High mileage stories good or bad .

[s33nyboy12]

After talking with a friend about buying a new car I thought I would post up here for some arguements for or against buying a higher mileage car.

So the conversation was along the lines of my friend is looking for a new car and we are on autotrader, on the drop down menu for mileage he picks upto 80k. I asked why have you picked 80k you won't get a decent motor for your budget with less than 100k mileage on . He replies cars with 100k or more on are knackered , only good for scrap !

I laughed and left him to it, we spoke to the lads in the gym I brought it up and they all agreed with him. Now we use to have a d5 Volvo s60 company car with 210k on it when we got rid of it and we had no problems with it at all was brilliant ( bought with 105k on) and missed by everyone when we sold it for a brand new toyota avensis which we had nothing but problems with! ( obviously under warranty so didn't cost a penny but was annoying).

So I want some other peoples opinions for or against , please include make , model, mileage, any problems later on and age or reccomendations. How long you've owned etc.....

Here's mine:

2004 Volvo s60 d5 2.4 163bhp
210,000 miles,
3 year ownership as pool car multi drivers,
No problems ,
Had oil and filter every 9,000 miles , ( Mechanic friend reccomended)
3 Cambelt kits,
Highly reccomend as daily work horse motorway eater.

Sean

 

[Oranoco]

Go back 20 years or so and mileage was a far bigger issue and 100k was like a tombstone to a car. My B5 A4 1.8T is just about to hit 180,000 miles (100k of which with me and modified), it's used daily for commute and site visits for my work as well as being punted round race tracks. The old girl is still on the original clutch, box and turbo and has less squeeks and rattles than my mrs 61 plate Peugeot. On the flip side I took a Fiat Sceicento Sporting in that had just 30k on it with a documented history and the head gasket had gone, upon getting the head off we discovered the head had already been off and skimmed prior. Ex's mother purchased a 7k mile Vauxhall Corsa and that turned out to be a total pup, in and out of the dealer like a yo yo.

 

[enc]

Had a mk4 golf gti 20v turbo. 1999 year.

Bought with 95k miles. Ex lease car so was provided with a fully detailed break down of service history. And I mean fully detailed.... Included replacement tyres, brake discs, pads, paint repairs to a scratched wing ....Everything .

Sold it 10 years later with 192000 miles on it. still on original turbo, clutch etc etc. it was serviced aprox every 5000 miles with decent oil and oem oil filters. Interior including recaro seats were stil like new.

Never used oil and never failed to start.

 

[Nilz]

Mileage is still an issue with the younger ones and i think alot of old schoolers as well, I dont personally have a problem with it, had a Mk3 Golf Gti, got it with 130k and sold it with 150k, A4 had 110k and sold it with 150k too, S3 currently owned has about 165k on it, when i tell people they are like oh my God you really need to get something newer....however why change when you dont need to??

I also think a very high mileage car would have been looked after well, as if it hadnt, it wouldnt have got to that mileage.

 

[voorhees]

I went to see a 5 year old S3 at the dealers it had FSH and 30k mileage,the car was cosmetically in worse condition than my 110K 11 year old one.
Someone on here bought it and had a few issues with the engine/electrics.

 

[Geoffads]

I have no problem buying high mileage cars, just have to be careful and give them a good inspection.

 

[enc]

[QUOTE="Nilz, p
I also think a very high mileage car would have been looked after well, as if it hadnt, it wouldnt have got to that mileage.[/QUOTE]

Good point

 

[AdamB8]

I used to get hung up on high mileage, when looking at my A4 I wouldn't go near anything with over 60k... Bought a 6 year old 45k example in mint condition and both front wheel bearings failed a month after

 

[Darren92]

A friend of mine has a B5 S4 1999 Avant with 210k on it. Original turbos and clutch too I believe. Full history from new including all receipts.

Still pulls like a trooper and just loves to be revved.

 

[jojo]

It depends on the type of car and age of car really. My B5 Passat has just turned 220k, original turbo/block/clutch, and still goes very well. I think the engine will outlast the car personally, the bodywork is showing signs of tiredness, and the suspension needed a rebuild at 180k miles, so you need to factor in wear on other components.
I don't mind high mileage on a young car that's lived most of it's life on the motorway, but you always have to factor in some dough on the side for maintenance just incase. No one actually thinks buying a high mileage car automatically means it's going to be reliable right? It's the luck of the draw... Even buying nearly new these days is the luck of the draw to be honest!

 

[A4_MaJiK]

My previous car was a Mk4 Golf 1.6 16v. My mum bought it at around 40k and always had it serviced by VW themselves. I then purchased it off her at around 80k and kept on top of servicing myself at that point. The car went on until it was 14 years old with 180k on it before I sold it still on the original clutch and gearbox, although head gasket symptoms began to appear around 178k.

 

[AlexGSi2000]

So many variables with this one;

• Where the car lives and is parked (cosy garage or next to a stormy/salty beach)
• Drivers driving style - (warmed up / driven hard from the off)
• Maintenance of the vehicle (regular servicing and parts / only repaired when fails an MOT)
• How the car is used (daily office commute / used by a builder)

Each car is different and cant be judged without seeing the car. As others have said, generally if the car is looked after - then it will last longer.

