My car is giving up on me, and it's time to get another. I have a budget of up to £2,000 and there aren't many cars I can get excited about at that price. I have found some nice looking Alfa Romeo 156's though, only thing is they have already done over 100,000 miles.
What do you guys think about buying cars with such high mileage? Good idea or not? Do you have any good tips for things I should ask or check when I go to look at them tomorrow. Bear in mind that I am a complete dummy when it comes to technicalities.
These are the 2 I have highlighted to go see and test-drive tomorrow:
Red Alfa 156 1.8 TS Veloce 1
Grey Alfa 156 2.5 V6 24v

I'm going to a trader rather than private so I can just trade in my old car. I was offered £200 on it by the guy selling the red Alfa. I'll just be happy to get anything for it, the gasket is going. That red Alfa did look gorgeous when I had a quick look at it earlier, but that's no good if it conks out after a few months.
So any advice any of you guys can offer me will be much appreciated, thanks.

Buy yourself Mercedes W124, they are almost literally bulletproof. Google about the W124.

Alfa (+ High mileage:) = weekly visit at mechanic ;)

I'm not so sure actually Janko, Alfa's are generally getting better. Particularly if it's an ex-fleet car that's been serviced properly etc.

I've been looking in the £2,000 bracket also Darren and there isn't a great deal. Truth be told, a used Alfa in that price range is probably going to have something wrong with it. Certainly in the case of the ones I've looked at anyway. I know what you mean about the 156 though, it is an absolutely stunning car.

To be honest, I'm now going to probably go in the more prudent direction of getting an older Vectra. There's a few on Autotrader in my local area going for what is in my budget. A 2002, 1.8 Vectra SRi with 60,000 is about £2000 round here. Yeah I know, it's a Vectra, but parts are cheap and they're a doddle to look after.

Just my opine.

Went on some site here, and found a few ok deals(prices are not British-it's a Slovenian site, so it's only an estimate for you). You may try finding something similar in your country.

-Honda Civic HB 1.4i, 1998, 145000km

-Audi 80 2.0 Quattro, 1995, 235000km

-Ford Mondeo 1.8, 1997, 160000km

-Hyundai Accent 1.5 GLS, 96000km

D'OH :) Kinda jealous now :P

EDIT: Where did Enis' post hide? :o (about prices being lower in UK...)

Did not want to go OT, hence deleted the post. ;)

All that things about unreliable italian cars is not true at all, use the car with care and it will last you a lot, read about the weakness of the car to be aware of it, it just will need a little more care than a VW box, I own an italian second hand and I'm not paying mechanic's son college

Agree with post #2. Stay away from Italian cars, new or used - unless you are wealthy and willing to support your local shop.

Although I am critical of the Italian race team (grin), that's a myth about Johan's post. Italian cars are no less reliable when used than others-- it's the usual BS one has to read. This is particularly true of high mileage ones.
To Darren's point, the trick with high mileage cars is always the same...research the specific model's reliability and do as much research on the specific car as you can. Bottom line is there is no escaping that a high mileage car is a gamble, and a big one--
Unfortunately things you can ask a dealer they will always give the answer you want, so the only chance is to research the car by VIN# and see what history it has.