Hey Cool Car Fans,

I spend a great deal of time each week cruising through the Dealer Auctions looking for vehicles for my clients.  I will often come across a vehicle that has been driven a ton of miles in a pretty short amount of time or just a great deal of miles in general.

It becomes a good data point for me when people tell me that they want a specific vehicle and they are concerned about how good of a vehicle it is for the money. I recently spotted this 2006 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited with 302,999 miles on the odometer.

I had to take a second look since a friend of mine has 350,000 miles on his 1997 Ford Explorer.  This Wrangler traveled about 37,874 miles a year and it is still in really good shape.  I pulled the CARFAX for kicks and it was a one-owner vehicle, so this guy bought it new and drove the heck out of it.  I thought I would take a minute and post the auction photos, including a picture of the odometer to show my visitors.

I think it’s pretty cool and this vehicle is still really clean, but it’s also a manual transmission that fewer people today know how to drive.  What is amazing is that it was still slated to go through the Dealer Auction for $9,000 in average condition, which is pretty crazy for a vehicle with 302,999 miles!   I doubt that it sold for that, but I’m tempted to see if I can go back and see what it did sell for just for kicks.  Regardless, I would say that the owner got his money’s worth out of this vehicle, wouldn’t you?

Many people I have met over the years will tell me about the ridiculous miles they have put on their Toyota, Nissan or Honda and they tend to believe that every other vehicle on the planet won’t go over 100,000 miles.  It’s just not true because I see cars and trucks in every make and model with ridiculous miles on them all the time.  Although, I do see quite a few high mileage Toyota’s, Nissan’s and Honda’s more often and I think it’s because those buyers tend to keep them longer than most.

I have a 1996 Honda Accord EX Wagon that has 192,500 miles on it and it runs like a champ.  I use it to drop off at dealerships or other locations when I’m picking up a vehicle and I just want to leave a vehicle.  I call it my “personal assistant” because it’s just an old car for running around.  What is crazy is that vehicle still has an NADA retail book value of over $3,500!

It’s true that you can lose money on vehicles because they depreciate, but it’s also true that if you take care of and maintain your vehicle it can provide you with a great deal of mileage on the road. I’m willing to bet that the second owner of this vehicle gets another 200,000 miles out of this Jeep.

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Auto Consultant – John Boyd: The Cool Car Guy

John is an auto consultant with his license at a car dealership in Denver, Colorado. He can help you save time and money on any make or model, new or used, lease or purchase – nationwide! Call or email John about your next vehicle! jboyd@coolcarguy.com or Twitter @coolcarguy