[Help] High mileage cars

[Icy Gull]

I would never buy a car that has done 100k or more. Plenty of 2nd hand cars about. Just take your time.

And there lies the reason that as long as a car has a documented (and I mean with bills not just a stamped service book) service history and you check the MOT and advisories, why you stand a good chance of getting 100k plus mileage cars for a bargain. The fear of the mileage puts so many people off that it’s normally a buyers market.

I have no fear of high mileage cars as long as they have history from a main dealer or decent Indie (you’d have to do your research on that)

Older low mileage cars have often been used locally and on short distances. Engine wear is likely to be more as they have been started and stopped as often as a high mileage car and seldom properly warmed up. They may also have been driven hard when cold. I often see/hear my neighbour in a newish sporty car set off down the road from cold at speed and high revs. Cold engines don’t like that.

Good luck!

Oh and if you’re wondering what the hell I’m doing posting this at three in the morning (you’re probably not but I’m going to tell you anyway!), it’s because a spider over a sensor set my fecking house alarm off, and I’m now wide awake FFS

 

[Blue3]

I had a little Mazda 1.5 the most basic of cars no air con or electric Windows, when I purchased it there was 92,000 miles on the clock it was ten years old when I sold it 150,000 miles on the clock it never failed an MOT only parts replaced in that time I owned it were one radiator tyres and brake pads, somone I knew had it next it went on to do 180,000 miles when he upgraded to another car with electric Windows

And as Icy Gull above I am up at silly o'clock as the dog got me up to let him out for a wee he's gone back to bed while I am wide awake and on here!

 

[boik]

Bought a Toyota Previa with 113,000 on it. Used it as a camper for 4 years all round Scotland and literally nothing ever went wrong with it. Loads of them that seem to do 400,000. Depends on the car though obviously.

 

[Petunia]

I would have no problem buying a second hand German car with 100k+ on the clock if it had a full service history, cam belt OK and in good shape bodywork wise.
I had a BMW 328 years ago from new, I sold it on 120,000 and it was as good as the day I got it.
The straight 6 engine was a thing of beauty.

Blimey. Just how old are you...?

 

[zefarelly]

I had a nearly new SUbaru Legacy estate in 2005 as a company car . . .handed it back on 55k . . . . . a year later I bought my own for £4k. . . .89000 on the clock. 10 years later I've still got it with 163000 on the clock . . . . yes its a bit battered and bruised but it still works perfectly in every respect. It's not uncommon for them to do in excess of 250k miles.

I am now looking for something a little 'fresher' and given the 2nd hand car market is so large, there are plenty of good bargains out there. personally I like a relatively simple but quality car so its affordable to maintain and reliable. The Subaru does that in spades.

 

[Iggle Piggle]

I'm thinking of getting into Leasing - Some models are as cheap as chips if you are not fussy

Any bad experiences on here?

 

[Easy 10]

I've got a Honda Civic 1.8 VTEC with 109k on the clock. Runs like a dream, my mechanic says they are pretty much indestructible. No worries about cam belts either, they have a chain drive. You see bloody millions of them on the road.

 

[zefarelly]

I'm thinking of getting into Leasing - Some models are as cheap as chips if you are not fussy

Any bad experiences on here?

Leasing is the way forward if you want something new shiny and have a budget.

our next door neighbour fancies himself as a bit of a billy big bollocks and has a porker tractor turbo diesel thing . . . . about £700 a month to hire a car I reckon. He likes it.

I'll stick to using a cheap hack for day to day and an appreciating classic for high days and holidays. over the last ten years I'm probably about evens in running costs appreciation/depreciation.

 

[Iggle Piggle]

Leasing is the way forward if you want something new shiny and have a budget.

our next door neighbour fancies himself as a bit of a billy big bollocks and has a porker tractor turbo diesel thing . . . . about £700 a month to hire a car I reckon. He likes it.

I'll stick to using a cheap hack for day to day and an appreciating classic for high days and holidays. over the last ten years I'm probably about evens in running costs appreciation/depreciation.

I'm currently in a company car scheme which is no longer worth persevering with as the tax laws have changed to the point its uneconomical (you can take the cash instead which I will do)

230 a month can get you a 4 series BMW 15k miles a year. I can't get anywhere near that with a bank loan. Looks too good to be true.

 

[Lower West Stander]

Great thread this. Like many on here I just can't bring myself to buying a new car - not really because of the actual cost, but because you lose so much in depreciation.. My 83 year old mum's car got written through an insurance job and I got her to buy a 12 year old A Class with 89,000 on the clock. She was nervous of the mileage but its gone like a dream for the last two years and she loves it.

Makes me wonder who drives all the brand new cars we see on the roads.......

 

[zefarelly]

most of the brand new cars on the roads are lease hire and fleet.

its only old and rich people who buy a brand new car. I was chatting to a friend in the juicer a few weeks ago and he ( mid 60's) just bought a brand new car . . . . intelligent guy, can afford it and just wanted to do it once . . . . fully aware it cost him £10k the first 20 metres!!!

I sold a Cortina to buy my Subaru . . . . same price 10 years ago . . . . Subaru now worth £500-1000 . . .Cortina £7-8k . . . .a 55 year old car does wear you down in the winter though.

 

[surrey jim]

I'm currently in a company car scheme which is no longer worth persevering with as the tax laws have changed to the point its uneconomical (you can take the cash instead which I will do)

230 a month can get you a 4 series BMW 15k miles a year. I can't get anywhere near that with a bank loan. Looks too good to be true.

Presumably a hefty deposit down to start

 

[Shropshire Seagull]

Another point not mentioned yet - bodywork / chassis corrosion ...

Whilst the general standards have vastly improved with more use of plastic [I remember the old Lancia] - a few decades ago engines would outlast bodywork - did I hear right that the UK is now the ONLY country in the world still putting SALT on the roads to deal with snow and ice? Once that gets into your steel chassis it's only a matter of time - 10 years of UK winters used to do for many a decent motor, but not so now ...

 

[WATFORD zero]

I'm currently in a company car scheme which is no longer worth persevering with as the tax laws have changed to the point its uneconomical (you can take the cash instead which I will do)

230 a month can get you a 4 series BMW 15k miles a year. I can't get anywhere near that with a bank loan. Looks too good to be true.

The thing that always worries me on these sort of deals is that someone is going to take the hit for the depreciation on a brand new car (which is going to be substantial), and I can't imagine it's going to be the lease-hire company that takes it

 

[blue-shifted]

I've got a high mileage wife if this can add anything to the conversation

 

[Notters]

Just get a documented full service history and check the mot history (online) including all advisories. Also check that High mileage motors with cam belts have had them replaced.

Can anyone who knows about cars explain why cars still have cam belts?

Seems one of the many good reasons to by a Toyota (which don't).

 

[Tony Le Mesmer]

I've got a Honda Civic 1.8 VTEC with 109k on the clock. Runs like a dream, my mechanic says they are pretty much indestructible. No worries about cam belts either, they have a chain drive. You see bloody millions of them on the road.

Similar. Bought a Honda Civic 2.2 Litre diesel over 6 years ago with 130k on the clock. Now nearly 210k, no major issues and plenty of life in the old girl...

 

[The Andy Naylor Fan Club]

I've got a high mileage wife if this can add anything to the conversation

 

[Iggle Piggle]

Presumably a hefty deposit down to start

2 grand.

 

[Recidivist]

I've got a high mileage wife if this can add anything to the conversation

Mine's high maintenance so join the club ....!


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