High mileage motors - just what are the risks ?

property.advert

Tyres, exhausts, brakes etc. they can all be replaced which means they are not a factor but aside from physical deterioration such as rust, just what are the serious financial risks in buying a high mileage car with FSH ?

I "feel" that a bigger engine is safer than a smaller one but is that so ?

scheming_gypsy

it depends on the car really; some engines can handle high mileage and some can't.
All parts on a car can fail at some point; high mileage cars and low mileage cars will each have pros and cons. If you list everything that can fail on a car then there's more chance it's failed and been replaced on a higher mileage car than a lower one.

Kilty_2

Big or small, treatment will determine how well a car will last with mileage.

If it's redlined from cold every morning of it's life then you're probably due some big engine problems. If it's done 400k miles in city centres as a taxi then everything's probably about to go wrong again, etc

Maintainance is vital too - once it gets to a certain age and value it'll probably have been run on a shoestring and problems are likely, if it's been in a big fleet it's probably been maintained meticulously (though maybe not treated too well!)

property.advert

Only interested in one owner from new, full main dealer service history with all receipts, showing it has been cared for according to the book, etc.

My guess is that for some things, age is more important than mileage and for those which do deteriorate due to mileage, then they should have already been replaced.

scheming_gypsy

property.advert wrote: »

My guess is that for some things, age is more important than mileage and for those which do deteriorate due to mileage, then they should have already been replaced.

that's my take on it for a lot of things as well. If you get a lower mileage car you might have to replace a lot of parts but a higher mileage car might have had them done.
As well as full service history you'll always want a folder full of receipts to show what work has been done

Kilty_2

scheming_gypsy wrote: »

you'll always want a folder full of receipts to show what work has been done

Good luck - one owner high mileage cars will 99% only have a print out showing services and perhaps an entry saying XYZ has been done because they are company cars.

property.advert

Kilty wrote: »

Good luck - one owner high mileage cars will 99% only have a print out showing services and perhaps an entry saying XYZ has been done because they are company cars.

If it has been done at a main dealer then all you need is the registration number and you can go to your friendly main dealer and get a print out if you don't trust the one they offer you.

Not all new cars are owned by companies though.

scheming_gypsy

That depends on the age of the car, if it's a couple of years old then it'll be a company car but if it's an older car it's probably privately owned.

Kilty_2

property.advert wrote: »

If it has been done at a main dealer then all you need is the registration number and you can go to your friendly main dealer and get a print out if you don't trust the one they offer you.

Not all new cars are owned by companies though.

Vast majority that cover high mileage are though

Not all manufacturers have the centralised service records you describe either.

property.advert

Kilty wrote: »

...Not all manufacturers have the centralised service records you describe either.

Really ? in 2011 ?

I would have thought they all did and that most would have done so for quite some years by now.

Who doesn't ?

bigjl

Centralised service records are rare, unless all the garages are in the same group.

I know Subaru didn't about 4yrs ago as my car was serviced at two dealers.

I don't think many garages would consider the extra spend on the IT to be worthwhile

I seem to remember i was told that Merc had centralised records but never having worked Merc i can't confirm.

At the end of the day any expenditure in this direction would be paid for by the customers in higher labour costs so i can live without it.

As far as high mileage cars go i have no problem with one but only if it is ex lease and has a nice comprehensive print out, not just a stamped book.

I also have no issue with buying ex Police cars, though would stick with the larger Traffic or Area cars as they have fewer drivers.


They may be driven hard but just prior to decommision it was used for response so will still be in servicable condition even if it will need some cosmetic renewal.

I have bought many high mile ex fleeters and put big miles on them, most owner driver couriers and Private Hire drivers in London buy these kind of cars, a lot cheaper than buying a low miler which reduces the depreciation.