Question: Hi there, I have a different sort of question for you, if you don’t mind. Our family just went from one child to five/six.

We are looking to buy a used van, but don’t have much money, so most in our price range have higher miles. So my question is, how many miles can you expect to get out of the average full size van before seeing problems like the tranny dying or motor giving up etc?

There is a ford e-150 regency conversion van that is beautiful, huge, and in our price range, but it has 112,500 miles. If we spend all our savings on an old van, and it tears up, then I’m really in trouble. I need something to last a few years w/ no major issues, and we drive a lot. 

Thanks for your time,

Daniel

Answer: Daniel,

Excellent question !  When looking at high mileage vehicles there are
a couple of questions I always ask…

1.  How was in maintained?  Regular oil changes?  How did the owner
drive the vehicle, short trips (worse) or highway miles (better)?
2.  Has the recommend maintenance been performed, or coming due soon?
Depending on the engine, you may be looking at a timing chain or belt
replacement, water pump and spark plugs around 120K miles,
3.  What does Consumer Reports think about the vehicle.  Grab a used
car guide from Consumer Reports to find out any nagging reliability
issue for the vehicle in question.

As many of you may know, there is a new program out there which will allow you to receive up to $4500 from good ole Uncle Sam for trading in your old inefficient car or truck. Here are a few details of the program, you can read the complete bill here.

Your Trade-In:

1. Must be registered and insured for 1 year.

2. Must be newer than 1984 (Classic car nuts rejoice, nobody will be trading in grandmas 1957 Chevy)

3. Must be rated at 18 MPG or below. (Read bill for calculation formula)

4. Will be destroyed. The dealership MUST disable the engine by removing oil and replacing it with a Sodium Silicate solution which will burn up the bearings and seize the engine plus leave a coating in the block which will make saving the engine for rebuild economically unfeasible. Your car is then taken to the scrap yard and crushed.

5. You will only get scrap value ( -$50 for the dealer to use for administrative costs)

Your New Car or Truck

1. Must be financed (or purchased outright) or leased for a 5yr. or longer lease period.

2. Cars must achieve a rating of 22 MPG or above, trucks are 18 MPG or above.

3. Depending on the difference in MPG between your trade-in and new vehicle you may receive $3500 or $4500. 4 – 9 MPG difference you get $3500, 10 MPG and more you get the full $4500.