Is 81k high mileage for a wedge?

[Emmdat]

Still learning about the Wedges and still looking for a suitable 400SE that fits my budget.

I have been offered the chance to look/purchase a car that is not currently advertised, although that may change! The car has been fastidiously maintained by the current owner for the 8 years that he has owned it and every year he works on maintaining the chassis and repairing stone chips as well as regular services and doing any work required as needs be. The pictures he has sent me certainly show a lovely condition car and chassis. However, the mileage is 81k.

The advice that I get is that there are three things to consider when buying a wedge and they are Condition, Condition and Condition. However at what point does the balance shift from condition to concerns over mileage? especially as there has been no major engine rebuild of any description. Would 81,000 be considered high mileage for a wedge? If there have been no major rebuilds but regular and proper service and maintenance am I likely to still face engine issues in the short term and if so are they likely do be of the expensive type?

Any advice that you guys (& Gals!) can give me on the issue of mileage would be very much appreciated. The car is some way away from me so I don’t want to travel all that way if the recommendation is be wary!

Thanks everyone in advance for your help with my continued Wedge education!

Regards

Emmdat

[grahamw48]

My wedge before present one, a 390SE had done 81,000 and was in superb condition all round.
I was planning to put a new cam in it though.

With any vehicle it depends how those miles have been driven of course, and on the maintenance history.

[jmorgan]

130k ish on mine.

eta, new engine though but not from wear and tear.

Edited by jmorgan on Friday 26th September 12:33

[jeff m]

I would be more concerned if it was 20K.

[Waynester]

I think the general consensus is that if the car has been maintained (check S/H), oil changed regular then you shouldn't have anything to fear with that mileage.
Rover V8's are capable of fairly big miles. Cam wear can be an issue after 60k. The rest is as any engine, listen out for unusual noises.

Sounds a good one to me.

Good luck, and post pic's if you get it.

[Stever]

I personally wouldn't touch a wedge with 80K+ miles, ones with 40K are a much safer bet Richard

I would imagine if it's been well maintained (don't forget it's not just the engine that has done 80K) the engine should be fine for miles to come.

Good luck

[GRIFFONMARK]

I think after 20 years mileage becomes irrelevant. How the cars have been used, stored, maintained, improved, no. of owners etc. is of far more importance. If engine failure is a worry I would buy a pushbike as something is going to happen sometime, you just don't know when! I got 12 months out of mine then seat frame snapped (welded), clock stopped (wiring repair), new dash peeled (glue back), seat snapped again (this time weld properly!), engine refused to start (coil replaced), rad leaks (in for recore), o/s headlamp went out (came back on on its own) n/s headlamp won't lift (didn't like spoiler being removed). Can't wait to put the rad back in and see what else is waiting to pack up! Regards, Mark

[taimar78]

If the wedge has been properly maintained throughout its life, such mileage should not be a problem. I know of one wedge in Canada with over 400,000 kilometers on it and it's still going strong.
My former 1983 Tasmin had 83k miles on it when I sold it in 2003 and it's still going strong today.
A wedge with 80K+ miles on it that has been properly cared for, is probably a better buy than a low mileage wedge that has been ignored or poorly serviced, in my humble opinion.

[grahamw48]

Agreed.
Nothing worse than leaving them to fester.

Funny how my company cars which cover maybe 10 times the average yearly mileage of my Wedges just soldier on with no complaints.
I like to think that a hot engine is a clean one, and moving parts KEEP moving.

[jmorgan]

Somewhere in all this I am reminded of Triggers broom......

[pwd95]

jmorgan said:

Somewhere in all this I am reminded of Triggers broom......

[jmorgan]

Just in case someone from the colonies is wondering what triggers broom is. And for the heck of it.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=jSmSTpRUeLs

[pwd95]

He's got a picture to proove it.

[grahamw48]

Hahaha! forgot that one.

What a brilliant series.

[adam quantrill]

In my years of Wedge ownership I've found that over about 60k miles the emphasis of the servicing changes from fixing things that break to fixing things that wear out. So up to about 50k you are still in the "infant mortality" phase of the bathtub reliability curve at you'll find the odd thing breaks all on its own. After 60k all the stuff that was going to break has already done so, and things like the ECU, diff, brakes, engine don't tend to go (often) after that, but things like UJ's, wheel bearings, etc start to go. It's no biggy though.

My highest mileage wedge got to 140k miles, my second is at 103k, and is going through another MOT with some new bushes and new rear wheel bearings (anyone got any spare oil seals?)