Used cars over 100, 000 miles, any good?

[gamezone07]

one of the cars i tested using that utility came up with 'rear sub frame corroded, but not seriosly weakened, pretty bad problem, yes?

[Dardandec]

one of the cars i tested using that utility came up with 'rear sub frame corroded, but not seriosly weakened, pretty bad problem, yes?

 

If you fancy sticking a subframe on it at some point or chasing your tail having it welded every time the mot comes round.

[Obelix]

Why would you want to?

 

Modern cars don't suffer from the rust problems that they did 20 or 30 years ago. With over 2 million cars sold every year, 2 million end up going to the scrap yard. Many of those without massive mileage. Why buy a worn out motor with worn out suspension, bearings, gearbox and engine, when a lower mileage one can be had for the same price. Just so long as it is lower miles!

 

Lower miles doesnt equate better condition. A car that has done 150,000 motorway miles will be in far better condition than one that's done 50,000 miles of short runs about town.

[GrannyGranny]

Its a 2nd hand car.

 

There's always a risk.

 

For everyone with a story of a car bought for £1000 last 5 years with no problems there will be a horror story.

 

Check the history, has been done on time?, look around it, does it look well looked after? many owners? Cheap tyres? etc..

 

For that budget I would keep with petrol. Less to go wrong.

 

Where are you looking?

 

Private or dealer?

[foxy lady]

Lower miles doesnt equate better condition. A car that has done 150,000 motorway miles will be in far better condition than one that's done 50,000 miles of short runs about town.

 

But when you buy a car that's done 150,000 you don't know it hasn't done those 150,000 miles round town. And when you buy a car that's done 50,000 it is just as likely to have done them on the motorway.

[Obelix]

But when you buy a car that's done 150,000 you don't know it hasn't done those 150,000 miles round town. And when you buy a car that's done 50,000 it is just as likely to have done them on the motorway.

 

But the post you made clearly indicated that a high milage car must be worn out and a low mileage one wouldnt be.

 

The key is to look at the cars history and type of car. A small engined Ford fiesta that's ten years old and has 50,000 on it is doing 5k a year and is a short run shopping trolley. A 2 litre diesel PAssat that's done 150k in 4 years is going to have spent most of it's life on the motorway. It's not as simple as low mileage good high milage bad.

[foxy lady]

But the post you made clearly indicated that a high milage car must be worn out and a low mileage one wouldnt be.

 

The key is to look at the cars history and type of car. A small engined Ford fiesta that's ten years old and has 50,000 on it is doing 5k a year and is a short run shopping trolley. A 2 litre diesel PAssat that's done 150k in 4 years is going to have spent most of it's life on the motorway. It's not as simple as low mileage good high milage bad.

 

We lease cars for a living and sell when they come back in. High mileage cars are the ones that rattle have windscreens you can't see through, have worn out seats, carpets and seat belts and need new wheel bearings. But you take your choice.

 

A 2 litre diesel PAssat that's done 150k in 4 years is going to have spent most of it's life working as a taxi.

[sgtkate]

If you can get a car through a dealer at a good price, see if you can negotiate a warranty period on it, even if it's just a couple of months. At least that way you can avoid driving the car out of the garage just to have it fail 5 miles down the road. A dealer won't likely sell you a lemon if they know it can come back to them under warranty.

[gamezone07]

wrong post

Edited December 7, 2015 by gamezone07
clarity

[Villiers]

I run four vans for work a Bipper and three connect vans,the Bipper has 251.000 miles on the clock and apart from the usual brakes tyres and belts and suspension tops has never been any trouble at all and is used daily for long distance,the connect vans all have well over 100,000 on the clock and again apart from service ware and tare things still run well,most diesels if serviced regular will run well into the hundreds of thousands of miles,I don't think petrol engines seem to cover as much miles before they clap out,it all depends on how they have been looked after in the past, short distance daily trips are best done in a petrol car long distance motorway driving is best done in a diesel car,a far cry from the old cortinas and vauxhalls that would be on the scrap heap after 50,000 miles.