How to treat a low mileage car
Discussion
My mum’s decided to finally give up driving and I’m going to buy her 2008 Ford Ka off to replace our own aged second car.
The Ka is ridiculously low mileage; it’s on about 13,000 miles, having averaged well under 1000 miles a year for the last few years. This will all have been local short journeys.
I’m going to take it back from North London to Reading – so about 50 miles via a mix of motorway , A roads and some fast-ish local B roads.
Despite its low mileage, I have a slight niggle weather it’s going to fall to bits as soon as it does a comparatively long journey, given its diet of short journeys, none of which will have ever properly got the engine up to temperature.
So on my journey home, what’s the best way to drive it?
- Take it gently all the way, keep revs down and wait until some the mileage has increased before driving it any harder
- Give it a few miles on the motorway to properly get the oil properly hot, then give it some beans (aka Italian tune up)
Thanks chaps
designforlife said:
I'd be more wary of the low miles doing more harm than good in one of those.
They rust like nothing else too, what sort of state is the bodywork in?
Just stick it in a classic car auction. People go mental for stuff like this it seems. I do however agree with what you said They rust like nothing else too, what sort of state is the bodywork in?
.I've wondered the same quite often in the past! From experience when using a mega low mileage car that's never been used to it, it may reveal some niggles with consumables that maybe are on the way out but wasn't apparent before hand because of the light usage! Just an example might be track rod ends might not last long before they need changing.
Breaking it in gently so to speak is never a bad idea as for various reasons cars get used to been driven in a certain manner and do have the habit of developing faults like described earlier. With a car of this mileage quite a lot of consumables (Suspension components, exhaust for eg) are likely to be OE which has been fine for years but then with that sudden harsher usage may decide to fail! A good check over, a service, using it in a manner it is accustomed to for a while is probably the best advice I'd give from experience!
Danny.
Breaking it in gently so to speak is never a bad idea as for various reasons cars get used to been driven in a certain manner and do have the habit of developing faults like described earlier. With a car of this mileage quite a lot of consumables (Suspension components, exhaust for eg) are likely to be OE which has been fine for years but then with that sudden harsher usage may decide to fail! A good check over, a service, using it in a manner it is accustomed to for a while is probably the best advice I'd give from experience!
Danny.
Edited by Willo26 on Wednesday 4th October 18:53
Do not exceed 27mph. Do not EVER go over 1765 revs. Do not turn the volume up on the radio to over 25 decibels. Do not attempt to get any sort of ventilation in or out of the car - fan/heater/windows, etc.
Oh - and try not to use any of the lights or instrumentation then you'll be fine.
Oh - and try not to use any of the lights or instrumentation then you'll be fine.
I would be aware that the thermostat may rarely have opened, so there could be a risk that it is siezed/rusted in the closed position, and likewise, that the cooling fan still functions.
May be a high water content in the oil, so you could consider letting engine get to operating temp and burning off the water before violent pasteing commences in earnest.
May be a high water content in the oil, so you could consider letting engine get to operating temp and burning off the water before violent pasteing commences in earnest.
BOR said:
I would be aware that the thermostat may rarely have opened, so there could be a risk that it is siezed/rusted in the closed position, and likewise, that the cooling fan still functions.
May be a high water content in the oil, so you could consider letting engine get to operating temp and burning off the water before violent pasteing commences in earnest.
Don’t be daft, the thermostat will not have ‘seized’ as it’s in an anti corrosive coolant and even a five minute engine run will generate enough coolant heat to open the ‘stat.May be a high water content in the oil, so you could consider letting engine get to operating temp and burning off the water before violent pasteing commences in earnest.
SimonTheSailor said:
Do not exceed 27mph. Do not EVER go over 1765 revs. Do not turn the volume up on the radio to over 25 decibels. Do not attempt to get any sort of ventilation in or out of the car - fan/heater/windows, etc.
Oh - and try not to use any of the lights or instrumentation then you'll be fine.
That's a Honda Jazz, not a Ka.Oh - and try not to use any of the lights or instrumentation then you'll be fine.
Pica-Pica said:
Indeed. Check tyre age, over 5 or 6 years could be an issue.
If it's been parked in the same position, one side might have had a lot of exposure to the sun so check for sidewall cracks or any odd lumps/bulges before you drive off. As mentioned previously, worth having a look at tyre pressures, tread depths, coolant/oil/brake fluid/screenwash levels but other than that, you should be OK.I'd just get the oil changed if concerned, stick some Protec fuel system cleaner in the tank, run it gradually up to motorway speeds for 40 odd miles, and get off the motorway onto nice A roads and give it some wellie after maybe a stop to make sure there's no leaks. Most likely nothing whatsoever will go wrong if you just drove it hard from cold, However, different drivers and styles do without a doubt bring out symptoms in a car. Only my 2p, sounds like a nice car.
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