What do you consider to be high mileage ?

If the car is serviced at correct times then it should keep going should it not ?

Some of the taxis/merc diesels get 300000 miles plus !

Whats you car on ?

Got rid of an Omega with 280,000 miles about 6 months ago.

It had just had enough, tbh.
It was getting uneconomic to repair, needed a full suspension rebuild, new rear brakes and more tlc than I had the time to give it.

Good car to drive, but I couldn’t justify spending anymore cash on it.
The previous owner had let it go a bit and it just needed too much doing to justify keeping it.

I’d have another though, a very well looked after estate for preference.

Current One on 80 so ‘low’ mileage considering. My 306 was sold with 170k on. Would’ve got a load more mileage out of it but I was spending too much time tinkering with it keeping it going. Engine was sound but it was things like shocks, bushes, engine mounts etc that I couldn’t be bothered with. My old mans petrol vw passat was an old Y reg and he scrapped it at 285k

Mazda 6 estate 166K running well hope for loads more miles.

My current alfa 147 diesel on a 54 plate is on 170k and apart from a healthy appetite for front tyres and brake pads seems to be as strong as an ox (cue fail to start in the morning 😳 )

My last van had 230K, we were selling the gf’s Skoda Octavia, one taxi driver reckoned he was getting 800k out of them….not sure how much that was triggers brush but still good going

Many old cars used to be built to go on forever, that happens a lot less these days with planned obsolescence, but you do get a few cars that will stand up to more miles than others.

Old(er) cars that would go on forever, at least if well enough looked after and the rest of the car hasn’t fallen apart round the engine include…

Old BMW 5 series, E34’s especially. I’ve had 2, they were just built to go on forever and a day. The only reason there’s not that many on the road any more is cos people can’t afford the fuel or the servicing costs, cos otherwise they’re made out of stern stuff! At 150k miles, my old 540i felt just about run in, used no oil, and drove pretty much like it was factory fresh. Though anything with the old iron block, M50 6 cylinder lump will go on and on… Widely reckoned to be one of, if not the most, over engineered engine to go into a mass production car. They’ll do 500k miles before they need opening up as long as they’re serviced on the button.

Old Merc’s, especially old 190E’s and E class’s from the late 80’s and early 90’s. Old Taxi Driver’s fave’s, overbuilt and underpowered meant low stresses and they’d just keep going on and on.

Old Volvo’s, especially 240’s. Again, overbuilt and underpowered, and made out of solid granite!

Anything with a low state of tune VW group 1.9 diesel in it, as long as the rest of the car is looked after. If you get a 90bhp TDi, or even better (for longevity) a 62bhp SDi version of the VW 1.9 diesel lump, it will go on and on and on… Hence why Taxi drivers love em. If you wanna do mega miles, buy the SDi, Turbo’s are expensive to replace and if you’re doing 60k+ miles per year, you don’t want a £1k+ bill every 2-3 years for a new turbo really, hence the taxi drivers go for the SDi’s. 400k plus on an engine is normal, before a rebuild on these. Often, certainly for privately owned cars, it’s the rest of the car that falls apart around the engine long before it’s scrap time. Conversely though, I think I owned the only low milage (well 124k when it died) VW Group 1.9TDi engined Passat in the world to drop a valve into its engine, and totally destroy itself! Was a full main dealer service history car too… Posted on the VW forums at the time, they were all astounded, none of them had ever heard of such a failure on a VW TDi engine! Even worse is the Passat TDi I sold to get it (I sold a saloon to get an estate) I still see being driven round Malvern and it’s going fine!

But then you read stories like the next 2, and sit there in amazement…

http://www.mobil1.in/performance/miles.aspx

http://www.grautoblog.com/2011/06/08/worlds-highest-mileage-car-volvo-p1800/

I took a risk – bought my Octavia VRS @3 years old on 90k. It had been driven up & down the motorway for those 3 years by a salesman in a national laundry business. Highest miles car I’d ever bought by quite some margin – but it was very, very cheap.
A further 3.5 years later it’s on 113k, so converging towards average miles for the age of the car.
There have been no noticable ill effects from the milage, other than having to have the injectors replacd (bout £500 I think). Otherwise just your usual wear and tear stuff. It still feels tight to drive.
Also it’s not really lost much value due to the convergence to averageish miles for the age of the car. Good buy I reckon!

180k on my 2002 A4 1.9 TDi130 Avant. Original clutch, original exhaust, its never broken down or needed any work beyond regular servicing. Its on it’s 3rd cam belt now, still uses 1l of oil over 20,000 miles and returns 50mpg average quite easily and 55+ if I’m careful. Brilliant car!!

seat ibiza 1.9tdi 221,000 miles.

Edit! Just had a look in the service book and the toothed belt change was last carried out at 132,539 miles.

