Do you drive higher mileage cars more gently?

[Fox-]

SuperHangOn said:

Mileage and age are a bit of a misnomer in my experience.

Besides, how many cars are scrapped because engine/transmission internals are knackered? My guess is not many. Usually its a combination of MOT failure points adding up to more than the car is worth- we have a very disposable attitude towards cars in Britain.

Quite - we scrap cars because our used values are through the floor. A 10 year old Mondeo is worth a grand so if it needs £600 spending on it most people chuck it away despite the faults probably being no more than was experienced and happily fixed when it was 5.

The same 10 year old Mondeo in Australia would be fixed without hesitation. It didn't die to due age/mileage, it died because sadly in this country everything is worthless on the used market.

[deltashad]

Definitely not. I do not believe in favouritism. They all deserve a good thrashing every now and then.

[corvus]

SuperHangOn said:

Usually its a combination of MOT failure points adding up to more than the car is worth- we have a very disposable attitude towards cars in Britain.

If you think we're bad then have a look at Japan.

http://www.businessweek.com/1998/24/b3582163.htm

I drove my 165k BMW 323i as hard as I did when I bought it at 114k, but I always warm my cars up properly first. That's the key, along with regular oil changes.

[petrolsniffer]

Nope my 205 gti just turned over 140k soon as the oil is upto temp the revs rarely drop below 4k rpm

[davepoth]

You can be mechanically sympathetic and drive cars hard. Never ragging from cold regardless of what the vehicle is, avoiding clutch slip and making every effort to synchronise gear shifts, and being progressive with throttle, brake and steering inputs. It all helps to increase the lifespan of the car.

[v8will]

davepoth said:

You can be mechanically sympathetic and drive cars hard. Never ragging from cold regardless of what the vehicle is, avoiding clutch slip and making every effort to synchronise gear shifts, and being progressive with throttle, brake and steering inputs. It all helps to increase the lifespan of the car.

This. Couldn't have explained it better.

[motorwaycruiser]

Fox- said:

SuperHangOn said:

Mileage and age are a bit of a misnomer in my experience.

Besides, how many cars are scrapped because engine/transmission internals are knackered? My guess is not many. Usually its a combination of MOT failure points adding up to more than the car is worth- we have a very disposable attitude towards cars in Britain.

Quite - we scrap cars because our used values are through the floor. A 10 year old Mondeo is worth a grand so if it needs £600 spending on it most people chuck it away despite the faults probably being no more than was experienced and happily fixed when it was 5.

The same 10 year old Mondeo in Australia would be fixed without hesitation. It didn't die to due age/mileage, it died because sadly in this country everything is worthless on the used market.

Totally agree on this one. The focus I mentioned above is nearing 11 years old. It has spent the last 5 years doing 15K a year or so on the motorway and very little else. Due to the age and mileage it's worth practically nothing but it runs better than many cars I've driven with lower miles and half the age. The biggest expense it has needed was the timing belt at 100K. It's not perfect, the radio is getting a bit dodgy and there's a small amount of rust on one of the wheel arches, but mechanically it's sound.

We're considering changing because we fancy a change but rather than trade the car in for a pittance it'll be given to a family member who will hopefully get a few more good years out of it yet. I definitely wouldn't sell it to a family member though as I would hate if something did go expensively wrong right after the sale.

[Fox-]

We also have the double edged sword of very high labour rates (Compared to other European markets) for vehicle repair - so combine high labour rates with low car value and the result is lots of cars thrown in the bin.

[andy-xr]

I do - it's some psychological barrier that comes from not being able to afford a new car or to repair it if it went wrong. My first car was older than I was when I bought it, it broke down more than newer cars so logic meant that the older they were, the more they broke.

[ben5732]

1988 325i sport.... Almost 190k on the clock. Gentle driving? Hell no. Off to the ring it goes... (Still om its first headgasket to, wehey) Then again it only gets used around 4 times a year nowdays. Just don't want to sell it.

[ewenm]

The Caterham is on 110,000+ miles so obviously I only drive it on part throttle, change up early, slow for the slightest bend and brake gently

[Chris Stott]

davepoth said:

You can be mechanically sympathetic and drive cars hard. Never ragging from cold regardless of what the vehicle is, avoiding clutch slip and making every effort to synchronise gear shifts, and being progressive with throttle, brake and steering inputs. It all helps to increase the lifespan of the car.

Spot on.

My late 2008 Mondeo has 155k on the clock and it gets driven hard all the time, but never from cold.

[E38Ross]

GuitarTech said:

As long as you warm it up properly and have enough relatively fresh oil in the engine, why not? 120K isn't really a lot for a modern car, providing it's been adequately serviced, so give it some beans if you feel like it.

This. I used to drive my 1982 bmw car hard every now and again and other was fine. I've also thrashed a 230k 1990 e34 535i and it kept coming back for more and it's still going strong.

[Mr2Mike]

My friends stage rally car is based on a Civic VTi with over 130k miles on it. That engine spends most of it's time between 6000-8500RPM, and quite amazingly doesn't seem to burn any oil.

[McSam]

davepoth said:

You can be mechanically sympathetic and drive cars hard. Never ragging from cold regardless of what the vehicle is, avoiding clutch slip and making every effort to synchronise gear shifts, and being progressive with throttle, brake and steering inputs. It all helps to increase the lifespan of the car.

I completely agree, and I'll add that it's many times better for the car to do this than drive "gently" all the time but have no clue about how to change gear properly or when you should do so.

Also worth mentioning that generally, the design life of modern engines is around 500,000 miles.

[MarioKart]

McSam said:

Also worth mentioning that generally, the design life of modern engines is around 500,000 miles.

Wow! I always thought it was a little over 100k miles for petrol engines and a bit more diesel ones (as a generalization of course).

[Frances The Mute]

I've always been of the opinion that you drive a car hard, but you look after it harder.

As others have touched on, mechanical sympathy engine wear are the biggest areas for me, too. I've seen people ragging cars from cold. Not for me, thanks.
Once everything is warm, I'll happily push the car hard. I don't bounce off the rev limiter, but I do take it to peak power when under acceleration. There's not much point in taking the car beyond that when pushing on IMO.

I'll make every effort to avoid any craters in the road and do my best to smooth out gearchanges and make sure any braking and steering input is as smooth as possible to retain balance in the car. This all helps to ensure the car gets used, but not not abused.

[Ozzie Osmond]

Drive it like you stole it? All very butch but that's simply why there are so many knackered used cars for sale....

Round this way if you drive it like you stole it you'll,
a) Look a complete tw't, and
b) Have a driving licence for about 10 minutes before you've scored 12 points on the easy target!

[Ozzie Osmond]

MarioKart said:

McSam said:

Also worth mentioning that generally, the design life of modern engines is around 500,000 miles.

Wow! I always thought it was a little over 100k miles for petrol engines and a bit more diesel ones (as a generalization of course).

It's usually something else that kills a car, not the engine. Scrap yards are full of running engines.

[Monkeylegend]

Dave Hedgehog said:

"drive it like its stolen"

and if you have a lease / PCP car that's going back to the supplier they have special engines that do not need to be warmed up before being canned

Is your Audi a lease car?