Is buying a 12 year old car a bad idea?

So I have 4 thousand dollars saved up and found a 07 Honda for sale with 145,000 miles. Should I buy or put my money into something newer?

Added (1). ok I was wanting to buy a car and not have a monthly payment but I don't want to waste my money. It took me a year and a half to save this

Yes buy a new car cause it will last longer. Its a waste to buy old car cause you have to pay when you have to fix it cause it will break down easily

It depends on the car. I have a 30 year old Nissan and I expect to get many more years out of it. I would not buy a Honda that is over 5 years old

Don't know anything about the car. Don't know how it looks or sounds. But a Honda at 145,000 miles is probably running like **** and leaking everywhere. Won't last long even if it does run ok.

This is a 'how long's a piece of string' question!

But it was a good move in my case. I have a 15 year old car with about 160,000 miles on the clock. So far it's going well. It cost me £1,600 three years ago.

The only trouble is this year getting my car through the MOT cost as much as what the resale value of the car after the MOT would be! But I went ahead because I now know I have a good car for at least one more year.

If you buy from a reputable dealer you're probably OK. Someone with a permanent trading premises, & a reputation to maintain. A warranty is often offered, which is good because it shows confidence in the product.

Guard against a private sale. With private sales there's always the chance they're selling it for problems you'll only find too late. Private sales are often 'sold as seen', so unless you know about possible problems of older cars you could be taking a big risk.

Condition is everything.

Buying a used car without properly evaluating it's mechanical condition and maintenance history is not much safer than taking your money to a gambling casino hoping you'll come out ahead by playing roulette. If you are unwilling to spend up to a couple hundred dollars having the car thoroughly evaluated by a professional Honda specialist then you shouldn't buy it.

If the vehicle has good tires and the brake pads are more then 1/4" thick, The only repairs you might need are the timing belt and water pump replaced and the valves adjusted.
The timing belt should have been done around 90,000 miles.
All Honda motors have valves that get tight and they need adjusting every 60,000 miles.
If it's an automatic i'd also take it to the dealer to have the ATF changed. CVT transmissions have a high failure rate and the dealer might give you an extended warranty on it if you have proof.records of changing the ATF.

There's nothing inherently wrong with buying an older used car. 145,000 miles is not terribly bad for a 12-year-old car, but you should do your homework and have the car inspected by a professional mechanic before you hand over your cash.

Buy something newer with a lot less miles.