Steen

I had an ISF about 5 years ago and sold it... never should have. My commute is going from almost nothing to around 70 miles a day sometime in the next couple of months, and that commute could last 5 years.

I'm debating what to get. Part of me says to get an 08 with 100k for the low 20's and just know that I'll be running up the miles. These things appear to be very dependable so other than normal maintenance and wear and tear items that a higher mileage car brings, I probably shouldn't worry too much about it lasting. (I know it depends on the car I buy of course). The other option is to pay closer to $30k and get maybe a later model with 50k - 70k miles. If it wasn't for the commute and knowing that even that car will have well over 100k in a few years, I'd definitely spend the bucks now.

Just looking for opinions and insights, especially from those of you that have high mileage... what's that experience like?

Appreciate the help!

semnosNSX

So let me get this straight.... you are about to take a new job that is going to require you to commute 70 miles a day and you want to buy a high mileage V8 car to do So? Are you messin with us or are you serious? Not trying to be a *****, but most people in your situation would be looking for a lower milage car that gets better than average gas milage. Yes, these cars are reliable, but if I was looking to specifically buy a car to commute in, this would not be one of them unless I seriously did not care about gas money... in which case I wouldn't be looking for a bargain 100k milage car either.

Vitveet

All very true.

V.

kolyan

I commuted about 20k a year in my M3, 335i and in S2000 for about a year. I wouldnt want to drive some econo box to save on gas

semnosNSX

Again, if the OP is not concerned with gas milage then an ISF should still be considered. However, being that the OP is looking for a higher milage affordable ISF, it implies that money is a factor in this equation and therefore I would not recommend this car.

Also, I did not recommend them to purchase an econo box. There are plenty of cars that are very nice, have low milage, get good to great gas milage, and can be had for the same price (if not cheaper) than an ISF.

Vitveet

All very true (again).

V.

gravesg

his job could be like my last, where they paid for the milage (gas) which is why it wouldn't be a factor but overall price would be.

or he could just not want to spend 35ish and still rack up a whole bunch of miles on a low mileage isf.

i put 27k on my isf last year ... wouldn't have those long drives any other way.

Steen

Thanks for the responses... I didn't give quite enough info.

Here's the situation. Up until I sold the ISF 5 years ago, I always owned a built up Land Cruiser for off-road expedition travel and a sports car of some kind. Right now I own two Land Cruisers, neither of which will fit in a parking garage. I also believe that life is too short to drive boring cars. Gas isn't really what this is about at all. My LC's get 10-12MPG. I have to buy a car and this car would be used to commute, but also for weekend drives and probably the occasional track day here and there.

Money isn't really a factor for purchase price or gas pricing other than I don't like to throw it away for no reason so let me phrase the question this way.

If you had to buy an ISF and drive it 75k miles over the next 5 years, would you buy a 100k ISF for $20k, or a 50k ISF for $30k? At the end of the 5 years, assume you'd sell it and buy something else. I'm thinking about reliability from 50k to 125k vs. 100k to 175k, resale value in 5 years, etc... I would almost certainly sell this car at the end of the 5 years and buy whatever peaked my interest at the time, and most likely a lower mileage car knowing the commute is over.

What is leading me to think about the cheaper option is just the feeling that paying a premium for low mileage knowing in a short amount of time you'll turn it into a high mileage car just makes no sense if you can buy high mileage now for much less and just drive the crap out of it and not worry, other than maintenance/repair.

Really appreciate the insights.

ajntexas

I was in your same situation. Built up 4runner and driving 80 miles a day. I had an econo box Honda Accord and could not stand it any more so I started shopping for ISF and IS350. I looked at some cars with 100k miles and none really seemed to be clean or taken care of enough to pull the trigger. Paid a little more for a low miles IS350 but now I wont have to be turning wrenches on it right away or addressing maintenance till later.
With that said if you can find a clean candidate with 100k miles I would do that but be prepared to spend extra on something with fewer miles. The $10K less for higher miles can be used to maintain the car and maybe throw some mods at it.

kolyan

Well, less you pay now, less it will depreciate. So some 2008 with 100-115k miles for around $20k will depreciate less then anything else. It's reliability will depend on previous ownership. But if you dont really care about money, I think the best deals are 2011+ with 60-70k miles for around 30k or sometimes even less.

Vitveet

Get a clean, lower mileage car and don't worry about the $5-$8k you'll "lose" over 5 years in depreciation. That's VERY LITTLE money loss over 5 years.
Also be careful what "members" you take advice from.....as some of them do not own, or never will own, an ISF so therefore their "advice" and "suggestions" are irrelevant.

V.

FFM

I bought my ISF with the same intent, I commute about 70-75 miles a day. Wasn’t going to spend 1.5 hours of every day driving a turd. Opted for a slightly higher mileage 80k at the time 2011.

I would have preferred lower mileage but like you it didn’t really make sense on a car that you are just going to pile on the mileage as far as resale.

Its a reliable V8 that’s comfy. Hard to pass for the ultimate daily driver.

semnosNSX

Well said...

Weapon F

I say your going to spend that much time commuting might as well enjoy it, and if money is not issue for either gas or cost of F, don't be to concerned with the resale value of high mileage 12 to15 year old car by the time your ready to sell it. Just get the best possible deal on either clean 08 or 09 with complete maintance history or later model low miles ISF 11+ with same complete service history.

With that said if I were choosing one I'd go for 11 + just for the mere fact that 08 with 100,000 miles on it may need some parts that need to replaced you know usual things that just wear out. But parts and labor can add up quickly, buy later model F puts the likelihood of have to replace any parts futher down road.

I've had my 11' F for 7yrs 85kmiles purchased specifically as a DD that would be fun to drive and extremely reliable jack of all trades. Best decision I've ever made on a car.

cleethree

You're back because you regret selling the F. How long do you plan to drive this one, and for how far? Basically the longer you want to drive the car, the lower mileage/newer car is the way to go.