Used Cars: Honda: older w/low miles or newer w/high miles?, honda odyssey, honda dealership


Question
I'm in the market to buy a used Honda Odyssey.  For approximately $12,000 I could get a 2004 with 60k miles or I could get a 2005 with 90k miles.  First, please feel free to let me know if neither of these is a good deal.  But the primary reason for my question is: should I go for the older model with the lower miles or the newer model (new body style, etc) with the higher miles?  Which is likely to last the longest?

Answer
Sorry this took a while to get back to you, I had a long reply ready to send, and my computer crashed, and I lost it.  In summary, Unless these vehicles are hard loaded EX-L's, I think you should get either of them for cheaper, but I would need to know the trim level to be more exact.  I do not think one would be better than the other, these are Hondas, and with proper maintenance, either one of them will go a long ways.  Now keep this in mind, the 05 with 90k miles is almost due for a new timing belt/water pump.  At a Honda dealership, this could run about $1000.00.  You can get it done a lot cheaper elsewhere, but make sure they know what they are doing, you do not want someone working on that, who is not qualified to do so.  I would probably lean towards the one with lower mileage, but basically just make sure you choose the one you like the best.