Maximum millage? for buying second hand car ? what should it be ?

OddballJamie

I have an irrational fear of buying a car with over 100k on the clock, I have no logic or reasoning to base this on.
1st car 75,000 8 years old PSH
2nd car 27,000 2 1/2 years old FSH
3rd car 30,000 2 years old (diesel) FSH
4th car 9 new

Partners cars
1st 45,000 9 years old PSH - most unreliable car we've ever known.
2nd 89,000 8 years old FSH

Foxy-Stoat_3

Karen_taris wrote: »

When buying a second hand, what would the maximum mileage be that you would consider?

Prince range is £2000-£2500

car type would be for a hatchback sized car, (size of a Peugeot 306, Vauxhall Astra - style car)

What would you suggest the maximum mileage to be, as a range, from that price range above ?

I would choose a private sale at this level....preferably one where the seller has owned it for a few years and can prove previous major work, ie clutch/cambelt/turbo/headgasket etc....proof of regular servicing most of its life is a absolute minimum. Do your research to see what the normal life expectancy is, ie trawl through ebay and look at the broken ones...like 10 year old Freelanders all with 60,000 miles all with blown headgaskets etc etc

I just bought an Audi A4 1.9 tdi with 130,000 on the clock with all the history for £2500. I have seen a few of these advertised with over 200,000 miles so after I put on 20,000 a year for 3 years I will probably look for another one, assuming it hasn't broked by then !!

colino

The point about in-house fleets with false histories is, as they get older, they don't retrospectively get the missed maintenance done: instead that history becomes more relied upon and subsequent owners add to the lie by actually servicing these workhorses and wondering why they have just the same problems as their, apparently neglected, neighbours sheds.
A car that has a genuine service history, backed up by receipted invoices, not stamps in the book, is that they will outlive their unattended brethren and will feel tighter and drive better than similar aged cars. Follow condition, not the plate.

mattyprice4004

Foxy-Stoat wrote: »

Do your research to see what the normal life expectancy is, ie trawl through ebay and look at the broken ones...like 10 year old Freelanders all with 60,000 miles all with blown headgaskets etc etc

The Freelander in diesel (L Series or TD4) is a solid car, it's only the 1.8 petrols that give issue and that's sorted for around £300 via one of the many mobile mechanics specialising in this repair.

Not worth worrying about

TrickyWicky

OddballJamie wrote: »

I have an irrational fear of buying a car with over 100k on the clock, I have no logic or reasoning to base this on.
1st car 75,000 8 years old PSH
2nd car 27,000 2 1/2 years old FSH
3rd car 30,000 2 years old (diesel) FSH
4th car 9 new

Partners cars
1st 45,000 9 years old PSH - most unreliable car we've ever known.
2nd 89,000 8 years old FSH

To be honest milege these days isn't an issue as cars that live motorway lives are often much more reliable as they live an easier life rather than the stop / start style in town.

Foxy-Stoat wrote: »

I would choose a private sale at this level....preferably one where the seller has owned it for a few years and can prove previous major work, ie clutch/cambelt/turbo/headgasket etc...

To be honest, if anything shows a headgasket repair I'd stay away from the car as it means one of two things:
1) The engine is badly designed / crap
2) The car has been thrashed within an inch of its life - often.

Thats a serious repair, not a serious service. Clutch, cambelt, turbo are all serious servicing (yes I'd include turbo as it's bolt off/on job) not really repairs but headgaskets are a serious failure / repair. That engine will give more trouble again even with a new headgasket.

mattyprice4004

TrickyWicky wrote: »

That engine will give more trouble again even with a new headgasket.

That's a bit of an ill-informed statement, and in my experience is pretty much wrong.

Take the good old K Series, known for it's ability to munch through gaskets. The original design was rather lacking in rigidity, meaning head shuffle (and thermal shock from poor thermostat placement) caused the weak elastomer construction to break down.

The new MLS gaskets for the K Series, when fitted properly, shouldn't ever fail as they don't use elastomeric beads to seal, can take a bit of shuffle and aren't prone to suffering the effects of thermal shock.

I have a friend who does around 30,000 miles a year in a 1.8 Rover 75, the head gasket was done at just 25,000 miles due to a failed waterpump and it's now on 130,000 miles without further issue.

Do they really all go again?

BeenThroughItAll

mattyprice4004 wrote: »

Do they really all go again?

Nope - you're quite right. However, it's a damn good bet that a K which has suffered HGF will be plagued by it for the remainder of its life if:

a) liner protrusion issues are present
b) it's overheated and not been properly checked for warping then rectified
c) the repair has not been correctly carried out

I've personally rebuilt five K series engines from 1.4 to 1.8VVC, the last being in 2009. All of them have been done properly. I only know the history of three of those since I've done them, but none of those have suffered any further problems, in spite of them all being tuned examples used in Elises and Cater-likes.

It saddens me that so many people (often ill-informed) have such a downer on the K-Series, which was a fabulous design and ahead of its time, just let down by a few easily sorted issues.

mattyprice4004

BeenThroughItAll wrote: »

Nope - you're quite right. However, it's a damn good bet that a K which has suffered HGF will be plagued by it for the remainder of its life if:

a) liner protrusion issues are present
b) it's overheated and not been properly checked for warping then rectified
c) the repair has not been correctly carried out

I've personally rebuilt five K series engines from 1.4 to 1.8VVC, the last being in 2009. All of them have been done properly. I only know the history of three of those since I've done them, but none of those have suffered any further problems, in spite of them all being tuned examples used in Elises and Cater-likes.

It saddens me that so many people (often ill-informed) have such a downer on the K-Series, which was a fabulous design and ahead of its time, just let down by a few easily sorted issues.

Exactly. It's a brilliant engine to drive - I've also had many. Can't think of many other 'modern' engines with that much grunt yet all can manage 40+MPG on a run.

The big MLS vs. elastomer gasket argument is a big one - fit the MLS with uneven liners and you'll likely be doing the job again pretty quickly.

scaredofdebt

It's pot luck largely.

I bought a nearly new car from a dealer for £6k with 10k on the clock, less than a year old. Got rid of it 2 years later as it was a lemon, cam belt snapped after 36k miles, other faults as well, it had been serviced and looked after properly.

I bought a 6 year old car CAT D write-off with no history and 94k on the clock and that did me for four years when it had 205k on the clock before expiring.

There's a lot of factors to consider as in the previous posts you can just do your best to mitigate the risks.

Karen_taris

This is a debatable topic.

What is the highest millage car you guys have purchased ?

and did that high a millage car give you any problems?