Would you buy a car with high miles?
Discussion
Only done it once, bought a 318 touring on a 2002 plate which had 138k. No real problems but it was too slow and sold it for the st220 after a couple of months.
Now the fuel bill is killing me, i want another bmw, and want an e90 3 series. Im considering a 320d (or even a 318d at a push). I know it wont satisfy the speed element the mondeo has, but alas, if i can get a nice msport with nav, i'd be happy.
However, the only ones i can see in my price range have high miles. Some of the real nice ones have got in excess of 120k on the clock, a few others have got around the 80/90k mark for cars only 3/4 years old.
Would you steer well away? My mondeo in comparison has 65k on the clock and is 7 years old.
Obviously i wont be buying a shed, but if it looks and drives ok, i might be tempted. The budget is 10k max, and i dont want an e46.
Now the fuel bill is killing me, i want another bmw, and want an e90 3 series. Im considering a 320d (or even a 318d at a push). I know it wont satisfy the speed element the mondeo has, but alas, if i can get a nice msport with nav, i'd be happy.
However, the only ones i can see in my price range have high miles. Some of the real nice ones have got in excess of 120k on the clock, a few others have got around the 80/90k mark for cars only 3/4 years old.
Would you steer well away? My mondeo in comparison has 65k on the clock and is 7 years old.
Obviously i wont be buying a shed, but if it looks and drives ok, i might be tempted. The budget is 10k max, and i dont want an e46.
The Key with those sort of miles is service history.
If its got tonnes of receipts and been religiously serviced then you know that alot of the things that inevitably go wrong with older cars due to wear and tear have been replaced.
If its not got much service history or hasn't needed stuff replacing yet then i'd walk away because it could be you that ends up replacing it all.
If its got tonnes of receipts and been religiously serviced then you know that alot of the things that inevitably go wrong with older cars due to wear and tear have been replaced.
If its not got much service history or hasn't needed stuff replacing yet then i'd walk away because it could be you that ends up replacing it all.
.Depends how many owners it has had an what the service history is like.
I bought my 530i with high miles, over 100k, there was an identical one for sale at the time, same in every way except £1400 more expensive and 23k less miles.
The history on the high mileage car was good, it had sat on the motorway as a company car for the first 3 years totting up 80k. For me, this is low stress mileage and I've no problem with buying cars like this.
BUT, the key issue is when you come to sell the car on, if you've bought it below 100k and will sell it on with more than 100k, then expect to take a big hit on the future value. People expect to pay significantly less for a car that has done more than 100k, it's psychological. Not necessarily fair, but that's the way the second hand market works in my experience.
I bought my 530i with high miles, over 100k, there was an identical one for sale at the time, same in every way except £1400 more expensive and 23k less miles.
The history on the high mileage car was good, it had sat on the motorway as a company car for the first 3 years totting up 80k. For me, this is low stress mileage and I've no problem with buying cars like this.
BUT, the key issue is when you come to sell the car on, if you've bought it below 100k and will sell it on with more than 100k, then expect to take a big hit on the future value. People expect to pay significantly less for a car that has done more than 100k, it's psychological. Not necessarily fair, but that's the way the second hand market works in my experience.
I bought a Mercedes CLK which had 180,000 on the clock. I was a bit dubious at first but I got it for trade price and was only planning to use it for station runs or the occasional trip when using the TVR wasn't an option. It ran like a dream and I had no problems whatsoever with it. The only reason I sold it was because I moved house and there was nowhere to park it.
Bought my A8 with 130,000 on clock for £3k, sold it 3 years later to a Young lad who wanted it just for the summer barge tour round Europe for £1k with 175,000 on clock.
When he got back form his summer hoon, having been stopped by Dutch Police who were astonished that someone so young actually OWNED the said car, he sold his newer other car and has kept the old girl instead!
Just have a good look around the car, try all the old tricks to see what condition it is in.
Blowing smoke from oil filler, oil dripping from underneath, let it tick over and then rev to see if it smokes, get a mate to follow you to see if it smokes on the overrun etc etc.
If the owner really does not want to go for a decent test drive, run away!
One thing I'd say is that dealer servicing is not the be-all and end-all!
