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

catflea

I agree with jaydee I'm afraid. Both cars are likely to have problems caused by their life so far.....

Inactive

Young_Pretender wrote: »

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!

This a Daihatsu, it will most likely never have had any warranty faults to iron out, modern engine oils will have prevented the scenario that you describe.

Young_Pretender

Inactive wrote: »

This a Daihatsu, it will most likely never have had any warranty faults to iron out, modern engine oils will have prevented the scenario that you describe.

It doesn't matter if it's a Porsche or a Peugeot, 850 miles in 5 years is not normal usage for a car and it will have suffered as a result. An engine that has never been to temperature, nor properly splashed its oil about, will not be a healthy engine. Modern engine oils may be very good, but if they're stuck at the bottom of the sump and thick and cold, they're not protecting the engine as they should be. I wonder if it's ever had a service? It could be running 5 year old engine oil and 5 year old brake fluid, as it's "never needed a service" due to low milage.

I have to say on balance, I don't think I'd choose to buy either the granny special or the ex-courtesy car, but those are the options the OP presented.

Inactive

(a) You don't know that it hasn't been " up to temperature ". and;

(b) Where did you get " it's never needed a service " from?

Did you make that up, or do you know something we don't know?

Stick to the facts as presented.

sharpy2010

jaydeeuk1 wrote: »

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

Why would you drive it like that? You don't own it you are merely borrowing it. Do you realise how disrespectful it is to do that?

Would you borrow a friends car and do the same? If not, why do you drive the hire car like that?

shandypants5

Personally I would opt for the low mileage car.

Although granny use is not "Good" for an engine, it shouldnt do it that much harm.
Cold running does wear an engine more than warm running, but the higher mileage car must have done at least as much cold running itself if not more.

Exhaust rust might be an issue due to condensation, but the loan car may have done just as many short journeys too, as well as some long ones.

A Full service to replace any old and sludgy fluids, and possibly new belts and tyres changed for age reasons and it should be a good motor.

The ex loan car though will have had a tough life and will be evenly worn all over, engine thrashed from cold, brakes possibly used to do skidders "just for fun as its not my car"
seats pedals carpets ashtray radio and suspension bushes will all have had more "wear" than the older car.

darich

Mileage doesn't kill a car as much as age.
I'd also agree that the short runs will have caused a number of potential problems related to lack of proper temperature.

Personally I'd be trying to avoid both of them but if pushed, I'd go for the older higher mileage,

I don't agree with the posters who reckon it has been abused - immature, inexperienced drivers like that are in a vast minority.

Hintza

The younger one should always be worth more than a car two years older.

Inactive

Hintza wrote: »

The younger one should always be worth more than a car two years older.

Why?............

lilac_lady

I'd go for the car with the 850 miles on the clock and run it for a few months to see if it's worth keeping. If not, the low milage would surely be an asset for a trade in.