Mileage

[tyranical]

What are peoples thoughts on car mileage? My friend has just bought a car on 100k, I would never personally buy a car on such high mileage I always look for 40k or less if possible

my predicament is that I've got my heart set on a Mk1 TT but I can't afford one on 40k miles so I'm considering looking at higher mileage. What are peoples thoughts how are the TTs? I do approx 12k a year miles and I'm looking at spending around 7k

[HellDiver]

100k is only run in for most cars, assuming they've been properly serviced. Especially a VAG car. Service schedule is the important part.

[bazking69]

I wouldn't worry about 100k as long as it is a straight car with a decent history to back it up.

My current work hack has just rocked over 101k, drives perfectly and everything works as it should.

[papercup]

I buy cars on condition, not mileage. See several and one will stand out. If it has full service history then mileage (within reason) is not an issue. 100k miles of motorway commuting is easier on a car than 40k town commuting, for instance.

I bought a 117k BMW 540 and its now on 145k. Its been no trouble at all.

[Matt UK]

My 530i is approaching 100k miles and it runs sweet as a nut.

OP, would you prefer 40k city miles or 100k motorway miles?
And when you buy an older car with 40k on the clock, what sort of miles do you think it has covered?

Edited by Matt UK on Wednesday 31st March 09:12

[iguana]

For cars 300k miles is pretty much my cut off on buying high miles, even when well looked after tend to need stuff after that.

Depends on the vehicle tho, with trucks at 500,000 they can still feel like new, im my experience as they approach the million miles they can get a bit ratty tho.

[Fox-]

Mileage matters far less than other factors like how its been driven, how its been looked after and how old it is.

I wouldn't buy an 8 year old car with 8 previous owners two Triangle tyres on the front and only 40k miles. I'd happily buy (and did) a 4 year old car with 140k and one owner from new still fitted with the same make/model of tyres it had when new.

[5harp3y]

my golf has 186,000 miles on it, no worries.

high mileage is only a real problem if servicing / maintenance has been skimped on.

[300bhp/ton]

tyranical said:

What are peoples thoughts on car mileage? My friend has just bought a car on 100k, I would never personally buy a car on such high mileage I always look for 40k or less if possible

my predicament is that I've got my heart set on a Mk1 TT but I can't afford one on 40k miles so I'm considering looking at higher mileage. What are peoples thoughts how are the TTs? I do approx 12k a year miles and I'm looking at spending around 7k

Personally I think mileage is overblown in many cases.

Sure lower is nicer, and as a rule less miles should equal better condition. But not always.

So far better to buy on condition and assess each car on a car by car basis.

Money is usually the big divider, if you don't have the funds for a minter, then you simply have to get what you can afford or look elsewhere.

Also in this day and age, most normal cars will cover a lot of miles. It's not uncommon for someone to do 12,000-20,000 per year. So even a 5 year old car is very likely to 100k on the clock yet only having been used with very accepted annual mileages.


I suppose as this is PH though, the only question remaining would be over the credentials of the TT

j/k

[alfa pint]

It's not so much the mileage on the engines and transmissions, it's the other bits and bobs like suspension components and electrical stuff that starts to wear out. My old MG B was on nearly 300 k and just needed front suspension bits every now and again. Oh, and a new diff at 250k!

I would happily buy a well maintained car with 100k+ miles if it felt right. Our practical car is a volvo v40 that's just gone into 6 figure mileage and feels fine. Can't see any huge snags coming with it yet, apart from its mpg is a bit shocking at the mo - needs a tune up.

[Ozzie Osmond]

A number of strange "single issue" contributions to this thread so far!

IMO a wise buyer looks at the combination of,

- overall condition
- service record (invoices, not stamps in a book!)
- mileage
- age

Yes, a 5-series BMW may be "just run in" at 100,000 but a little car that's knocked around town all its life could be utterly knackered at half that mileage.

[Harry Flashman]

To be fair, saying a high miles car is "just run in" is absolute rubbish. That may be the case for certain components, but as likely as not higher miles cars will have needed replacements of various parts. My Volvo, for example, eats wishbones, and murders its 4wd system at high miles. And a lot of high mileage ones I saw needed new wishbones, and had busted 4wd. Yet were sold by people who'd polished them up and claimed that they were "just run in".

Many of these cars had an excellent service history too - just no evidence of necessary replacements. Shamefully, a few had main dealer histories, and still had bits that frankly should have been replaced.

Also, simply saying motorway miles are better than town miles is only half true. a 40k car that's been driven in town will have higher wear on drivetrain and brakes, it's true. However a 100k car will have high wear on suspension, electronics (in as far as sensors like to fail at higher mileages) etc etc. So swings and roundabouts.

Nothing wrong with high mileage cars as long as they have been maintained properly. But a service history is not enough - do your research on the model, find out what work needs doing, and either make sure it has been done or price accordingly.

My latest purchase has done 150,000 miles and is a great car; and the price I negotiated reflected the fact that it needs a new cambelt soon. I have run a 280,000 mile car (also a Volvo) that was also sweet. I had a 45,000 mile BMW that hadn't been maintained and was a money pit.

Edited by Harry Flashman on Wednesday 31st March 10:53