which would you choose, mileage or year?

So I've been looking for a different 2nd/winter beater vehicle. Ignoring pricing and auto/manual. Would you choose a 10-15 y/o vehicle with 150k+ or a 2015+ that has similar mileage?

In real estate: location, location, location.

In cars: condition, condition, condition.

With nothing else to go on... I'd go with the 2015.

My logic:  That many miles fast must have been on the highway a lot.  Highway is easier than stop and go.

YMMV

Last March, I bought a 13yo truck with 216k on the clock. It replaced a truck of similar age with almost the miles, but rusty and beat to hell. I searched specifically for the exact year/ make/ model/ trim, too. The miles and age didn't bother me, because as white_fly says, "condition, condition, condition". 

Agree with white_fly 

I bought a 19 year old car, 200k mikes. Mint condition. Looks like came off show room floor, every single maintenance record from dealer. 
 

for me, single older affluent owner, all records, no paintwork, mint condition, trumps years or mileage. 
 

The newer vehicle gets my vote too but as stated condition would play a big factor.

2nd, what type of vehicle is important to me too.  A 15 year old Chevy truck with a LS that is dirt cheap to fix might have more sway over something newer that is expensive to fix/maintain.

I'm going to backup all of the above,

condition, replacement part costs and serviceability.

but I'd be more interested in the newer car myself.

I'll take a 2004 with a fat stack of receipts, vs. a 2015 with bald tires.

If it's a winter beater, will you be doing any work on it? Do you live in the rust belt? If it's something that I'm going to be wrenching on, I'd pick the newer one that's had way less time to get rusty/dry rotted/brittle/etc.

In reply to 1kris06 :

While I mostly agree with everybody else , You raise an interesting point.  
Have  you considered a  Ford?  Reason? The aluminum body!   I was a lifelong loyal Chevy guy. My last Chevy  pickup went 20 years and 371,000+ miles. Never  once letting me down  and only costing me $1000 in repairs( plus normal maintenance etc. ) It took a lot to convince me to buy the Ford. But I'm glad I did. 

Here in the rust belt I'm already seeing signs of rust on the Chevy's. With the military grade aluminum Ford uses I don't think that's going to happen. Plus it makes the truck seriously lighter!   Reportedly 800 pounds.
Mine is only a 5 liter to my friends 5.3 and I smoke him! Seriously smoke him. On the freeway on ramp I'm a length and a half ahead by the time it narrows down to one lane. ( some of that is from the flex fuel I use) 

The light weight is a benefit in fuel mileage  too!   I average 22.x going to and from work compared to my friend's Chevy which averages 18 commuting 

But DOHC and 4 valves versus pushrod, rocker arms, and only 2 valves.  Aluminum  instead of cast iron. 
I'm at 50,000 miles on mine already with no issues. A recall for door handle cables upgrade but handled during a normal oil change.  

Absolutely, condition is huge.  Fifteen year old vehicle, make sure parts are still commonly available.  Volvo?  No problem.  Ford?  Don't count on it.

I bought a 2006 van with 70,000 miles. In retrospect, I wish I had bought a newer/nicer van with more miles that was better maintained. It would have increased my up-front cost, but avoided some immediate hassles and I would have the higher trim level.

Depends on what car you're talking about.

If they're both the same mileage, I would honestly choose the older one.  Although miles aren't necessarily an indication of condition, they are the best bellwether for certain things.  How many times have the journals rotated in the bearings?  How many compression/extension cycles have the rods been through?  How many times has the transmission shifted?  Mileage can be a fair guesstimate of some of the more expensive things that may need servicing.

So if I'm looking at a 2015 with 150k for $10k, or a 2000 with 150k for $5k, I'll take the $5k any day of the week and twice on sunday.  Cheaper, same basic wear and tear (with obvious inspection for condition), and in general, fewer things to break.

It's why I got a 94 Mazda pickup with 80k on it.  It doesn't have collision avoidance, self-braking, touch-screen, 30 airbags, and 6 miles of wiring and 450 sensors to monitor it all.  I got it for $4000, but a similar truck as a 2015 would have been easily $12k.

When you're in the "beater" category, I would much rather have an old vehicle that can take a beating instead of a newer one with a complex set of systems just waiting to fail.  Take advantage of the fact that everyone else out there wants a newer vehicle and they'll sacrifice miles just to get it.  I choose to not be like everyone else and I usually find some cherry gems out there.  The last winter beater I bought was a 73 Hornet Sportabout wagon.  It had 7400 miles.  Not a typo.  7-4-0-0.  Ran like a top after a carb cleaning.  Best $1500 I ever spent.