what is too high mileage?

Marktheshark

My neighbours Merc E 320 Cdi on a 02 has 348,000 on the clock and still cruises along daily.

skivenov

Mileage doesn't matter, it's how it's been looked after.

I bought a car like mine to use for spares, apart from the accident damage, it drove nicer at 168k than mine did at 92k when I bought it.

agrinnall

BeenThroughItAll wrote: »

A lad I know has an Alfa 147 JTD with 340K on the clock. A miracle.

It had had 4 new bodies and 3 new engines though .

BeenThroughItAll

agrinnall wrote: »

It had had 4 new bodies and 3 new engines though .

Amazingly enough, original body with no accidents or paint, original engine, but it did have a new gearbox about 80k ago. Interior is also still excellent and incredibly enough, everything on it works, except the Bluetooth.

catoutthebag

How do you know the fsh is genuine. That's what gets me:think:

WellKnownSid

catoutthebag wrote: »

How do you know the fsh is genuine. That's what gets me:think:

The state of the car.
The state of the owner,
The big pile of receipts, not just a "stamped" service book.
Servicing on interval not just mileage.
The fact that tyres aren't down to the metal, they're all the same make, and that make is not "Happy Rubber Eco 2000 Supertread"
The MoT history, which you can check online, doesn't show serial failures especially on obvious things.
The invoices and MoT history should tie up together nicely. The invoices - read them - did they get stuff fixed before it became a problem or and MoT failure? Did they deal with advisories or not bother?

stator

Mileage is pretty unimportant these days to be honest. If it has been serviced properly than I would happily buy a car that's done 20k per year rather than one with a spotty history that's only done 5k per year. Remember to check all the history including cambelts and clutches.

They don't build cars like they used to so on 10+ years the number one enemy can be rust. Get the car up on a lift and have someone take a good look if you can.

henrik1971

My dad had a Zafira with 265k miles on it, ran well, original clutch and gearbox
Most of my cars have been around the 100k-120k mark. Current car, 2005 saab 93 had 90k miles on it at 4.5 years old when I bought it. Now at 164k, and expecting it to run for another couple of years yet at 10k per year. I think the syncromesh will go by then. Selecting first gear is already tricky on odd occasions.

I do think £1k cars are the way to go value-wise, as long as you buy discerningly. Bought the wife an old shape 1997 Astra in 2009 for £550 in mint condition. It ran perfect until 2014 with nothing other than routine servicing when a takeaway delivery driver on his mobile ran into the back and wrote it off. Insurance paid us out £700. I think they call that appreciation, don't they?

One of my pals who had bought, driven, tinkered with and sold about 20 cars by the age of 25 told me the three most important things to base the purchase on are:
1. Condition
2. Condition
3. Condition

and

4. Service History

Oh, also he always said, (to echo Wellknownsid's comment) that good cars and bad sellers don't go together. A big chunk of your decision should be weighing up the seller almost as much as the car.
Matching tyres, mayonnaise in the oil cap - or if it looks 'wiped', check the dipstick. Give the clutch some stick on the test drive, see if it slips at all.

I've had two cars with what turned out to be fake service history - but no problem as they ran well and I eventually sold them.

There is always an element of luck, but if you can buy an excellent condition car cheaply enough, having to pay for some repairs is not the end of the world as you get the benefit of the new.... (say exhaust) or whatever, which is extra peace of mind for you.

redux

jaydeeuk1 wrote: »

I believe some french cars have made 10k without blowing up

My three Citroens have done over 650,000 miles between them, and one is still going.

jaydeeuk1

redux wrote: »

My three Citroens have done over 650,000 miles between them, and one is still going.

Hopefully mine will last the same. Done near 6k and amazingly it still works. Although the radio seems to have a mind of its own.