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Reply 1
My car has 160,000 miles on it and still looks as fresh as new



It needs some maintenance, mainly the insane multi link front suspension and I need to keep an eye on the gearbox, but I reckon she's got at least another 40k miles left in her, probably a lot more.
Reply 2
Cars go through cylces where they will run for thousands of miles without anything more than regular servicing. Then suddenly you'll go through a period where it seems like you're throwing money at it constantly.
There's no reason why a car shouldn't be capable of 200k. It's just that by the time they get there the residual values are often below the resale value.

In the case of something like a land rover discovery 1, you can take an engine apart at 300k and will still be able to see the original hone marks in the bores. A new set of rings and ends and off you go. Unfortunately, these particular cars tend to have disolved by the time they got there. Welding isn't a cheap thing to do unless you can do it yourself.
Reply 3
Tricky question to answer but put it this way... I would never buy a car over 90k on the clock 😎
it also depends on the type of milage.

lots of short runs, like the school run and shopping, in town, knacker a car. plus they don't get serviced as they should.
Compared to a rep who may be all day on the motorway, with a company having the car serviced properly, the engine is pretty stress free and fewer clutch/gearbox issues.
Original post by JC.
Cars go through cylces where they will run for thousands of miles without anything more than regular servicing. Then suddenly you'll go through a period where it seems like you're throwing money at it constantly.
There's no reason why a car shouldn't be capable of 200k. It's just that by the time they get there the residual values are often below the resale value.

In the case of something like a land rover discovery 1, you can take an engine apart at 300k and will still be able to see the original hone marks in the bores. A new set of rings and ends and off you go. Unfortunately, these particular cars tend to have disolved by the time they got there. Welding isn't a cheap thing to do unless you can do it yourself.


I agree.
If cars are looked after properly, then they should be able to do well over 100k.
If they have been driven into the ground, then probably not.
Original post by domonict
it also depends on the type of milage.

lots of short runs, like the school run and shopping, in town, knacker a car. plus they don't get serviced as they should.
Compared to a rep who may be all day on the motorway, with a company having the car serviced properly, the engine is pretty stress free and fewer clutch/gearbox issues.


lots of short journeys doesnt mean that the car wont get serviced properly. That depends on the owner.
Reply 7
Original post by Drez999
Tricky question to answer but put it this way... I would never buy a car over 90k on the clock 😎


Lol. I think I've only bought like two cars out of seven or eight that had less than 100k on the clock. Ironically the biggest heap of crap had only about 100k on it.
Original post by Emma:-)
lots of short journeys doesnt mean that the car wont get serviced properly. That depends on the owner.


Agreed, but lots of school run type cars do only get serviced every other year as the owner tends to believe that the mileage doesn't warrant the expense . Things like cam belts age over time but people tend to go on mileage

Fleet cars get done regardless.

So it all depends on the type of use, the type of owner, and the type of car.
How long is a piece of string.

How well is it maintained, how well is it driven, where is it driven, for how long? etc etc. It's a very open question. More expensive cars from more prestigious brands don't necessarily last longer either. Infact their complexity can be their downfall.

I presume 'serious' means engine or chassis failure in some form. You could get to 20k and drop a timing roller.

Other than consumables and things like brake discs etc, I think most cars reach 100,000 before they start wanting mid level work, such as brake lines replacing etc.

I knew a guy who had his Cavalier at 306,000 miles when he sold it. A lot of taxis are driven far beyond that.
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by ineedtorevise127
e.g. Vauxall Corsas, Polos. Golfs, BMW 1 series and Mercedez A class


Difficult to say, depends on a lot of factors. Our Pajero had 140k on it when we sold it and it was still running like new. Our Citroen C5 has 60k on it and we're lucky to get it out of the drive.
Original post by Pegasus2
How long is a piece of string.

How well is it maintained, how well is it driven, where is it driven, for how long? etc etc. It's a very open question. More expensive cars from more prestigious brands don't necessarily last longer either. Infact their complexity can be their downfall.

I presume 'serious' means engine or chassis failure in some form. You could get to 20k and drop a timing roller.

