General Low mileage rant

[MattB2k]

I've had to post this thread because I feel there is some gap in my knowledge. In writing this I am not trying to pee people off or cause offence but to question. There have been a number of posts recently saying that low mileage was not quite what it is cracked up to be with a used car.

First questions are: would you have Doc's car? would you have Lanciaman's car? would you have one of Jay Leno's cars or Nick Mason's or perhaps one of the cars from the Porsche museum?

I would. If you know what you are doing, it is perfectly possible to keep a car in great condition on low miles, there are tonnes of posts on this forum with good advice about tyre pressures, run times, humidity, battery conditioning and the like.

So what could make a high mileage car okay? Motorway miles are good. Suspension bushes, engine mounts, Interior bits like seat bolsters gear levers etc will get less wear in 100k of motorway miles than in 100k of daily short journey use.

Getting in an out of a car ruins the interior, driving round corners knackers the suspension, short journeys that do not fully heat up the engine and exhaust, ruin the engine and exhaust. Changing up and down gears uses the gearbox and clutch, so unsurprisingly wearing them out.

High mileage cars, thanks to the law of averages, rarely get to do only motorway miles; they get used to go to the shops, to the tip, to the pub and to work etc.

What does age do? Well it is true that age ruins rubber and plastics at differing rates, depending on the quality of rubber and plastics and on the exposure to heat cold and sunshine. Metals don't fare too well either, damp steel rusts and some alloys, though immune to corrosion once a layer of oxide has built up, will fatigue naturally with age.

All three of my cars; W124 E300 Merc 50k, Mk3 Golf GTI 80k, Fiat Barchetta 65k, have lower than average miles on them being 19, 13 and 10 years old respectively, and thanks to my cycling habit are sharing a measly 4k of miles between them in a year. Needless to say they are all perfect .

So my question is, why or perhaps when, is a low mileage car not as good as a high mileage car? If the only answer is that a high mileage car is more likely to have been kept well then I'm afraid I just don't believe it.

Discuss....

 

[Eklipze3k]

I was having a similar chat with my brother's friend last night - he was talking about a guy that he knows who owns a Land Rover of some variety with nearly 400k on the clock and could easily do that amount again if the guy continues to look after it as he currently is. On the flip side of that I also know someone on the 126 forum who has come across an original 500 which - although at has only had one owner and only has (IIRC) 60k on the clock, it is literally a pile of rust sitting on the guy's driveway.

The only way you're going to know for sure is to actually look at the car that you're planning to buy, speak to the current owner and forget about how many miles it has. I know that I'd rather pay money for a 400k Landie that's in near factory condition than be given a rusted heap of 500 for free.

 

[Funkstar De Luxe]

You would be amazed at how much you can improve a cars condition with very little money. As long as everything is mechanically sound, a bit of elbow-grease can go miles.

 

[silverbarchetta]

Couldn't agree more Matt. Quality post

 

[afroking]

I am 21 and have had 5 cars; VW Beetle 60k, Fiat X1/9 40k, Alfa 156 105k, Vauxhall Corsa 18k and my Barchetta 80k.
The Beetle never needed anything other than service Items and was always kept outside, it could well have been round the clock and was on its second engine.
The Fiat was dry stored for 9 years and had very good bodywork, however mechanically it was f*cked, the rubbers had perished, the shocks and springs were nackered, the cooling system needed a re-build as did the brakes.
The Alfa never gave any trouble - ever.
The Corsa needed work on electrical components and suspension and a suspected steering rack and a new gear selector.
The Barchetta had only needed service Items and minor niggles, never given any trouble.

So, I think we call all agree from my experience, the higher mileage cars I have owned have been perfect, whilst the lower mileage, especially the X1/9 that was dry stored with with all the humidity, trickle charge crap gave the most problems. Even the Corsa gave problems after just 3 years and 18k.

Better the devil you know

 

[topher]

I think there is a difference here is what people are classing as low mileage use, I think there are two clear differences:

1) A car that was bought new, did 20,000miles in the first year and was then not used for 10 years

2) A car that does 2,000 miles a year.

The first car will be crap if it was just parked up and left, the 2nd car will be fine! but both have the same mileage and same age.

My opinion (for what its worth - this is a fourm so somewhere to post opinions!) is that I would touch car 2 and not car one unless it is cheap and someone is looking for a bit of a project - i.e. is happy to change rubbers, overhaul brake systems etc.

The following things may require attention after a long period of lay up:

The seals in everything! - Brake cylinders, crank end seals, camshaft end seals....

The rubber bushes in the suspension, tyres

Suspension springs, dampers (seals go and fluid leaks out)

Fuel tank (I always leave mine full to the brim if its sitting for a few months to reduce the amount of condensation that can form)

Possible every part of the body if it is in a himid garage (I did find an old fiesta being stored in a garage with a tumble dryer - venting into the garage, the owner thought it was good as it would keep the car warm - didnt think about the damp air!

 

[afroking]

Good post Topher, we can only draw from our experiences.

 

[docorangepeel]

I think it has a lot to do with the person who owns and looks after the car.

From what I have seen playing with my Barchetta over the last few years is the B rusts from the inside out and that can only be seen when you get up close and personal with the car. I would remove the front bumper of any B as that gives you a good insight into what's going on under the skin of your B.

 

[Nino_1975]

I think it's down to so many varibles.

Make of car.
How you treat the car (Boy racer or car respector)
How often you service it and look out for warning signs.
Has it been crashed.
How it's stored when not driven.
Are you tweeking it?

Loads of stuff.

Mileage is nothing if you look after the car, what is the record? I think it's a volvo with 1mill milles with it's orignal engine and no rebuild.

I had a mk2 golf with 180k on the clock and still a dream. My MG went back at 8K, My 1st B was great at 18K after 3yrs until the local garage crashed it.

My car has 88K on and drives like a dream. It's low miles for 12yrs old.

So it's all about it's life history. You can kill a car quickly. ever had a hire car???? I used to rant them, gear change on the limiter!

 

[Mad Matt]

I've just realised I've been driving for 21 years! Of course, old and stupid is still stupid.

Moving on..... I think it's clear that high mileage isn't a guarantee of a good car but shouldn't necessarily put you off. The skill, in my opinion, is knowing the difference between a car that's still going strong and one that's about had it.

In terms of the Barchetta I found much the same as the rest of you, bolts that rusted, rubbers that perished and so on. I commuted 230km each way for a while and it didn't let me down once, but there were a few niggles to fix, but I'd say it was a good car for an 11 year old.

One thing, no-one else seems to have mentioned is that I found the seats didn't last that well. I also wore a hole where my accelerator foot went

I did once inherit (well my Grandma gave it to me when she gave up driving) a Nissan Sunny (yuck) which hadn't seen a lot of miles and was only driven on short journeys. I cleaned up the carb, gave it a good service and it proved irritatingly indestructible until a friend put it up against a lorry! Point being, that sometimes low mileage can work too, but I'd tend to lean towards high mileage never-the -less.