I have owned my A4 for 3 years, spent around £6k on maintenance during this period, bought with 119k and now on 180k, Im pretty sure if it wasnt me that bought the car then it would have been scrapped by now.

Again, as others have said, people tend to disregard cars at anything close to 100k due to thinking they will be worn out.
They will be worn to a certain extent (suspension bushes, shocks.etc) but not too drastic unless they have engine trouble.

I have found this also down to the fact that people dont want to be seen in a high-milage car.

 

[pluves1]

Generally cars with higher mileages are likely to need 'big ticket' items replacing along the way. It's luck of the draw - some cars will be good for another x miles whilst others will need major work shortly after purchase.

Given the experience of family members who have bought high mileage I would never go down that route.

 

[Jake 61]

I know one local lad to me who has had three A4's with in excess of 170,000 miles and has never had any bother.
Audi's seem to have their calamities around 120-130,000, so anything that lives beyond this point, will probably have had a bit of work done and be sound enough.
Personally, I still have a 145,000 mile A3 which has had a lot done and goes like a clock and previously, our A4 got killed at a junction with over 180,000. I'm sure it would have lived to over 200,000 had it not been murdered by a Citroen...!
It's pot luck with cars, some make it and some don't.
They don't do it without being looked after though.

 

[DieselJake]

S3 currently owned has about 165k on it, when i tell people they are like oh my God you really need to get something newer

HATE when people say this! Mostly get it from family members yet my car's been the most reliable in the house (despite everything it's been put through). I like the look of some new car's but electronic faults, cost of the car (or finance... and I don't like finance) and all these new "environmentally friendly" parts which cause more problems than they fix make me wonder if I'm actually getting any benefit. If I had the cash i'd take more of a look into the subject but I'd still want a tried and tested engine that I can remove all the eco rubbish from then get rid of any silly dash lights.

 

[B5NUT]

My A6 3.0TDI now has 200K miles on the clock, and my A4 has just short of 300K miles on the clock, they have oil changes every 5K miles, they are well service and anything that need to be replaced is done. The A4 had a HG replacement but that was a know issue with the engine model, and the A6 injector replacement again know issues with that year of engine, but other than that they are both going strong.

I like high mileage Audi's, as long as the interior is in good condition & the body work is also in good condition then everything else can be fixed, and If your able to do the work yourself then you can save a massive amount on motoring costs.

 

[s33nyboy12]

So the highest at the minute then on here is b5nut with 300k on his a4! Nice one

Any higher.........?

I think it's more of what people think , it's normally third or fourth question about a car after how much you pay ? What's it drive like ? What's the mileage etc

There has to be someone on here with higher mileage?

I think prawns track car has 180,000+ on still going strong regularly thrashed! but maintained well.

Sean

 

[Scottk]

There's a thread on VWAF-UK vag high mileage thread- some of the 1.9tdi passats, golfs audis had well over 200k. One Passat was over 400k! Plenty other high mileage cars as well but the 1.9 seemed particularly good. My A6 C5 2.8q did 170k before I got rid of it, my C6 3.0tdi had 130k and was running great when I traded it in. Must admit my new car worries me with the amount of electronics!

 

[JohnM100]

The point made already about 'lots of variables' is a key one, as is number of owners.

I had my A3 8L 1.8T from new. Sold at 11 years and 108k which is not high by the standards of this thread but it never missed a beat. Rust free too, even the door blades and roof gutters. Maintained it scrupulously.

The only non-consumable parts that failed were secondary air pump and 1 MAF sensor.

Battery, Water pumps, thermostats, oil pump (@100k) were all changed for planned preventative maintenance and services eg when doing cambelts.

Still had original alternator, clutch, box, turbo, springs/shocks, fuel pump & exhaust.

Only reason I sold it was that it had gone quite a way outside the work car policy.

John.

 

[TomSx]

I always buy on history/condition. Not mileage.

I took my Bora 1.8T to 165k with no issues and had many cars 100k+

 

[Bbflex]

My car is a 10 owner car with me being the tenth lol! It had 105k on the clock when I picked it up and has been good to me so far, the so many owners is a strange one though as it had over 7 owners before the warranty run out 3 years later, the last owner had it about 7-8 years iirc, I didn't know this till I looked at it I new about the owners just not the history of them.

I'll also go on condition, the car smoked a little black smoke, and looked as if it had been standing a while, mulled it over and being an A8 checked litterally everything worked, also who is selling it also clinches the deal for me, if I don't like the bloke or woman I'll walk away regardless, so far my way hasn't bitten me and Iv had a few good motors on the cheap

 

[RS4 Cookie]

My previous Motor '05' plate A4 3.0 TDI S-Line had 187500 mls on it when I bought it in 2010, it was a company motor, sales rep, motorway mileage, full history even had Audi receipts for wipers and an indicator bulb. Sold it in March this year with 246784 mls still full history and apart from wear and tear items all I had to replace was the toothed belt that drove the high pressure pump and the fuel cooler. I don't have any issues with high mileage motors, you buy a car to use it, not to sit on the mantle piece. As mentioned above +1 History/Condition...Mileage, unless seriously high pretty much irrelevant.