Petrol vs Diesel for high mileage car?

JustinR1979

getmeouttahere wrote: »

Wow, I wasn't looking to start a Diesel vs Petrol debate

However, still, no-one has answered my query about the mileage. Would I be advised to stay away from PETROL cars with the kind of mileage that the car linked to above has (i.e. 120K+)?

Petrols can go on and on.
I've had 2 M cars with more miles than you quote, and engines were perfect.
One did 40'000 miles (107-147k) revving to 7700rpm, and never needed oil topping up..
Modern engines with modern oils last a long time.

sh0597

To be honest it doesn't really matter what car you buy, old and high miles for cheap is always going to be a risk, dealer or private or auction etc.


There's a lot of people who would like a nice car with great mpg for less than £2000. Petrol cars can have big bills too. You need to properly budget for running costs before making a decision, it's easy to get hung up on purchase price or VED or mpg without looking at the whole picture.

getmeouttahere

sh0597 wrote: »

To be honest it doesn't really matter what car you buy, old and high miles for cheap is always going to be a risk, dealer or private or auction etc.


There's a lot of people who would like a nice car with great mpg for less than £2000. Petrol cars can have big bills too. You need to properly budget for running costs before making a decision, it's easy to get hung up on purchase price or VED or mpg without looking at the whole picture.

To be fair, I've not even mentioned mpg. If you look at the cars I'm looking at (a 2.2 petrol Vectra for example), that only does around 28-42mpg, whereas obviously diesel will do better.

My main concern is whether it's worth going for a newer car with higher mileage or an older car with lower mileage.

I've done nothing but research over the past few days and it's safe to assume that new cars with higher mileage are more likely to be largely motorway miles rather than school runs, etc, so might be a better buy.

forgotmyname

Mileage is around 120k when i buy a car. Petrol/Diesel.. down on the list of what i look for.

Condition and service history.... Condition....Condition....CONDITION...

If its ever gone over its max service history i walk away. The ones that are run to a hairs whisker of the max limit is way down on the lists.

When you have bills for a new tyre with only 2000 miles on the clock and not a single one for a puncture repair i know its worth a 2nd look and worth travelling to see.

sh0597

getmeouttahere wrote: »

To be fair, I've not even mentioned mpg. If you look at the cars I'm looking at (a 2.2 petrol Vectra for example), that only does around 28-42mpg, whereas obviously diesel will do better.

My main concern is whether it's worth going for a newer car with higher mileage or an older car with lower mileage.

I've done nothing but research over the past few days and it's safe to assume that new cars with higher mileage are more likely to be largely motorway miles rather than school runs, etc, so might be a better buy.

It all depends on the specific car. I would consider varying your initial budget though and trying to work out how much you want to spend over a few years of motoring. There's no point saving £500 on the initial car to buy a neglected version imo.


You should take into account mpg and tax, some people make it more important than they should but it will affect running cost.


A car that drives well and appears in good condition with all the history is what you want.

jimjames

getmeouttahere wrote: »

My main concern is whether it's worth going for a newer car with higher mileage or an older car with lower mileage.

I'd always go for the new car with high mileage.

Mine had done 80k in the first 2 years, service all on time and any issues resolved under warranty before I got it. Been fantastic since and is now 7 years old.

getmeouttahere

sh0597 wrote: »

It all depends on the specific car. I would consider varying your initial budget though and trying to work out how much you want to spend over a few years of motoring. There's no point saving £500 on the initial car to buy a neglected version imo.


You should take into account mpg and tax, some people make it more important than they should but it will affect running cost.


A car that drives well and appears in good condition with all the history is what you want.

My budget is already more than I have thanks to generosity of my family so stretching it further would be unrealistic. My plan is to buy a car now, save for a year, then sell the car and get something better/newer.

jimjames wrote: »

I'd always go for the new car with high mileage.

Mine had done 80k in the first 2 years, service all on time and any issues resolved under warranty before I got it. Been fantastic since and is now 7 years old.

Was that petrol or diesel?

jimjames

getmeouttahere wrote: »

Was that petrol or diesel?

Diesel. All the recent cars I've bought have been high mileage diesels. No experience on petrol reliability at high miles but I'm sure they're better than they were so 120k should be no issue. Diesel should be 300k plus if serviced properly.

My old Golf has 178,000 miles but that's 25 years old!

sh0597

getmeouttahere wrote: »

My budget is already more than I have thanks to generosity of my family so stretching it further would be unrealistic. My plan is to buy a car now, save for a year, then sell the car and get something better/newer.



Was that petrol or diesel?

If money is tight and you are only thinking of keeping the car a year then I would buy something petrol for <£1000 from a private seller who seems genuine with full history. Don't worry about age or miles.

Rambosmum

All this talk of diesel problems has got me worried. I'm getting an 02 reg 1.9tdi golf with 140k on the clock, is this bad idea?