Anyone with a 200k+ miles petrol car

Anyone with a 200k+ miles petrol car

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Discussion

V6todayEVmanana

Original Poster:

759 posts

143 months

Wednesday 4th November 2020
quotequote all
Having a chat with a mechanic and he mentioned that if my petrol engine made it to 200K miles that would be exceptional and I am very lucky.

He expected the big end or piston seals to fail on a petrol car by then.

So was curious if anyone has reached this milestone and if so what major engine work was required.

I know in other threads there are mega mile diesel hence the focus on petrol.

Pinkie15

1,248 posts

79 months

Wednesday 4th November 2020
quotequote all
My old NG Saab 900, 2.0 got to 201k. Sadly it then put a rod through the block.

I definitely did not do something silly a few thousand miles before that that probably damaged the piston causing it to fail

Tyre Smoke

23,018 posts

260 months

Wednesday 4th November 2020
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I have a Volvo V70 2.4 petrol auto sitting on my drive that's on 274k. Absolutely nothing wrong with it mechanically. Drives beautifully and uses no oil to speak of between services.

Your mechanic friend is talking tripe. I know of a 1.8 petrol Passat that made 400k+ before dying, emissions I think.

Magnum 475

3,507 posts

131 months

Wednesday 4th November 2020
quotequote all
I ran a Porsche 944 to 220,000. Sold it to someone else who put at least 50k more on it.

That engine is probably an exception though, a large capacity engine in a low state of tune pulling a light car.


Boosted LS1

21,167 posts

259 months

Wednesday 4th November 2020
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I have a saab on 300k and my current one is on 220k. Both 9000's. My only worry is bearing shells wearing out.

NDA

21,493 posts

224 months

Wednesday 4th November 2020
quotequote all
Nope - but I have 150,000 on my 4.2 V8 supercharged engine.... I bought it new in 2005 and have never had an engine problem - not even a murmur. As long as the body doesn't give out, I expect the engine to keep on going. smile

I suspect the bigger mileages are probably in America.

Limpet

6,294 posts

160 months

Wednesday 4th November 2020
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I know of quite a few that not only made it, but did so easily and with few issues:

Mondeo 2.0
Passat 1.8
Cavalier 1.6

It’s all about proper servicing and avoiding constant short journeys.

Tango13

8,398 posts

175 months

Wednesday 4th November 2020
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I got rid of my M5 at 202k as it needed welding, the engine used a bit of oil but was otherwise ok.

Tyre Smoke

23,018 posts

260 months

Wednesday 4th November 2020
quotequote all
NDA said:
Nope - but I have 150,000 on my 4.2 V8 supercharged engine.... I bought it new in 2005 and have never had an engine problem - not even a murmur. As long as the body doesn't give out, I expect the engine to keep on going. smile
Good to know. Mine is on 88k. thumbup

-Ad-

885 posts

174 months

Wednesday 4th November 2020
quotequote all
I hope you don't use said friend as a mechanic on your cars, when he spouts crap like that.

Our ML500 V8 is still burbling along nicely with 160k+ miles.

rupertrr

38 posts

89 months

Wednesday 4th November 2020
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My (late) next door neighbour ran a fleet of private hire cars. All had petrol engines and one of them, a 1989 Vauxhall Cavalier 1600 got up to 325,000 miles. The local authority had a rule that private hire vehicles could not be more than six years old so he had to retire it from his fleet in 1995 but it was still going strong.

NDA

21,493 posts

224 months

Wednesday 4th November 2020
quotequote all
Tyre Smoke said:
Good to know. Mine is on 88k. thumbup
We have the same engine! smile

I have to say that I drove mine VERY hard when I first bought it.... it was bought through my company and I drove in and out of London every day for decade - at some quite silly speeds at 5.30am. When I sold the company I bought the car as I'd never had any issues with the engine it - and never have had. I'd had two XKR's previously.

Keep an eye on the rubber seal around the tailgate - worth checking that at least annually. Water in the boot is not great for the electronics. That was the only issue I had - but resolved without issue.

Dr Jekyll

23,820 posts

260 months

Wednesday 4th November 2020
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Petrol Mondeo 2.0 still running fine when I sold it at 220,000. Various bits changed but no major engine work and still the original clutch.

bqf

2,226 posts

170 months

Wednesday 4th November 2020
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nonsense. Regular maintenance, keep the oil clean, some mechanical sympathy (no revving on cold engines, avoiding cold runs etc).....

I've a 275k Renault Safrane (Volvo lump) - feels tight as a drum.

The bodywork is falling off it mind, so thats not good, but mechanically who knows how long it could last

Haltamer

2,454 posts

79 months

parabolica

6,703 posts

183 months

Wednesday 4th November 2020
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My dad’s 2005 93 Aero is on 195k and still mechanically strong, apart from me borking the traction control mode the other week.

Bowlers

431 posts

92 months

Wednesday 4th November 2020
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The M54 engine in my BMW clocked 188k today. Time will tell.

V6todayEVmanana

Original Poster:

759 posts

143 months

Wednesday 4th November 2020
quotequote all
Thanks for the replies, interesting reading and nice work on looking after your engines.

It's cool how the internet can help us look after our cars, not just for fixes but also busting myths that would otherwise proliferate.

gforceg

3,524 posts

178 months

Wednesday 4th November 2020
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I had a Mk2 16V Golf that I sold at 221k miles. Head gasket at c185k and a clutch at c205k. Considering it was seen as a high revving hot hatch when new and the chatter about possible vavle problems when leaded fuel went off general sale, I think it did pretty well.

My Subaru Legacy had 193k miles on it when I killed it at the beginning of the year. It ran like clockwork right up to the end.

I tend to change the oil and filters every 6k miles so that may have helped.

peterperkins

3,148 posts

241 months

Wednesday 4th November 2020
quotequote all
325,000 on my Honda Insight G1 original engine.