Just drive them smooth! Half the belt/tensioner failures are probably down to stripping down and someone messing something up while they’re in there lol.The car is worth pennies so I really don’t want to spend £300 on this job that cost me around £250 when it was last done. Oil change No 22 coming right up. I’m a bit late with it but that’s because of the MOT. Didn’t want to spend £40 on oil when it could have easily been scrapped. It looks bad not getting the belt done but I have stuck with the oil changes along with filters. Drained for hours (some overnight – not that it’s this that’s made it run for so long but it costs nowt to do and it helps)

Many old cars used to be built to go on forever, that happens a lot less these days with planned obsolescence

What’s an example of planned obsolescence (as opposed to crap design) in car design these days?

ahhhhhhh I feel happy about my latest steed to the pack then !

Bought a one owner-ed Merc Estate C270 cdi yr 2002 which is immaculate in every way full Merc service history for absolutely everything including new tyres in Jan at £500 !…still not told you the mileage yet or price…the guy I bought it from only used it for motorway driving his other cars where an Aston Martin and another Merc…I have the original bill of £36000 !

Anyway back to the mileage 206000 and I paid £1900 I have never bought a car with over 50000 miles before so I took a gamble…he only sold it as he got another brand new one ! (a treat to himself so he told me )

I now feel better that some of you guys are/have run cars well over 200000 miles even if the car I have just bought lasts out another year or two then its the depreciation I would have taken on any car at £4000…and who’s to say a £4000 car is any more reliable…If Id spent £4000 on a the same car it would have had 150000 miles on it…

Insurance was the same price as our old VW Touran 1.6 Fsi and service parts are the same cost…

BANGERNOMICS !

Many old cars used to be built to go on forever, that happens a lot less these days with planned obsolescence

Agree, most cars get scrapped now because secondhand values are very low, so its cheaper to change car than change four tyres. If values were a little higher I think we’d see cars going until the engine goes pop, not dumped due to a £300 bill to get through the MOT.

217,000 on my merc but needs a couple of jobs. Tailgate won’t stay up anymore which will cost £300 to fix and the driver door actuator needs replacing. Mercs aren’t as reliable as they used to be and cost a lot when they go wrong.

most cars get scrapped now because secondhand values are very low, so its cheaper to change car than change four tyres. If values were a little higher I think we’d see cars going until the engine goes pop, not dumped due to a £300 bill to get through the MOT.

Which is what will happen to mine sometime in the next year – currently on 154k and was only marginally worth paying to get through the MOT this year, which it scraped with a bit of bodging. Realistically it’s due a cambelt change, and will likely require significant work next year. It is 13 years old and not in a great state so probably only worth a few hundred if that – though I’m happy that what I’ve saved by not getting more than minimal servicing recently is more than it would be worth at that age and mileage if in mint condition.

I’ve had a 530D Sport Touring that I put 175k on and after that I had a 535D Sport Touring that I put 250k on. Most of the driving was work related to and fro stuff, long distance EU stuff (towing mostly) trips over to Hungary twice a year and Germany at least 7-8 times, then down the road to the co-op… and other non eventful shopping trips.
All my cars (except the current ones) have been company cars and all have been serviced and very well looked after.
Those 5’s were (probably still are) the best cars like eva. I’d deffo have another if I did stella mileage like I used to.

2003 Ibiza TDi Sport 130 – currently on 185k miles. I bought it 3 years old with 24k miles on it, so I have put quite a few on.

Still original clutch & exhaust, recently had it’s 3rd cambelt.
Only failed one MOT on CV joint gaiter, but it was serviced a few weeks before & the garage thought it would be OK. Should have changed it really.

Problems have been:
blown intercooler pipe
front NS wheel bearing weirdly at 38k miles & been fine since
New air con compressor at 160k miles
Front spring broke a few weeks ago (the flat bit that sits in the cup.

Well pleased with the car. I’m not doing as many miles from Monday so it won’t be having such a hard life…I would like to chop it in for a larger estate car to get the bike in, but can’t get rid of this while it’s going so well…

Peugeot 406 HDI estate at 169k. My wife put 150k on it in about 3 years so I got it just as it got run in!

That said, I am casting around for a new car at the moment…

2000 VW Golf SE estate. 2ltr petrol. Only got 96k on the clock. By no means average even.

Main dealer missed the fuel metering valve playing up at a major service about 6 years ago. Ended up washing out the lambda probes. Other than that just service parts, which I do myself. Flies through every mot. Never lets my down.

Mate at work just bought a Volvo C30, 58 plate with 96k on the clock. In comparison it feels brand new compared to my Golf. Mines full of rattles and squeaks.

Personally I think motorway miles over a couple of years do less damage than town miles over 10 years. My car isn’t “worth” anything. Only the value that it’s reliable and costs next to nothing to own. I’ve “lost” the monetary value long ago. So it owes me nothing. Even if I had to spend £1k a year on mot, insurance, repairs and servicing, it would still be low cost motoring.

I have a 2004 E46 BMW 320d estate with about 94k miles on it, I expect/hope to be able to get it to well over 200k. The guy that looks after it for me (ex-BMW mechanic) lent me his old 5 series (E34 I think) and it was on about 240k. I drove it for a couple of weeks and it felt like it was brand new.

1991 Mercedes 300TE 3 litre petrol estate (7 seater as well) 286,000 miles now and still going strong. Bought it for £900 6 years ago, costs bugger all to maintain, petrol costs quite high though 🙂 Best road car ever had.

