Who has run a car till it's died?
Discussion
My Dad bought an ex-demo Volvo 145 around 1974 and ran it until it fell apart about 25 years later. I'm sure he never once washed it and must be one of he few people around to have claimed on a 'lifetime' guarantee for a stainless exhaust system (yes, he'd kept the receipt 
).
That car is responsible for my lifelong hatred of Volvos . . .
).That car is responsible for my lifelong hatred of Volvos . . .
v8will said:
As the title asks, Who has owned a car either from new and run it into the ground?
I've owned a stack of stuff over the years and on average change every 1 or 2 years. I don't think I've put more than 40K consecutively on one vehicle. The record within my family was an Isuzu Trooper, bought new and sold 4 years later with around 100K on it.
I'm just interested if taking a car all the way from the showroom right through it's useful life and then the scrapyard is common.
2nd hand experiences also welcome and mudane or leftfield choices will be interesting.
My father in Law bought a Secondhand 1.8 Mk3 Cavalier in December 1992, to replace the 1.6 Mk2 Cavalier he sold to me. I've owned a stack of stuff over the years and on average change every 1 or 2 years. I don't think I've put more than 40K consecutively on one vehicle. The record within my family was an Isuzu Trooper, bought new and sold 4 years later with around 100K on it.
I'm just interested if taking a car all the way from the showroom right through it's useful life and then the scrapyard is common.
2nd hand experiences also welcome and mudane or leftfield choices will be interesting.
It was registered in May 1992, and had 15K miles on the clock.
Over the next 8 years he took it to 27K and in May 2000, GAVE it to my wife.
Over the last 12 years we have added more miles and it now stands at 119K.
The laquer is pealing, it needs a new sill before the next MOT, and is overdue a cambelt, and it looks knackered. The intention is to keep running it until it is pointless to continue, but plans over easter, are a service, a cambelt and water pump, and maybe a camshaft seal.
New POD said:
My father in Law bought a Secondhand 1.8 Mk3 Cavalier in December 1992, to replace the 1.6 Mk2 Cavalier he sold to me.
It was registered in May 1992, and had 15K miles on the clock.
Over the next 8 years he took it to 27K and in May 2000, GAVE it to my wife.
Over the last 12 years we have added more miles and it now stands at 119K.
The laquer is pealing, it needs a new sill before the next MOT, and is overdue a cambelt, and it looks knackered. The intention is to keep running it until it is pointless to continue, but plans over easter, are a service, a cambelt and water pump, and maybe a camshaft seal.
Why bother with the cambelt. Just run it until it goes generally it could be many many many more years gratis. Infect at this worthless value why not just top up fluids as it will not last any longer with new stuff in it. It was registered in May 1992, and had 15K miles on the clock.
Over the next 8 years he took it to 27K and in May 2000, GAVE it to my wife.
Over the last 12 years we have added more miles and it now stands at 119K.
The laquer is pealing, it needs a new sill before the next MOT, and is overdue a cambelt, and it looks knackered. The intention is to keep running it until it is pointless to continue, but plans over easter, are a service, a cambelt and water pump, and maybe a camshaft seal.
I had a Citroën saxo that put a rod through the block at about 180k miles - although with no history and lots of previous owners it could have been even higher mileage.
I did consider replacing the engine before regaining sense and scrapping it.
Ah just saw the part about it being a new car-sorry!
I did consider replacing the engine before regaining sense and scrapping it.
Ah just saw the part about it being a new car-sorry!
My FIL does silly 60-80k miles a year he takes cash instead of co car but still has a fuel card. He buys at a few years old and max 30k miles for 50% of list price them for four years.
He keeps them serviced to the level of preventative maintenance over and above service schedule.
Once he has finished with it he gives the car to his kids. The car with that milage is worthless however it's a car that really is still like a 30k car apart from the milage.
The ones he has handed over to his kids the oldest car has now been with one of them for 5 further years and has added on another 80k miles - that one is looking tatty now (mainly due to the fact his servicing is a very soft touch instead of mertoculious plus all dings fixed now it's tatty looks it's age and is very shagged really.
However that said before the year is out he will be given another car gratis as it's coming up to that time.
I have every intention of keeping cars within the family and handing down through husband (high user for work) to wife and then wen she wears it out pass it onto scrap or to someone else in the family. I tend to think we would keep our cars in very good condition so whoever gets it is getting a car in cracking condition.
It's time people get over big milages and condition is everything.
He keeps them serviced to the level of preventative maintenance over and above service schedule.
Once he has finished with it he gives the car to his kids. The car with that milage is worthless however it's a car that really is still like a 30k car apart from the milage.
The ones he has handed over to his kids the oldest car has now been with one of them for 5 further years and has added on another 80k miles - that one is looking tatty now (mainly due to the fact his servicing is a very soft touch instead of mertoculious plus all dings fixed now it's tatty looks it's age and is very shagged really.
However that said before the year is out he will be given another car gratis as it's coming up to that time.
I have every intention of keeping cars within the family and handing down through husband (high user for work) to wife and then wen she wears it out pass it onto scrap or to someone else in the family. I tend to think we would keep our cars in very good condition so whoever gets it is getting a car in cracking condition.
It's time people get over big milages and condition is everything.
obob said:
Had my Passat TDi from 112k and its currently on 201k. Last serviced on 178K, washed once a year in winter when I can't see out no more.
It's dying though, gearbox is noisy in 3rd and 5th and it leaks water into the footwell so have to park it facing downhill.
