Is high mileage a problem?
Discussion
I am buying an S series soon, and have a couple of cars in mind.
For my price range the mileage could be 70-104 K miles. How does the V6 cope with high mileage, what is the usual miles before a rebuild is needed?
I will only be doing a few thousand miles each year, so should I go for a better chassis and full service history of mileage.
Any help useful
For my price range the mileage could be 70-104 K miles. How does the V6 cope with high mileage, what is the usual miles before a rebuild is needed?
I will only be doing a few thousand miles each year, so should I go for a better chassis and full service history of mileage.
Any help useful
Mileage of up 150,000 is no problem, infact regular use and servicing is needed which will mean your aveage S will have well over 50,000 miles.
Mine had to have a rebuild at 68,000 but this was caused through lack of use.
The engine builder told me the problems were caused by blocked oilways caused through the car being left standing for along time with dirty oil which wasnt changed when the car was put back into use.
I checked my file of MOTs under previous owners and found that it had only done a few hundred miles between 1993-1995 and most likley was unused for 18 months.
So if a 10year plus car has less than 40,000 check it has'nt been laid up.
A 10 year old car that has done 70-80,000 or more will have had regular use and servicing which is what they need.
More important is to check the chassis, especailly the outriggers behind the front wheels.
Get someone who knows what to look for and get the car on a ramp.
With regards to the body don't be too concerned about crazing in the fiberglass this is inevitable at this age.
My S1 will be 16 tomrrow and the bits of crazing have not got any worse in the 3 years I have have my S.
I am still besotted with it after 3 years and currently have no wish to 'upgrade' to a Griff or Chimaera.
The are both gorgeous, but the S is still good fun and looks as good and is half the price to run.
Get one you'll love it, and if you are near the East Midlands I'll gladly take you for a blast in mine.
cheers Bill
Mine had to have a rebuild at 68,000 but this was caused through lack of use.
The engine builder told me the problems were caused by blocked oilways caused through the car being left standing for along time with dirty oil which wasnt changed when the car was put back into use.
I checked my file of MOTs under previous owners and found that it had only done a few hundred miles between 1993-1995 and most likley was unused for 18 months.
So if a 10year plus car has less than 40,000 check it has'nt been laid up.
A 10 year old car that has done 70-80,000 or more will have had regular use and servicing which is what they need.
More important is to check the chassis, especailly the outriggers behind the front wheels.
Get someone who knows what to look for and get the car on a ramp.
With regards to the body don't be too concerned about crazing in the fiberglass this is inevitable at this age.
My S1 will be 16 tomrrow and the bits of crazing have not got any worse in the 3 years I have have my S.
I am still besotted with it after 3 years and currently have no wish to 'upgrade' to a Griff or Chimaera.
The are both gorgeous, but the S is still good fun and looks as good and is half the price to run.
Get one you'll love it, and if you are near the East Midlands I'll gladly take you for a blast in mine.
cheers Bill
Dont discount TEDS S4C with 105000 miles. Miles dont hurt, neglect does!!!!. 20000 miles around London does far more harm than 150000 miles around rural England. Regular use by an enthusiastic owner supported by sensible maintainance is much better than infrequent use by someone who starts it from cold frequently and does lots of "hard" miles from cold but ALWAYS remember everything on a 15 year old car is 15 years old.
It's 'Condition, condition, condition' that matter. Mine has 105K and so far so good. Also I couldn't believe how many people don't keep service history or old bills - lots of old invoices and MOT's give a good guide to whats gone wrong (and hopefully been fixed...)
Buy now while everyone's suffering from the post Christmas credit card hangover.....you'd never know I got mine in February would you..??
Buy now while everyone's suffering from the post Christmas credit card hangover.....you'd never know I got mine in February would you..??
When I got mine I was very worried about the milage as it had 69k miles I'd my criteria was for 50k, however it had four previous loving owners, stacks of receipts for some serious work. An inspection proved the chassis and engine to be fine, and only some minor cosmetic works were spotted.
However I saw a light blue S2 with around 45k miles (I think) and it body was crazed all over, it looked like the Spidermobile. I was taken for a drive and it sounded good, although the interior was very musty as it had been stored outside with no cover.
An S1 I saw with very low miles was awful inside and sounded (when warm) like a bag of bolts, this again was a low mileage example, used just for an occasional hoon.
As had been said check over-all chassis conditiona as well as the more expensive to fix cosmetics, such as bodywork and major problems with carpets and leather. Whatever you do, don't buy without having it inspected by a very experienced owner or a dealer/specialist.
Many of us here would be glad to come and look and we can suggest the best place to inspect a potential purchase.
Good luck!
However I saw a light blue S2 with around 45k miles (I think) and it body was crazed all over, it looked like the Spidermobile. I was taken for a drive and it sounded good, although the interior was very musty as it had been stored outside with no cover.
An S1 I saw with very low miles was awful inside and sounded (when warm) like a bag of bolts, this again was a low mileage example, used just for an occasional hoon.
As had been said check over-all chassis conditiona as well as the more expensive to fix cosmetics, such as bodywork and major problems with carpets and leather. Whatever you do, don't buy without having it inspected by a very experienced owner or a dealer/specialist.
Many of us here would be glad to come and look and we can suggest the best place to inspect a potential purchase.
Good luck!
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