Many years ago we had a VW Jetta saloon which had belonged to my Grandparents before they gave/sold it to my Mum. It was a 1.4L petrol so woefully underpowered especially when laden – needed a week’s written notice to accelerate in the mid-range but that was on very nearly 200,000 when my Mum sold it on.

It was an old X reg so 1981, think we got it in about 1985 and my Mum sold it in 1999.

Mine all look a bit rubbish in comparison.
1995 Proton Persona 1.6XLi, bought at 92k, dies at 104k. Not too bad for £200 though!
1993 Peugeot 306XND, bought at 92k, died at 104k.
1998 Mondeo 1.8LX TD Bought at 92k (see a theme?) died at 140k. I still the local garage killed it, it felt like it would last for ever, but the cocked up a timing belt change.
2003 Hyundai Trajet bought at 71k, now on 96k and going strong. Drink heavily so looking around for a van. Stuff in my price range all seems to hav 150k+ on it though, but that seems less unusual after reading the above!

Many old cars used to be built to go on forever, that happens a lot less these days with planned obsolescence

Utter rubbish. Absoutely total cobblers.

Cars are overall much more reliable than they used to be. And consistenly so, too.

planned obsolescence

= when the manufacturer decides to stop selling parts.

Service parts can be obtained from other manufacturers, but there will be certain items only available as OE. Salvage yards can work ok, but if the part on your is U/S then the one in the breakers yard are likely to be too. Plus there is an endless supply of Fords in there. Never a Golf. 😉

By comparison I have a SmartForTwo from 2005, bought new (with a few others for work) it’s done….

11k.

It’s amazing.

2003 ford focus 1.6 zetec, all manor of problems with it and it keeps going, never cost me more than £400, 113K on the clock and hoping to keep it until 150K+ or until it dies. Will keep this car running until it dies, though.

Breakers yards, sigh. Last time I went to one (in Leeds about 12 years ago) I was told I shouldn’t be climbing over the piles of cars with a handful of spanners and my favourite hammer. I phoned one a few years later (in Kent) and was then told that they strip the cars now and put everything on a shelf.

What a crying shame, half the fun of mending your own car used to be trying to find and retrieve the part first! Having to take it off another already broken car was also very helpful for learning to put it back on your hopefully not soon to be broken pride and joy.

Mine is only on 120000 miles, but it’s getting a bit fiddly… Ongoing servicing stops being routine once everything’s seized solid. Eventually the clutch or turbo or DMF will go and it won’t be worthwhile to fix. Which is a shame because 9/10ths of the car is fine

Drove a Saab 9000 with 245,000 on the clock whilst my 150,000 mile Saab 9-5 was in for a service.

To be fair it was a bit rough and around its edges but still pulled like a steam train.

Last model BMW E46 320d. Corrently a little over 177k on it.

Personally I think motorway miles over a couple of years do less damage than town miles over 10 years.

Wholeheartedly agree.

Current car is a 1998 535i bought with 80k four years ago for £2200 (it originally cost £42k…), now on 130k. One owner for seven years then two owners in six months.

It needed a bit of TLC when I bought it, and I’ve just kept on top of it since – best car I’ve ever had.

Had my 1997 1.8 petrol Ford Escort 8 years,it’s now done 169,000.
Engine had a new exhaust valve 5 years ago,apart from that just oil changes & cam belts.It’s on it’s last legs now though,a couple of years back the chassis needed welding,clutch has been slipping for 3 years & it got through last years mot after I duck taped the rear wheel arches.Recently it’s started making noises from the suspension when driving on less than perfect road surfaces,pretty much everywhere then.. I paid £1,000 for it,now looking for a new shape petrol Focus for less than £2,000

i have a volvo V40 with 165000 miles on the clock!

need a new engine mount though. but might not bother if it passes the MOT!

paid £500 for it in December with 4 months tax and a full tank of fuel (Circa £80)

Bargain

My Passat 130 tdi has almost 218K on it, had 96 when I got it in 2005. It’s a 51 plate. Still doing 47mpg overall, serviced by me & no real reason to change at the mo.

You are all playing really .
2001 Passat 1.9 tdi pd 100bhp .
Currently on 287K , bought at 236K for £800. Still worth £800 if not more as its just got a new MOT .
Returns over 50 mpg and all I have done is 10K oil flush and filters , a Cat as they snap and 1 pair of front pads plus tyres .

Focus diesel estate. 1999 with 155,000 on it. Oil light on more than its off on motorway but think thats the switch. It eats starters (1 a year for last 3) but its a good runner and keeps going. If it passes mot within reason in a couple of months it’ll get another oil change but I’m loathe to spend on it. Bottom of a back door and bottom of tailgate are rotting. But after years of riding motorbikes any car is luxury. Plus mtb just gets lobbed in back with a wet dog as well.

some of the mileages are enough to get you to the moon!

52 plate Octavia hatchback, 1.9tdi (90bhp). 179,000 miles & the engine is as sweet as owt, high 50’s/low 60’s mpg is easily achievable. MOT due soon, so going to put it through & then sell it as I really need an estate.