Anyone with a 200k+ miles petrol car

[V6todayEVmanana]

Faust66 said:

Unless the mechanic in the OP was only talking about the latest highly stressed small capacity turbo engines, I reckon he talking rubbish.

My missus has a 1999 V70 2.5 5 pot (non turbo).

It’s on about 230K miles and is still going strong. I change the oil & filter for her every 6k miles or so (decent oil – Castol or similar - and genuine Volvo filter). I see no reason why it won’t rack up another 200k miles with no major issues.

Older engines will go on for a long time IF you take the time to look after them.

Of course, in todays the-ashtray-is-full-so-throw-it-way society not everyone wants to/can be bothered to look after a car.

The B20 lump in my 1969/70 Volvo Amazon has over 200k miles on it… and I’m not worried about that giving up the ghost anytime soon. Damn thing will probably out live me!

The chat was based on my 3.0 V6, previously he's mentioned this distain for small 3 cylinder engines. He's a good guy and fixed a numbers of issues for me. There are a few specialists I use depending on the problem.

Good to hear everyone thoughts and experiences, better than just a single person's experience even although I do like to hear from people in the industry.

Alfa101 said:

Coming up to 210k on my Alfa Romeo Spider.

This is the benefit of buying something with a reputation for solid build quality, reliability and corrosion resistance. Built to last.

Disappointingly it broke a couple of years ago and needed a Flatbed to bring it home. Just the once though.

Wow and that's the early 1960's spider right? Good work.

[kalniel]

My first car was a Golf GTI mk2 (8v), took it over 236k miles. Needed a new alternator in the time I had it, that was all. Sold it for what I bought it for.

[WIL35]

My BMW E46 M3 went over 210k miles last week. Doesn't use any oil between 10k mile oil changes

[Tyre Smoke]

So far then, the only car still running with the highest mileage is my Volvo then?

[pigeyman]

some European blokes in the Saab 9-3 owners global Facebook group had a 2.0t with nearly 400k kilometres

[kharma45]

WIL35 said:

My BMW E46 M3 went over 210k miles last week. Doesn't use any oil between 10k mile oil changes

That must be one of the highest mileage ones in the country. Class!

[mike-v2tmf]

Audi A4 avant, 1.8 T ......171,000 and still runs like a swiss watch , I'll be surprised if it doesn't make 200,000

[hairykrishna]

My best is 270000 on a Saab 9000 Aero. Still ran like a new one when I sold it.

[J4CKO]

spreadsheet monkey said:

I don't know how the latest generation of small turbo engines will fare at high mileages. I know the trade has a dim view of the Ford Ecoboost.

Fords Ecoboost is a range of engines, I assume you mean the 1 litre 3 cylinder.

There was a thread on here with a few folk that had seen issues with early examples and the natural reticence of a few who cant comprehend a 1 litre engine making anything more than 50 bhp.

The initial failures were due to the "Degas Hose" so they lost coolant, and being a small engine making a high output the cooling is critical with no margin for error.

But the thread about the failures, though it has popped up again on occasion it really didnt seem to turn into a massive problem in the real world, though I do know two people who had problems requiring a replacement.

There are quite a few with well over 100k on for sale on autotrader, the earliest ones are 8 years old now.

[spreadsheet monkey]

J4CKO said:

spreadsheet monkey said:

I don't know how the latest generation of small turbo engines will fare at high mileages. I know the trade has a dim view of the Ford Ecoboost.

Fords Ecoboost is a range of engines, I assume you mean the 1 litre 3 cylinder.

The initial failures were due to the "Degas Hose" so they lost coolant, and being a small engine making a high output the cooling is critical with no margin for error.

But the thread about the failures, though it has popped up again on occasion it really didnt seem to turn into a massive problem in the real world, though I do know two people who had problems requiring a replacement.

There are quite a few with well over 100k on for sale on autotrader, the earliest ones are 8 years old now.

Was a big enough issue to be picked up by the BBC. Overheating and occasional fires.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-45628325

[MuscleSedan]

Tango13 said:

Saabs seem to be common on this thread...