Check were the battery is and take it out, there are two drain holes which are probably clogged.It's dying though, gearbox is noisy in 3rd and 5th and it leaks water into the footwell so have to park it facing downhill.
bought a new clio, ran it for 2 years then it got written off by a bus, so that technically counts
bangernomics:
m reg fiesta, bought for £200 with a year's MOT. 18mths later the big end started grumbling then showing signs of failure. scrapped for £110, result!
pug 205 gtd. lasted 6 weeks before the head gasket went on the m62. was pissed off as body and interior were 9/10 but i couldn't be arsed fixing it so that was scrapped as well.
clio 1,9tdi. ran for 2 years then it became hard to start and eventually wouldn't start at all. left it at work one night and bought another car. eventually scrapped it when security told my boss it hadn't moved for 2 months.
skoda felicia 1.3glx. awesome car, bought for £180 with full MOT and bills for double that to get it passed! ragged it like a goo dun for 18mths and it eventually gave in with non-starting issues. again, couldn't be bothered fixing it so it got cubed.
e28 528i. awesome car and was going to be a keeper until the transmission let go after 10mths and became a useless lump i didn't need. sat outside until the tax ran out and i realised it wasn't going to get fixed, so another car to the scrappy!
so, 5 in total. all were bought in very good condition or better, i just treat them like s
t. the bmw was 27years old and frequently did a ton+20% on the way to work.
bangernomics:
m reg fiesta, bought for £200 with a year's MOT. 18mths later the big end started grumbling then showing signs of failure. scrapped for £110, result!
pug 205 gtd. lasted 6 weeks before the head gasket went on the m62. was pissed off as body and interior were 9/10 but i couldn't be arsed fixing it so that was scrapped as well.
clio 1,9tdi. ran for 2 years then it became hard to start and eventually wouldn't start at all. left it at work one night and bought another car. eventually scrapped it when security told my boss it hadn't moved for 2 months.
skoda felicia 1.3glx. awesome car, bought for £180 with full MOT and bills for double that to get it passed! ragged it like a goo dun for 18mths and it eventually gave in with non-starting issues. again, couldn't be bothered fixing it so it got cubed.
e28 528i. awesome car and was going to be a keeper until the transmission let go after 10mths and became a useless lump i didn't need. sat outside until the tax ran out and i realised it wasn't going to get fixed, so another car to the scrappy!
so, 5 in total. all were bought in very good condition or better, i just treat them like s
t. the bmw was 27years old and frequently did a ton+20% on the way to work. 
Some interesting examples. I guess the thread was partly inspired by a old Cortina estate I see on a regular basis, still soldiering on, tatty but still going. There is also a E55 locally that is suffering very badly from rust but I know the guy has no intention of selling it.
Also I remember reading an old thread on the readers section about a Citroen BX that refused to die,can't find it now but IIRC the owner also has an Alfa 156GTA.
Almost as much pleasure reading those sorts of threads as reading about some of the really well prepped big power stuff.
Also I remember reading an old thread on the readers section about a Citroen BX that refused to die,can't find it now but IIRC the owner also has an Alfa 156GTA.
Almost as much pleasure reading those sorts of threads as reading about some of the really well prepped big power stuff.
At the other end of the scale, I bought a '95 Hyundai Lantra from a mate who was leaving Korea.
It was cheap, but seemingly for a reason as the auto gearbox went after a mere 7 weeks and 1500 miles driving! The repair cost was more than the car was worth so I drove it straight to a dealer (in 2nd gear on the autobox at 70mph
) and traded it in. It was crushed the next morning. It only had about 80k miles too!
It was cheap, but seemingly for a reason as the auto gearbox went after a mere 7 weeks and 1500 miles driving! The repair cost was more than the car was worth so I drove it straight to a dealer (in 2nd gear on the autobox at 70mph
) and traded it in. It was crushed the next morning. It only had about 80k miles too!i bought a fairway driver (an old hackney carriage london black cab) a couple of years ago and ran that for a while. we drove to turkey and back but i pranged it hard in budapest whilst reversing in the dark and torrential rain. the kerbs are double height. i was trying to do a three point turn and pranged it on the kerb. punctured the fuel tank.
got that repaired and drove home (via epernay and an afternoon of pooling round the champagne houses of course!) and took it for an MOT. it failed by three pages but i'd bent the chassis pranging it so she's gone off to the big car park in the sky
got that repaired and drove home (via epernay and an afternoon of pooling round the champagne houses of course!) and took it for an MOT. it failed by three pages but i'd bent the chassis pranging it so she's gone off to the big car park in the sky
UnderTheRadar said:
There comes a point, however much you like the car, where the repairs cost a lot more than buying another one that is as much fun. It takes balls and common sense and some knowledge to get the point though.
Also takes 3months, 4500 miles...... And an X reg Alfa 145 if you're me 
Fiat cinquecento. Lasted 40,000 miles before the engine lunched itself. New engine from ebay later and it was back on the road being driven by my sister who ruined it by driving over a tractor rut at the side of the road.
I managed to bend the front end back out with a branch enough to where we could drive it home.
Scrapped the horrible little thing for £50
I managed to bend the front end back out with a branch enough to where we could drive it home.
Scrapped the horrible little thing for £50
Toaster Pilot said:
Part of me is interested in running my Picanto as long as is viable (bought it new in March last year) but I'm not sure I'll be able to resist buying something better when I can afford it.
Buy something fun. Keep the toaster as a DD.Should EASILY see 10 years/100k miles in it.
Cheap as chips, and depreciation won't be an issue after a decade
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