Buying a high miler, am I mad?

[Rally2]

Hi all, i've been looking at getting something to replace my Legacy which has too many problems to be worth fixing. I don't have much budget but I want something estate-ish, manual and quick for around 1500, the 3 main contenders are;

Subaru Impreza Turbo Wagon (classic)
Subaru Forester S-Turbo
Volvo V70 T5

I find the Imprezas are all rusty at this age, and S-turbo's hard to come by, however quite a few T5's, mostly ex cop cars. But the real question is, all of these have over 100k Miles, and the volvo's approaching 150k, am I completely insane? Am i just asking for trouble or can it be relatively happy motoring? My annual mileage is about 5k and I can do many repairs myself.

[HustleRussell]

If you expect some parts to have reached their life expectancy, you can enjoy very cheap and satisfying motoring. Trouble-free? Probably not. Are you mad? Certainly not.

[Mr serge]

it depends on how you look after it my mates 55 CL has over 250k on it and it still purs god knows how much that has cost him in fuel to do those miles.
but no you are not mad if you can do most of the maintenance yourself.

[Stedman]

My V70R has 145k miles on it now, and just gets quicker

[Gribs]

I'd certainly not buy an ex cop car. Look for some of the treads on here for details of why not.

Another couple of quickish estates that you may want to look at ar the Saab 9-3 or 9-5.

[steveo3002]

can certainly have lots of use left in them , depends on how the owners have used them and cared for them , could be faultless or ran into the ground

have a good poke round for proof its been looked after properly and not just patched up to keep on the road

[Ozzie Osmond]

The word "turbo" would have me running a mile from leggy motors.

[Rally2]

Thanks for the replies, I think I will take the plunge, but avoid ex cop cars, although having said that, 2nd hand engines on ebay for T5's are cheap

[Rushmore]

We all know that cars usually fall part and catch fire when approaching the 100k limit.

[FakeConcern]

I had a 2002 T5 V70 from 2005-2012. Had 60000 when bought. Sold with 19000miles, but by then the auto box didn't work properly. It still went like a rocket, always got about 28mpg, never broke down (sorry alternater went at about 100k) was the most comfortable car I've ever had & I could load it with improbable amounts of anything. Still looked immaculate when I got rid. I think getting one of these is worth it as they're lovely cars.