Help buying a used car, please?

My boyfriend's parents is looking to buy him a used 2001 honda civic. It already has 150,000 miles on it! There's no dents, scratches, problems, etc but I'm just worried that it's way too old and the engine will just give out soon. His dad is saying it'll last until 250,000 miles but i'm just baffled because when my parents and i picked out my used car, the rule was nothing above 100k miles. My boyfriend is just going to use it to go to college each day but i'm still uneasy and overprotective. Should i say something about this? Or just wait until his car breaks down after a week?

I had a 2000 Accord Coupe to 240K miles last year before I sold it. The new owner still drives it daily, and it has its original engine. If they're taken care of, they will last.

But they need taken care of. Your boyfriend and his parents should have a mechanic do a pre-purchase inspection. They'll also want to make sure the timing belt was changed (should be done every 100K miles or so on cars with a timing belt rather than a chain).

His parents may have their own set of standards when it comes to buying a used car. It's really none of your business.

The fact that his parents are buying him a car means he's probably spoiled as are you by the sounds of it and shouldn't be looking gift horses in the mouth.

It's fine. Mind your own fu(king business. That's just broken-in for a Honda.

Tell him to look closely at the dip stick if the car went too long between oil changes the dip stick will have burn marks on the steel itself. Look at all the vacuum hoses, just 1 piece of tape and I instantly walk away. There's been a hill billy under the hood! Check out the front end real close (ball joints, tie rod, tie rod ends, cv joints, the brakes) if the car wasn't maintained right it'll show. A well maintained car can very well exceed a million miles, a poorly maintained car won't make it even near that far. I have seen a Buick that was traded in, great shape beautiful, the odometer said 999,998! If you live up north where they use salt on the roads he needs to jack the car up and look for rust on the frame. Take it to a garage where they'll put it on a lift to inspect the underside. While he's looking over the entire car, look at the dealer, does he appear nervous? Drive the car for several miles watch that chk eng light, if the light does come on they can just reset the computer to shut the light off, but that don't mean they fixed anything.

I drive a 94 model and I'm not worried one bit about the motor going out.
No reason your car won't last another 5-10 years if you take car of it.

That's not a guarantee of course.

150,000 miles Is nothing to a Honda. It's just getting warmed up. They can easily go 500,000 if it was well maintained.

It might be okay, if it was well cared for. Most modern cars can go 225K. Of course, with 150K on it, it had better be pretty cheap. You/he can always take it to a repair shop and pay for a pre-purchase inspection--might be $100 bucks well spent.