Car Mileage

Dangermouse

Dangermouse

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During the late 70s early 80s my dad wouldn't look at a car with more than 30-40000 miles on the clock yet this day and age most dealers are more than happy to take PX cars with starship mileage, I bought my present car with 79k under its belt, what is the cut off where you would walk away, mine now has 148k and still drives as new, it has full service history and has been well looked after so I would expect at least 300k out of my Volvo.

What would you expect from a modern engine these days?
 
Any engine, ancient or modern, will go on for as many miles as it is cared for.
 
Alan Clogwyn said:
Any engine, ancient or modern, will go on for as many miles as it is cared for.
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Exactly, so long as it is regularly serviced and the correct grade of oil used it can go on for an infinite number of miles really.
A low mileage car isn't necessarily a good thing. If the car is left standing for long periods of time any residual oil will drain to the sump meaning very little initial lubrication each time the engine is turned over.
 
I think modern engineering (tolerances) and oils have improved the longevity of engines, so as long as they are looked after and regularly serviced high mileage is not so much an issue.
 
I think the main things to be concerned with are general wear n tear on bushes, balljoints, suspension, driveshafts, pumps etc with high milers.
 
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You might see higher mileage cars described as "motorway mileage" cars, and I'd certainly take one in preference to an unusually low mileage car that has only been run to the shops once or twice a week and never warmed up. Having said that, I have a petrol "summer" car that is a convertible and is on a restricted mileage policy. I tend to take it on a 35 mile round trip every week or so to keep the battery topped up, but it only does a few thousand miles a year in total.
 
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Mileage is just a number to be checked off with condition. Check for wear around the passenger compartment to see if it's a school run car or a motorway muncher. Service history is important but don't always assume dealer service is best, check MOT history to confirm if work was done on the car, if it has full mfr servicing but still fails an MOT to me it's not been checked properly. Key service item to check is tyres. Budgets = can't be bothered to look after the car, cash might have been a bit short or dealer cutting corners.

Higher mileage for me is preferred, usually means it's driven more at the right temperature than lots of short journeys.
 
The reason I ask is, I di lots of high mile journeys every year mainly motorway driving around the country camping and as its high mileage I was thinking of PXing for a low miler, but I love the car so didn't want to be hasty, looks like I will just keep looking after it and keep it a few more years.
 
I had my last car for 11 years and traded it in (for not much) with 168K miles on it. It was still going fine.
I run my motorbikes to over 100K miles, always have. Things are much more reliable now on the major components.
 
Last 3 cars

Saab 9-5 2.3LPT - bought at 12k miles, traded in at 233k (and only traded in as climate control flap had broken internally on passenger side meaning cabin was hot all the time, dashboard out job to fix ££££)

Saab 9-3 1.9D - bought at 60k, written off at 155k (it was parked at the time!!)

Volvo V50 1.6D - bought at delivery mileage, currently at 155k

Mileage is nothing to be scared of, as long as the car is well maintained.

I have a rule that I allow a car one breakdown every 100k miles, any more than that then the car goes (the Audi A8 I had before the 9-5 was a classic example of how to breakdown at every opportunity!). The Volvo is currently 1 credit up!

Generally I do long distances, the cars are always serviced on time, once over 100k most cars are fairly worthless, so look at it as depreciation free motoring!
 
I have had my V70 D5 nearly 2 years and done a hell of a lot of miles but all it has cost me is a HID bulb but I fitted both to be on the safe side and rear pads, its in for a big service anytime now so hopefully I will get another 150k out of it before I swap it for a V90 in a couple of years time.
I had a 9-3 HPT stage 1 that was over 100k and that was nice with a tight engine but boy it wasn't economical to use for the amount of miles I do, around 20mpg on a run but it was a nice toy on the twisty bits
 
To be honest, as long as the oil and filter have been changed regularly and you have used decent oil, you will likely find everything else will fall apart round the car before the engine does.

My E46 Straight Six only has 100k and at 15 years old, I have barely spent a penny on it in 2 years of ownership because the previous owners took care of it.

Oil and filter are changed every 6 months, all other fluids are changed when due.

Fortunately I do it all myself, otherwise my bills would be huge!

Unfortunately some engines are known to be pap and no matter how much money you throw at them, they are destined for an early demise....the Rover K series is a famous example.

Fortunately for me the straight six in the beemers is largely bullet proof :)
 
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Not quite bullet proof, but close..:D

My 328 (E36) went to about 300,000 kms without giving any major problems. A lot of that was in the heat, dusty conditions, and fairly high altitude of Johannesburg and the surrounding areas.
 
Some cars do have bits that wear out with miles, irrespective of following the correct maintenance schedule with the correct parts / lubricants (though skipping services will make it worse). Camshafts on the Audi 2.5l V6 TDi 24v is one example, same thing on the Ford Pinto engine, though that only had one camshaft to wear the lobes on.

Generally though, as others have said with proper servicing 200k miles or more is entirely possible on engines made in the last 20 years. I wouldn't expect that from an 'A' series without at least a rebore / regrind at some point, but I would on a modern.
 
onomatopoeia said:
Some cars do have bits that wear out with miles, irrespective of following the correct maintenance schedule with the correct parts / lubricants (though skipping services will make it worse). Camshafts on the Audi 2.5l V6 TDi 24v is one example, same thing on the Ford Pinto engine, though that only had one camshaft to wear the lobes on.

Generally though, as others have said with proper servicing 200k miles or more is entirely possible on engines made in the last 20 years. I wouldn't expect that from an 'A' series without at least a rebore / regrind at some point, but I would on a modern.
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Ford Pinto only wore camshaft lobes because the holes in the oil spray bar were too small and prone to blocking. A spray bar with slightly larger holes was introduced and solved the problem.
 
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