Quick straw Poll - Chimaera Purchases and Mileage.

[crimsonchim]

Sweeping generalazation here:

Short journeys and long periods of dissuse are "bad things"

This, along with the famous "it'll have all the teething troubles sorted" is probably at the root of this discusion and why some people shy away (or think twice) about very low milage cars.

I bought on condition and ended up with a "2"!

A low mileage car may maintain some of this premium when you sell it, provided you don't actually use it!
I drive mine (well, sometimes), so it certainly isn't going to be low milage when I sell it, so that would be money wasted.

Andy

PS
How healthy do you think you'd be if you sat in the dark for 10 years and didn't move!

[M@H]

MikeyT said:

The concensus seems to be 1 first and I'll go along with that if all other things about these cars would be equal.

It was only 7 votes to 5 at that point...

I'd go 2 of course..

[moschops_72]

number 3, and did so too.

I'm in the opinion of if something isn't used as it should be, it'll go wrong. if you sit on your arse for a month, doing nothing, no doubt you'll not be able to walk too far straight away.

Were talking about a large capacity V8 FFS, if looked after properly not much will stop it.

I've used mine almost daily since i've had it, and apart from initial matinence required from (i think) unloved motoring, i'ts been THE most relieble car i've ever owned.

Jeff

[gaston]

It's got to be number 1.
- Worth more when yo come to sell
- No way of knowing if it's been used once a day to the paper shop or once every 3 months for a longer journey.

A good all round inspection is vital to assess the physical condition of the car. Even a quick look can reveal severely rusted or scored discs, seized hand brake cable etc if the car's been neglected.

[M@H]

gaston said:

It's got to be number 1. A good all round inspection is vital to assess the physical condition of the car..

Thats cheating.. no looking allowed. The point to this thread was that certain people here were saying that they would not even look at cars over a certain mileage, and I was suggesting that to me an artificially low mileage is an equal put off.

Cheers
Matt.

[MikeyT]

M@H said:

MikeyT said: The concensus seems to be 1 first and I'll go along with that if all other things about these cars would be equal. It was only 7 votes to 5 at that point... I'd go 2 of course..

All right, I was willing it to be no. 1 and I didn'tt read the threads who chose no2 2 or 3 ...

7-5 tho ...

[MikeyT]

M@H said:

The point to this thread was that certain people here were saying that they would not even look at cars over a certain mileage, and I was suggesting that to me an artificially low mileage is an equal put off. Matt.

But there are other things that go along with low(er) mileage - that is, better condition of the interior/hood, and mechanical wear too on suspension, clutch, etc. Surely this must all be taken into account? Your question seems to imply that everything else that goes with a low mileage car can't be taken into account ... which isn't really fair.

You're basically saying a medium or high mileage Chim is as desirable as a low mileage one and that simply isn't true in my experience.

Christ, I'd hate to have bought a new one, you never have got it off the forecourt ...

[M@H]

MikeyT said:

M@H said: The point to this thread was that certain people here were saying that they would not even look at cars over a certain mileage, and I was suggesting that to me an artificially low mileage is an equal put off. Matt. Your question seems to imply that everything else that goes with a low mileage car can't be taken into account ... which isn't really fair.

Hmmmn..... that was really the nub of the point, but expressed differently (this topic started off in here www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?f=8&h=&t=81959).

It was being said that "I wouldn't look at a car over 50,000 miles"... accordingly I was re-dressing the balance that a car with over 50,000 miles on the clock could well be in much better condition than one with a lower mileage but if people refused to look, because of the mileage, they could be hampering themselves in finding a "good" car.

I was also pointing out that a car with very low miles ie 13,000 on a 11 year old would not be my preferred choice (however I WOULD go and look at it of course) because there must be a reason for the lack of miles, effectively it has sat about an awful lot for some reason or other... and this could be a bad reason, not a good one.

Effectively you have underlined the purpose of my thread quite nicely though in the points you raise, as I have always suggested "buy on condition, condition, and condition". Mileage is IMO a far far lesser concern than the overall condition of the car. If I was after an early Chimaera I would look at cars of all mileages in my price bracket, not restrict myself on mileage before even seeing them.

I think this has probably run its course now... (?)

Cheers
Matt


>> Edited by M@H on Tuesday 2nd March 09:22

[shnozz]

of course people buy on condition but it would appear most people would look for a car with low miles in the right condition prior to looking at one with more miles in the right condition. That seems common sense to me.

[flasher]

shnozz said:

of course people buy on condition but it would appear most people would look for a car with low miles in the right condition prior to looking at one with more miles in the right condition. That seems common sense to me.

low mileage is best for garden ornaments.

[Graham]

In some ways it depends what your going to do with it...


buying low miles then sticking millions on it is going to crusify when you sell.

High miles on top of high miles will probably bring problems as they rack up..


low miles on somthing with high miles will probably loose the least in value.

so 2 first then a tie for 1 & 3
me i'd start with the 26k car ( in fact thats what i did i bought a 3 year old cr with 26k on it)

id not dicount the higher milrage car till i'd looked at it and driven it. With the low miles car i'd check that out as much as the high miles car.. very low and very high miles tend to be the ones that can cause trouble...

G

>> Edited by Graham on Tuesday 2nd March 11:24

[tantivy]

V8 cams DO wear, folks, and I'd rather replace it mid-life, not end-of-life, say at 53,000 miles....
(all things being equal, i.e the chassis) that'd be a 1, then & we all like a cleaner interior...
nice post M@H

[swilly]

No.2

13K on a 11 year old car amounts to little more than driving up and reversing back down your own drive.

No.3 I would have no problem with.

As they say " Miles every day keep the TVR mechanics away".

[the dodger]

I guess this has already served Matt's purpose. I also contributed to the other thread. It's a bit hypothetical as nobody would commit to anything with just this infomation. The point Matt was making about high mileage cars being ignored is justified. When I was looking, my spec included a max mileage of 30k. I was quite strict about this and did not view others which I'm sure, may have been suitable. This doesn't mean higher-mileage cars at the right price should not be considered. I wanted a perfect car and paid a premium for that spec.

So taking Matts original question as which would you follow-up on it has to be: 1, 2, 3.