Low mileage car advice please...

vtmil

Hi

I have seen a car I like on an 05 plate - it has only done 5000 miles. Are there any problems associated with such little use? Would I need to change things like the cambelt or is that based solely on mileage?

Thank you

Vtmil:beer:

harveybobbles

It's probably got a very thin cluth, low brake pads and a whole host of other well worn bits...

vtmil

Oh that doesn't sound very good! I'm not good with cars so would those things be expensive to fix?

Volcano

Cambelt is changed based on mileage and age. It really depends on the car and how that mileage was done: lots of stop/start or longer journeys just once a week? Exhausts can rot quite easily with stop/start journeys, but tbh it wouldn't really put me of purchasing it if everything is in order.

vtmil

Thanks that sounds a bit better. Think it would have been mostly stop start journeys - max 15 miles. It belonged to an old lady. I think I'll go for a second look. Thanks x

LandyAndy

5000 miles in 4 years?

I'd be happier with a car that had done, at least, 20,000 miles in that time.

Old lady owner = bad news = discount not premium.

LandyAndy

Get the 'old lady owner' to take you out for a 20 mile test drive. That'll give you a huge insight into how it's been driven; much more than driving it yourself.

AdrianHi

A life of start stop journeys is not good for a car, but hold on a minute....
At 5000 miles even if it was start stop journeys is this really enough use to really do any damage here. So long as it has been run a few times a week to keep oil moving around is there a problem?
If it's never seen varied use / motorway use the worst you could expect is a poorly run in car, mainly engine. May mean the engine is never optimal for performance and fuel consumption, but will anyone ever notice when using it?

I would not go mad offering above average price for age, but I don't see it as all doom and gloom.

LandyAndy

AdrianHi wrote: »

A life of start stop journeys is not good for a car, but hold on a minute....
At 5000 miles even if it was start stop journeys is this really enough use to really do any damage here. So long as it has been run a few times a week to keep oil moving around is there a problem?
If it's never seen varied use / motorway use the worst you could expect is a poorly run in car, mainly engine. May mean the engine is never optimal for performance and fuel consumption, but will anyone ever notice when using it?

I would not go mad offering above average price for age, but I don't see it as all doom and gloom.

I agree, with a modern car it isn't a disaster but many mechanical items suffer more from idleness than use.

Don't be suckered into paying a premium for low mileage.

l may be helpful if you plan to do a high mileage because after, say, 3 years the average mileage may still appear low.