Sold a 900 Turbo at 250k miles. Was as sweet as a nut and a really nice car. Had been well looked after to be fair.

Another car I sold at 250k miles was a Mercedes 200 TE estate. Did wonder if it would be a hard sell at that mileage but amazingly the first person to view ( and buy ) turned up in an almost identical one. We got chatting, I mentioned the 250k miles on the one I was selling, he said that's nothing, mine's on 350k. The mileage seemed entirely irrelevant to him.

Edited by MuscleSedan on Thursday 5th November 22:18

[J4CKO]

spreadsheet monkey said:

J4CKO said:

spreadsheet monkey said:

I don't know how the latest generation of small turbo engines will fare at high mileages. I know the trade has a dim view of the Ford Ecoboost.

Fords Ecoboost is a range of engines, I assume you mean the 1 litre 3 cylinder.

The initial failures were due to the "Degas Hose" so they lost coolant, and being a small engine making a high output the cooling is critical with no margin for error.

But the thread about the failures, though it has popped up again on occasion it really didnt seem to turn into a massive problem in the real world, though I do know two people who had problems requiring a replacement.

There are quite a few with well over 100k on for sale on autotrader, the earliest ones are 8 years old now.

Was a big enough issue to be picked up by the BBC. Overheating and occasional fires.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-45628325

That article is over two years old and the fire in question was the 1.6 four cylinder, cant say I have heard the fire thing on those before.

There must be hundreds of thousands of both of those engines on the roads now, the Fiesta is consistently one of the top selling cars in the UK, but even so the expected massive number of failures doesn't seem to have happened as expected.

[Royal Jelly]

As mentioned, it isn’t the engine that’s going to stop a car in its tracks these days.. it’s the rust/electrics/sensors. Sadly the climate in the U.K. isn’t the best if you use your cars year-round.

Friends in the SW USA have cars going quite happily at 300k+. They do longer distances than brits as a general rule, but the dry climate also keeps rust at bay and perishables in better nick.

[greenarrow]

J4CKO said:

That article is over two years old and the fire in question was the 1.6 four cylinder, cant say I have heard the fire thing on those before.

There must be hundreds of thousands of both of those engines on the roads now, the Fiesta is consistently one of the top selling cars in the UK, but even so the expected massive number of failures doesn't seem to have happened as expected.

I think the fire affected early Mk7 STs, there was a recall and later models are fine.

The ecoboost thing is interesting. I've seen several on sale with more than 150K miles on the clock so clearly they can do the mileage, but there are a fair number that have expired prematurely. The "ecoboost nightmare" facebook page is still going strong with current reports of problems Obviously its a small percentage of the overall number of engines produced but I must admit it would be put me off buying a second hand Fiesta or Focus ecoboost. A friend of mine who is a motor tech warned me off buying one last year. I guess its a bit like the N47 BMW engine. Thousands have been fine, but its a niggling doubt in the back of your mind if you buy one.

[lufbramatt]

I know several people that have had turbo diesel cars be pretty much written off with turbo failures, injector or fuel pump issues etc. then surely a much simpler n/a petrol with a lower compression ratio has got a better chance of doing 200K? The basic engine is pretty much the same underneath. Why are diesel engines expected to last longer?

[PurpleTurtle]

kharma45 said:

That must be one of the highest mileage ones in the country. Class!

Great skills. Mine is my only car and on 85k miles, but I mostly commute by motorbike these days. Given current WFH circumstances I will be dead before mine gets anywhere close to that. It is showing the ubiquitous rusty front wings though, which has irked me a tad, given the cost of replacement panels.

[spreadsheet monkey]

greenarrow said:

J4CKO said:

That article is over two years old and the fire in question was the 1.6 four cylinder, cant say I have heard the fire thing on those before.

There must be hundreds of thousands of both of those engines on the roads now, the Fiesta is consistently one of the top selling cars in the UK, but even so the expected massive number of failures doesn't seem to have happened as expected.