Other than consumables and things like brake discs etc, I think most cars reach 100,000 before they start wanting mid level work, such as brake lines replacing etc.

I knew a guy who had his Cavalier at 306,000 miles when he sold it. A lot of taxis are driven far beyond that.


Some taxis in Dubai had over 750,000 on them - Toyota Camrys. They're used pretty much 24 hours a day, I've never seen anything like it.

I don't know what those mechanics are doing, but whatever it is, they must be doing it right!
Original post by XMaramena
Some taxis in Dubai had over 750,000 on them - Toyota Camrys. They're used pretty much 24 hours a day, I've never seen anything like it.

I don't know what those mechanics are doing, but whatever it is, they must be doing it right!


Well Dubai has very little in the way of moisture in the air so cars can't really rust away like they do here. Also if there's a fleet of them with dedicated mechanics then they'll probably have a couple of engines and gearboxes in rotation so if there are any serious problems then just drop a new engine and box in and send the car back out while they're repairing the damaged ones. So long as there's parts, someone willing to do the work, and no rust, you can keep cars going pretty much as long as you want.
Original post by Nuffles
Well Dubai has very little in the way of moisture in the air so cars can't really rust away like they do here. Also if there's a fleet of them with dedicated mechanics then they'll probably have a couple of engines and gearboxes in rotation so if there are any serious problems then just drop a new engine and box in and send the car back out while they're repairing the damaged ones. So long as there's parts, someone willing to do the work, and no rust, you can keep cars going pretty much as long as you want.


Actually Dubai is more often than not a hugely humid climate. At night, it might not even be that hot, but your clothes will start sticking to your skin after a few minutes just from the moisture alone.
Depends what you would say are "serious problems". At around 100-150k a lot of items come up for their maintenance intervals which can be potentially expensive. Clutches, Turbo's, Head Gaskets, Also the recurring servicing such as your 30-60k mile cam belts. Folks are more likely to put off servicing expensive items once the car becomes older and worth less. However there is no reason provided these bits are serviced for a modern-ish (post ~90s) engine to not last 200-300k miles without any major top or bottom end issues.

Buy on condition, not mileage or age.
A car should be bought upon its condition and past maintenance history. Age and mileage doesn't really tell the full story. Seen many low mileage vehicles that had appalling maintenance records, this is especially true for many expensive/premium cars especially it also happens to be owned by an OAP.

It is often the reason why I always say if you don't know much about cars and you're out and about buying a car that is older than 1 year then it is an excellent idea to get a mechanic to give it a once-over before buying. Just make sure the mechanic is a reputable one.

As for how long cars last, we have one Volvo V60 that is now 2 years old and done 470kkm, thus far other than the usual routine maintenance parts nothing other than the power door locks, driver seat motor, the motor that controls the mirrors, turbo bearing, valve cover gasket and just recently the O2 sensor has started acting up. The first 3 items were admittedly quite expensive to replace since the car is no longer under warranty. One thing for sure, I have no shortage of staff asking if it would be sold anytime soon as everyone that asks is expecting it would be let go for a bargain.
For me 0-60k miles should be perfectly fine. 60-100k if not well looked after will be SOME problems. 100k problems you can expect annual problems anything passed 150k miles tends to be a nuisance. But depends on brand, reputation, use etc.
If its French then about 5 miles :biggrin:
Original post by The_Internet
If its French then about 5km :biggrin:


Corrected.
Original post by domonict
Agreed, but lots of school run type cars do only get serviced every other year as the owner tends to believe that the mileage doesn't warrant the expense . Things like cam belts age over time but people tend to go on mileage

Fleet cars get done regardless.

So it all depends on the type of use, the type of owner, and the type of car.

Dad does taxi. Most taxi drivers go on the basis of "You need a service every 3000 miles" so basically once every two or three months

I guess twice a year would be a decent servicing schedule for short run cars! I do a mix me personally. One long 460 mile round trip per month as well as around 100 miles short trips (6 miles to work with a 1 mile journey to lunch) - *2, so I do about 15 miles on the days I work (about half the month)

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