Buying a car with high mileage.....

powerful_Rogue

Ive found the following one for sale for £3000

57 Plate Fiat Bravo
1.9 Multijet 150 Sport
One owner
Full service history
MOT - October 2013
Cambelt changed
Climate control
Sports seats
17" Sport Alloys

Now everything sounds brilliant - however its done 122000 Miles!

Now my guess is that the previous owner was probably a business man, so guessing miles will probably be motorway miles, plus it does have a full service histroy.....but its a lot of miles!

See my dilemma! Does the old saying of a diesel engine has only just started to break in at 100000 miles still mean anything!

What do people think, would you be interested or walk away? What would you want to find out before going any further?

Oh, car is 170 miles away so is a bit of a journey just to check out, so wanted to know of theres anything particular I should ask the independent trader thats selling it.

PS- I love Fiats, had puntos, grande puntos and love the brand. Don't need any fix it again tomorrow jokes!:rotfl:

skivenov

No issue with the milage as such, I wouldn't generally consider 122k high any more, particularly on a diesel.

I know what you're saying about Fiat's, I'd personally say there's good ones and bad ones, my dad has an R-reg Marea, and there's utterly nothing wrong with it.

I would avoid the 1.9 Fiat Diesel engine though, they're troublesome !!!!!!s.

powerful_Rogue

skivenov wrote: »

No issue with the milage as such, I wouldn't generally consider 122k high any more, particularly on a diesel.

I know what you're saying about Fiat's, I'd personally say there's good ones and bad ones, my dad has an R-reg Marea, and there's utterly nothing wrong with it.

I would avoid the 1.9 Fiat Diesel engine though, they're troublesome !!!!!!s.

Thanks for the reply.
Thats the kind of way I was thinking. 122000 on a modern car with FSH might not be too bad. Do I need to worry about gearbox, clutch or similar on a car with that many miles?

Is that the 1.9 Multijet engine your talking about? If so, how come you would avoid it? Ive currently got the Fiat Grande Punto 1.9MJet Sporting and the otherhalf has the Grande Punto 1.9 Eleganza 120 and not had any issues. I thought they were supposed to be good engines!

B00st

No Fix it again Toni jokes here, one of my cars is Lots Of Trouble Usually Serious .

Being a modern diesel this can have issues with the DPF, DMF and costly injector and fuel pump replacement. IF th DPF becomes blocked the excess back pressure can start to damage the turbos oil seals.

I assume that the 150 spec is similar to the Saab using the same 1.9 unit and that does have issues with the rod controlling the swirl flaps breaking leaving only one in operation. The others then seize and the engine becomes somewhat lethargic. The only fix is a new manifold, which is expensive, fortunately the problem can be seen with the bonnet open.

System

122,000 miles is tiny. I usually buy cars that have done at least 200,000 miles and run them to over 400,000.
My current Volvo 240 is just coming up to 300,000 miles.

spacey2012

The old tales of just broken in..
From old men that owned 45 BHP Diesels.
The most common failure around that mileage is the Dual mass Flywheel on Diesels.
Can cost around £1200 to fix properly.
Also the injection systems are far less tolerant than say the guys old clinker Volvo. If the injectors fall out of tolerence a set is around £850 fitted.
Then we move on the the Turbo.
I could go on, but the old wives tales about lasting forever, them days are gone.

thefishdude

if it was me it woul depend on how many miles i intend doing. if y u driving 20k a year then its going to mount up fast if you doing 5k then not obviously.

forgotmyname

Thats the sort of mileage i buy at. Not a fiat though.

But whats the service history like? Do they run it to the limit each time? Or are they more often than required?

Do they fix even minor niggles or is it well used?

Are the tyres a premium brand?

Also how many miles do you do a year and how long will you keep it?

addyboy1982

Don't listen to those doom mongers going on about high mileage diesels. My last 4 cars have been high mileage, and the last 3 diesel - I will list them now, and the various mechanical problems I have had and you can decide for yourself:

Vectra 1.8 SXI - bought 3.5 yrs old 138k, sold 157k - no problems
Vectra 2.0DTI - bought 4 yrs old 112k, sold 143k - air mass sensor (£70)
Vectra 1.9CDTI 120 (same engine as the Bravo, lower tune and 8v not 16v) - air mass sensor (£80) alternator (£200) - bought 3 yrs old 85k, still own and now on 144k
Laguna 2.0dCi 130 - bought 3 yrs old 93k, now on 123k as still own it - no problems

No dodgy DMFs, HPFPs, swirl flap actuators (common on JTD Fiats and CDTI Vauxhalls/Saabs).

Secret? Regulat maintenance as per schedule with interim oil changes at half the service interval. Also, using BP Ultimate or Shell V-Power all the tie or every 2nd tank.

What sort of mileage do you do? I wouldn't have a modern diesel if I didn't do A-road or motorway commuting in excess of 15k miles a year as they eat the fuel around town.

powerful_Rogue

addyboy1982 wrote: »

Don't listen to those doom mongers going on about high mileage diesels. My last 4 cars have been high mileage, and the last 3 diesel - I will list them now, and the various mechanical problems I have had and you can decide for yourself:

Vectra 1.8 SXI - bought 3.5 yrs old 138k, sold 157k - no problems
Vectra 2.0DTI - bought 4 yrs old 112k, sold 143k - air mass sensor (£70)
Vectra 1.9CDTI 120 (same engine as the Bravo, lower tune and 8v not 16v) - air mass sensor (£80) alternator (£200) - bought 3 yrs old 85k, still own and now on 144k
Laguna 2.0dCi 130 - bought 3 yrs old 93k, now on 123k as still own it - no problems

No dodgy DMFs, HPFPs, swirl flap actuators (common on JTD Fiats and CDTI Vauxhalls/Saabs).

Secret? Regulat maintenance as per schedule with interim oil changes at half the service interval. Also, using BP Ultimate or Shell V-Power all the tie or every 2nd tank.

What sort of mileage do you do? I wouldn't have a modern diesel if I didn't do A-road or motorway commuting in excess of 15k miles a year as they eat the fuel around town.

Hi,

Thanks for the reply. Ive emailed the dealer and asked some questions regarding the DMF, service history etc.

Presently I do around 6K per yer, however from now on thats going to increase. Plus I do love a diesel engine....couldnt go back to petrol!

powerful_Rogue

forgotmyname wrote: »

Thats the sort of mileage i buy at. Not a fiat though.

But whats the service history like? Do they run it to the limit each time? Or are they more often than required?

Do they fix even minor niggles or is it well used?

Are the tyres a premium brand?

Also how many miles do you do a year and how long will you keep it?

Thanks, just dropped the dealer and email with those questions and a few more