Some owner serviced cars (like my A8) are better looked after than just a service stamp in a book!!
When he got back form his summer hoon, having been stopped by Dutch Police who were astonished that someone so young actually OWNED the said car, he sold his newer other car and has kept the old girl instead!
Just have a good look around the car, try all the old tricks to see what condition it is in.
Blowing smoke from oil filler, oil dripping from underneath, let it tick over and then rev to see if it smokes, get a mate to follow you to see if it smokes on the overrun etc etc.
If the owner really does not want to go for a decent test drive, run away!
One thing I'd say is that dealer servicing is not the be-all and end-all!
Some owner serviced cars (like my A8) are better looked after than just a service stamp in a book!!
Yes if it's been maintained properly and there is plenty of evidence to back this up then yes nothing wrong with a high miler, just be sure the price is adjusted accordingly and remind yourself of the smae when you come to sell.
My first Porsche, a 944 Turbo SE had 157k miles on the clock and I replaced it with a 928 S4 with 128k.
I'm now running a Boxster S that's quickly aproaching the 100k mile mark and it's every bit as good as those I test drove with half that on the clock.
My first Porsche, a 944 Turbo SE had 157k miles on the clock and I replaced it with a 928 S4 with 128k.
I'm now running a Boxster S that's quickly aproaching the 100k mile mark and it's every bit as good as those I test drove with half that on the clock.
I only buy cars with high miles. All the depreciation is done and you get a bargain, and modern cars are capable of way more miles than most people know. For some reason most peoples heads got stuck on 100k as top miles because that's how many you could get from an allegro
my last few cars were
Carlton, bought at 90k sold at 195k (admittedly for £100). Not a tap ever went wrong with this car.
Omega, bought at 110k sold at 160k. This was trouble and I got rid 'early'.
Omega, bought at 95k sold at 180k. This was still 100% working and I got £1000 for it.
Now I have a 2.5 S type which came to me at 90k and now has 120k so I've got some serious miles to do with this one yet.
my last few cars were
Carlton, bought at 90k sold at 195k (admittedly for £100). Not a tap ever went wrong with this car.
Omega, bought at 110k sold at 160k. This was trouble and I got rid 'early'.
Omega, bought at 95k sold at 180k. This was still 100% working and I got £1000 for it.
Now I have a 2.5 S type which came to me at 90k and now has 120k so I've got some serious miles to do with this one yet.
OP, the kind of car you are talking about will have the condition based servicing system, I'd check the history to see how often it has required servicing, the shorter the service intervals the more of a hammering the car has had.
Our 2008 e92 is about to go in for it's second service at nearly 60K, admittedly almost all of the mileage is motorway at constant speeds and despite it being a fleet car we still treat it with mechanical sensitivity, i.e. not ragging it about like a t
t 
Hope this helps in some way, I'd have no qualms about buying a high miler newish BMW if the history showed the owners had been careful with the car and serviced it in line with the CBS requirements and the condition of the car supported this.
Our 2008 e92 is about to go in for it's second service at nearly 60K, admittedly almost all of the mileage is motorway at constant speeds and despite it being a fleet car we still treat it with mechanical sensitivity, i.e. not ragging it about like a t
t Hope this helps in some way, I'd have no qualms about buying a high miler newish BMW if the history showed the owners had been careful with the car and serviced it in line with the CBS requirements and the condition of the car supported this.
I've owned dogs with low miles and great cars with high miles (E34 with 154000 was lovely), it really does come down to condition regardless of mileage, if a car has been abused (as in not serviced) for 60,000 miles then its a wreck compared to a car thats been well looked after for 160,000 miles.
ETA: to answer your actual question yes I would provided I was happy it was looked after and in good condition.
ETA: to answer your actual question yes I would provided I was happy it was looked after and in good condition.
VPower said:
Bought my A8 with 130,000 on clock for £3k, sold it 3 years later to a Young lad who wanted it just for the summer barge tour round Europe for £1k with 175,000 on clock.
That is one hell of a car for £1k! What size engine?(And yes, I wouldn't have a problem with high mileage personally, especially modern cars eg the last 10-15 years. As long as it didn't have any obvious problems of course.)
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