I think the fire affected early Mk7 STs, there was a recall and later models are fine.

The ecoboost thing is interesting. I've seen several on sale with more than 150K miles on the clock so clearly they can do the mileage, but there are a fair number that have expired prematurely. The "ecoboost nightmare" facebook page is still going strong with current reports of problems Obviously its a small percentage of the overall number of engines produced but I must admit it would be put me off buying a second hand Fiesta or Focus ecoboost. A friend of mine who is a motor tech warned me off buying one last year. I guess its a bit like the N47 BMW engine. Thousands have been fine, but its a niggling doubt in the back of your mind if you buy one.

No doubt 99% of 1.0 Ecoboosts are fine. It won International Engine Of The Year when it was launched.

But as you say, some engines just get a bad name. That BBC article might have been from 2018 but it's not a good look to have the BBC doing a special consumer investigation on your fancy new engine. Ford 1.0 Ecoboost, Peugeot THP, Rover K series, BMW N47 all have various levels of infamy.

We currently run a 0.9T Renault and I'm sure it'll be fine. I also ran a 320d with the N47 for five years and the timing chain didn't snap and my first car was a K series Rover 214 and the head gasket never blew.

Taking the thread title literally, it's interesting to search Autotrader for cars over 200k miles. There are 381 cars, largely diesels, but still 60 petrols and 28 hybrids. Of those 60 petrols, they're mostly family size cars (Mondeo, Avensis etc) or bigger. But there are a few small cars that sneak in there, although no turbo small cars (yet)

Edited by spreadsheet monkey on Friday 6th November 09:39

[FK]

WIL35 said:

My BMW E46 M3 went over 210k miles last week. Doesn't use any oil between 10k mile oil changes

That's really impressive, respect!

[J4CKO]

greenarrow said:

J4CKO said:

That article is over two years old and the fire in question was the 1.6 four cylinder, cant say I have heard the fire thing on those before.

There must be hundreds of thousands of both of those engines on the roads now, the Fiesta is consistently one of the top selling cars in the UK, but even so the expected massive number of failures doesn't seem to have happened as expected.

I think the fire affected early Mk7 STs, there was a recall and later models are fine.

The ecoboost thing is interesting. I've seen several on sale with more than 150K miles on the clock so clearly they can do the mileage, but there are a fair number that have expired prematurely. The "ecoboost nightmare" facebook page is still going strong with current reports of problems Obviously its a small percentage of the overall number of engines produced but I must admit it would be put me off buying a second hand Fiesta or Focus ecoboost. A friend of mine who is a motor tech warned me off buying one last year. I guess its a bit like the N47 BMW engine. Thousands have been fine, but its a niggling doubt in the back of your mind if you buy one.

Indeed, and of course the for sale ads dont say if they have had a replacement engine at some point either.

I think the failures happen, but its not ended up as bad as it was looking, the main issue was Ford penny pinching or just bad design on a part of the cooling system.

Trouble is the reputation sticks and people then stick to what becomes out of date info, I am no Ford Fanboy, we do have a Ecoboost Fiesta and its been pretty good, but to be fair its only done 30 odd k miles and barely turns a wheel now under the "new normal", it has however been remapped to 140 bhp for most of that.

The 1 litre ecoboost is night and day nicer to use than the NA engines in other Fiesta models of that model, we had a courtesy car when it was in for service which was NA and it felt like it was broken.

My son has an ST, no issues with that, other than the car could easily handle a load more power and feels pegged back, they must be pretty strong as so many get tuned to 300, even 400 bhp. I have got him insured on my M135i so we are swapping for a bit, I prefer the ST as a drivers car (not so much as a daily) I may treat it to a remap.

[dan98]

Another one for the Mk2 Golf (8V GTI).
Easily managed 220k (although required a bonnet respray due to flakey lacquer) - only when it came to a service before I sold it did I realise the cambelt should've been changed at least 100k miles previously...
10 years on I gather it's still on the road according to DVLA.