In the past many people were leery of buying a used car because of the mileage on the vehicle, but today’s cars are more reliable than ever before meaning it might be possible to drive them well over the 100,000 mile mark.

John Ibbotson, a supervisor at the Consumer Reports Auto Test Center, told MSN Money that over the years the life-span of cars has increased dramatically.

Ibbotson says that 100,000 was the limit of most cars through the 1970s, but the number began to shift upward through the decades. By the 1990s, cars were able to handle up to 150,000 miles before an engine went. Cars of today, Ibbotson says, might be able to handle up to 200,000.

What this means to a used car buyer is that a properly maintained late model used car with high mileage is probably not as scary as it would have been 20 years ago.

Maintenance is always an important factor in keeping a car running and Ibbotson says one of the most important things used car owners can do is read the car’s manual and stick to the scheduled maintenance in the book.

Jesse Toprak, an analyst at Edmunds told Dow Jones last month that used cars are better than they were in the past.

“[Consumers are] realizing that the used cars of today are not the used cars of a few years ago, and that realization is not positive for new car sales,” he said.

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