Used cars over 100, 000 miles, any good?

[Obelix]

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.

 

So that's a far cry from the knackered engines and gearbox and so forth you were on about...

 

Most passats at that mileage will have been used as sales cars on the motorway.

 

And if you are getting a lot of cars needing new wheel bearings at 150k then you are leasing really bad cars.

[truman]

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.

 

I generally do around 120-130 thousand miles in my company cars in 3 years before they go back to the lease company..if the mileage could be turned back I'd challenge you to pick one of my cars out amongst a genuine average miler..

[the_bloke]

Just considering but need one soon, probably Peugeot, one is 307, 2006, 82 thousand miles, timing belt done, 1990 pounds, or Peugeot 307, 2006, 100,000 miles, 1300, otherwise Mazda 3, 2005, 1300, but only MOT till March.

 

Avoid anything French; the engines will last (especially diesels) but the electrics will be shot to bits at that age.

 

I had a Mazda 3 for a good few years, and it was pretty indestructible, in terms of reliability I couldn't recommend one enough. Plus, a lot of parts are Ford parts and cheaper than you think. Just watch out for rust on the arches at that age.

[foxy lady]

I generally do around 120-130 thousand miles in my company cars in 3 years before they go back to the lease company..if the mileage could be turned back I'd challenge you to pick one of my cars out amongst a genuine average miler..

 

That's pretty easy. You just drive them. There is a major difference between driving a car with new shock absorbers and ones that have done 100,000 miles. When you get to drive identical looking cars with differing mileages when taking them to the auction that difference is blindingly obvious.

[truman]

That's pretty easy. You just drive them. There is a major difference between driving a car with new shock absorbers and ones that have done 100,000 miles. When you get to drive identical looking cars with differing mileages when taking them to the auction that difference is blindingly obvious.

 

That's a lot less than what you suggested would be wrong with a high mileage car....

 

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.

 

[foxy lady]

So that's a far cry from the knackered engines and gearbox and so forth you were on about...

 

Most passats at that mileage will have been used as sales cars on the motorway.

 

And if you are getting a lot of cars needing new wheel bearings at 150k then you are leasing really bad cars.

 

It's not a far cry at all. A 100,000 mile engine is a 100,000 mile engine. A 100,000 mile car is a 100,000 mile car, with all the suspension movements, gear changes, steering turn that entails.

 

Reps cars are usually the low spec options that you wouldn't want anyway. They are also generally the ones that have been thrashed to death in all weathers. The higher spec cars generally do far less mileage.

 

We lease out new cars. They arrive back as used. I think we have a fair idea of what we are doing. We have been at it for several decades.

Edited December 8, 2015 by foxy lady

[truman]

It's not a far cry at all. A 100,000 mile engine is a 100,000 mile engine. A 100,000 mile car is a 100,000 mile car.

 

Reps cars are usually the low spec options that you wouldn't want anyway. They are also generally the ones that have been thrashed to death in all weathers.

 

We lease out new cars. They arrive back used. I think we have a fair idea of what we are doing. We have been at it for several decades.

 

I'd sooner have a 100k mile car thats 3 years old and been serviced correctly than a 6/7 year old one with 40k on it that hasn't seen the inside of a garage for 4 years.... I disagree with your comment about low spec cars..mine have never been low spec. (although can you define "rep." ?).always highest or next to it...I've a fair idea of my cars ..I have been driving them for decades I assume you give the returned ones away?

Edited December 8, 2015 by truman

[Chelle-82]

Is a car with over 100,000 miles for around 1000+ worth getting, are you just taking on other peoples problems, does how many owners it has had, have any bearing on the above, etc?

 

Depends what make, how long you expect to keep it for and how much more mileage you put on top..

 

I bought an 11yrs Seat Ibiza that had 155,000 miles on it and I kept it for 3yrs before it finally died (needed a new catalytic converter and oxygen sensor) I added another 9,000 miles to it in those three years and it ran like a dream right up to the end of it's life bless it.... was also very economical on petrol..

 

Still miss that car

[foxy lady]

I'd sooner have a 100k mile car thats 3 years old and been serviced correctly than a 6/7 year old one with 40k on it that hasn't seen the inside of a garage for 4 years.... I disagree with your comment about low spec cars..mine have never been low spec. (although can you define "rep." ?).always highest or next to it...I've a fair idea of my cars ..I have been driving them for decades I assume you give the returned ones away?

 

No we don't give them away. We send most to auction. The better low mileage ones are bought by dealers, who stick them on their forecourts as manufacturer approved used cars. I'm pretty confident that the guys know what they are doing and not much slips through the net.

Folk often buy the nails at auction and stick them on street corners or in laybys with a mobile phone number on the screen. They get quite a lot of coverage on Watchdog.

The advantage of a high mileage newer car is the bragging rights it brings when you park it outside for the neighbours to see. Those bragging rights evaporate pretty quickly when the AA arrive to tow it away.

[geared]

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

 

Most rear subframes are abit corroded, but with an MOT it could just be an odd tester being very specific or a genuine problem.

 

It's worth checking out, it could be absolutely nothing whatsoever, on most cars it's not usually a common place to go - you'd expect the sills, or the arches, or the jacking points, or the chassis rails to rust well before the subframe or rear beam do.

 

---------- Post added 08-12-2015 at 17:22 ----------

 

No we don't give them away. We send most to auction. The better low mileage ones are bought by dealers, who stick them on their forecourts as manufacturer approved used cars. I'm pretty confident that the guys know what they are doing and not much slips through the net.

Folk often buy the nails at auction and stick them on street corners or in laybys with a mobile phone number on the screen. They get quite a lot of coverage on Watchdog.

The advantage of a high mileage newer car is the bragging rights it brings when you park it outside for the neighbours to see. Those bragging rights evaporate pretty quickly when the AA arrive to tow it away.

 

So (genuine question) can ordinary folk buy the 'decent' cars off you (or companies like yours) or is there some kind of 'trade marketplace' where the independent car dealers all go to get their stock.

 

It's just I've always wondered where the used car dealer gets their stuff from (as I imagine they must get through a fair bit of stock)