5yr old car with 850m on clock or 3 yr old car with 23,000?

KG

Ok - I am looking at buying either an 05 reg Daihatsu Charade or an 07 reg. Exactly the same spec.

The 05 reg was owned by a wee old lady who used it to go to the shops once a week and has 850 miles on the clock. The 07 is a demonstration model / courtesy car and has 23,000 on the clock. Both have FSH.

The 07 is priced at £350 more than the 05.

I'm thinking low mileage / one user beats the two years younger thing, but what do you think?

KPG

NickWarren_2

At first glance the 850 mile car seems the better one, However Don't forget to factor in replacement parts, IE cambelts need changing in x years or y miles so whilst mileage may not be high they may still be ready for doing.

HTH

LandyAndy

Nothing kills a car quicker than lack of use and use on very short journeys.

Get the newer one.

Once you've used them for bit either will have 'normal' mileage.

Redman30

The 850m car has not been run in properly, and you'll likely get more trouble with this one than the 23k one. All cars need regular running, engines don't like sitting about for weeks doing nothing.

Inactive

I would buy the 850 miler, it is effectively brand new.;)

Young_Pretender

Nope, get the car that's been used properly.
Nothing will kill a car more than the 'little old lady' scenario, the engine will never have been up to temperature so it will be full of condensation and it will have been running at peak wear rates it's whole life, the brake discs may well be pitted and be useless and need replacing, and issues that should have been sorted under warranty won't even have been found yet, but the cars out of warranty so you'd be on your own.
I have a couple of friends who design new cars and engines, and the simulated wear cycle of the 'weekly drive to the shops' is the real car killer and alo ost I possible to design for.
Get the higher milage car!

Kilty_2

Courtesy car abuse has it's own factors to be considered though - hundreds of not so careful owners....

no_more_cards_for_me

Strange as it may seem go for the higher mileage one. The short journeys will of played havoc with the engine and whilst is has a fsh, i doubt the engine has ever been given a really good run.

gsmmad

the car thats done 850 miles must be rusting!!!

Cool_Username

I can appreciate the appeal of the one with only a few miles on the clock - however that car has likely been sitting idle for most of its life and probably driven to the shop once a week in first/second gear. Personally I don't like the sound of that although obviously I could be wrong.

20,000 miles isn't much for an 07 car - been used very little really for a three year old vehicle but those 20,000 miles have been driven by people using it as a courtesy car - it's a generalisation but people do tend to thrash the b****cks off cars they've borrowed from a garage for a couple of days.

Not an easy decision. Both cars would appear to have big drawbacks unfortunately.

As I've said though I can see why the 850 mile one is tempting - I'm not a mechanic but perhaps one of our more mechanically-minded peers can tell us why a car sitting idle is regarded as damaging? Damp perhaps?

jaydeeuk1

Personally, I wouldn't go for either. If the courtesy car has been drivien like I drive hire cars, it would have spent most of its life smacking the rev limiter from cold, harsh braking, worn clutch etc