the middle open dot for "Engine, Major" and "Transmission, Minor", and the the half-red dot for "Transmission, Major". Suspension gets the half-black dot. Overall they give it that middle open dot.

I would think if the purchase price could be such that you could get it and put a transmission in it and still be on par with a newer one with the "better" transmission it would probably be a good deal

nocones wrote: I would think if the purchase price could be such that you could get it and put a transmission in it and still be on par with a newer one with the "better" transmission it would probably be a good deal

well, used trans are gone. All you're left with are reman aftermarket and reman Honda units at a minimum of $3k (Honda units are actually cheaper than the aftermarket). Last one I priced out was $3800 for the '06 with 98k miles for the trans only. Labor is another 7 hours @ whatever shoprate you take it to, but figure a minimum of another $500-1000.

The P/S systems seem to be the newest fail-spot. We're seeing a ton of racks, ton of pumps going the way of the dodo. Honda has actually stopped manufacture/sale of reman racks for many vehicles right now because of all the issues we're fighting.

If you do get it, I know a GREAT place to get Honda parts.

In reply to Bobzilla:

Thnx for the info. I'll keep u in mind. Is a bad p/s rack obvious enough to spot on a test drive? The '05 model has the latest, most sucessful tranny re-work, and are the '06 and newer models the ones that have the truck tranny? Internet wisdom isnt quite certain on that.

If the rack is notchy and the pump is noisey, expect to spend some $$ on it. Check the fluid in the res as well, it it's really dark and nasty, you may have some issues down the road.

Honda doesn't make a "truck", so I'm not sure what "truck tranny" the internets is talking about....

dang, before reading this i would've sold my one-owner '03 EX-L DVD with 240k for about $4500. looks like i need to up my expectations!

oh, FWIW to the OP, my 03 had the trans replaced under NHTSA recall at 44k. the replacement has 196k on it, and hasn't had a fluid change in nearly 100k.

AngryCorvair wrote: oh, FWIW to the OP, my 03 had the trans replaced under NHTSA recall at 44k. the replacement has 196k on it, and hasn't had a fluid change in nearly 100k.

They are so wierd. You'll get one like yours that you replace once and it runs forever. Then you get one that you replace every 40k miles. I swear I've had better luck on slot machines than guessing which one will last and which one won't!

In all fairness, keep in mind I only see all the broken ones.... but there sure are a bunch!

Public auction ATL

Year Make Model Mileage Sold for: 2003 HONDA ODYSSEY EX 160416 $4,000.00 2003 HONDA ODYSSEY EX 196816 $2,800.00 2003 HONDA ODYSSEY EX 160297 $1,850.00 2004 HONDA ODYSSEY EXL 201807 $2,800.00 2004 HONDA ODYSSEY LX 148329 $4,100.00 2006 HONDA ODYSSEY LX 131906 $7,000.00 2002 HONDA ODYSSEY EXL 100432 $1,500.00

Those auction prices are all over the place... why cant it be simpler?? Buy a honda, change the oil and add gas once in awhile. This car will be for the wife and kids. I dont need two cars that I have to maintain.

Datsun1500 wrote: The auction prices quoted above are lower than what we are saying because of a major body change in 2005. The only one with the same body as the one you are looking at is the 2006 with 130K and it did $7,000 at the auction.

Gotcha. Is it worth holding out for the 2006/2007 w/ the ridgeline tranny or are the numbers on this one good enough to pull the trigger on? It looks like I can take a look at it tomorrow or Mon and if its ok, buy this( or something ) next week. Hopefully, anyway....

Edmunds sez $4,500 in "clean" condition at that mileage for a private party sale. KBB shows $5,100 in "excellent" and $4,700 in "Very Good".

Well i guess we can add this to the list of cases of them being full of crap.

That car with 150K is doing $8500 at the auctions.

BUT EDMUNDZ!!!!!

Its the cheapest one of that body style you will find. The miles are high, but I'd look at the overall condition.

+1

I agree. The overall condition is whats important. Afterall, if it were a total piece of junk, it would not have so many miles.

As far as miles per year, we just got my triplets home so no more road trips in the near future. It will mostly be used for visits to the doctors and the park. Im thinking 7-10k/year would be pushing it. Im only filling my wife's honda up every 10-14 days or so.

I just got an email from the guy and he's the maint guy for some apartments nearby. Hopefully, thats a plus.... he says that they use it to travel alot and that he wanted something w/ less miles for long highway trips.

Datsun1500 wrote: If you're only doing 7-10k miles per year, it's a no brainier. If you do 25000 miles over the next 3 years, it's still a $3000 van at least, at that point. That's a cheap way to travel.

I think Im tired, but say that again?? I didnt get it.

A timing belt change 70k ago doesn't buy you that much. Looks to be in good overall condition, though!

And $1000/year is cheap for anything decent!

I say go for it. It didnt make it to 200k by chance.

Next t-belt is at 220-230k so not really far off. If a waterpump or tensioners werent done last round, think about doing it all. Not really hard, just work.

We love our 06, other than going through front brakes due to the mrs "proper" driving techniques ;) its heavy.

Where I live NADA is the only price reference that anybody uses. And whether or not it's worth it, that van would bring 4 or 5 thousand dollars at a dealer auction.

Just as an update, I got the van on sat. I havent picked it up yet, but its a very "tight-feeling" car. Esp for the mileage. The PO did alot of traveling up and down the east coast, and stayed on top of his maint. In his words," I hate breaking down". He had a copy of the carfax and a stack of receipts for the 9 years that he owned it.

I'll post pics and updates as they come. Thanks for all of the info!!