telstarbox
Established Member
What sort of mileages can modern cars achieve before the maintenance turns into diminishing returns?
Has anyone clocked up six figures for example?
Has anyone clocked up six figures for example?
What sort of mileages can modern cars achieve before the maintenance turns into diminishing returns?
Has anyone clocked up six figures for example?
02 plate Renault Laguna 2.2 DCi. It was so nice to drive that I forgave minor irritations such as the exhaust dropping off on the A120 through Takely and the "pulley moteur" disintegrating in northern France.@beermaddavep
Very good, my 1984 Cavalier had 250 000 km, ran very well. I think the engine loosens up over high mileages.
Do modern cars reach high mileages before the complicated electrics go, or before they are traded in for a "bonus" and scrapped despite being perfectly serviceable?
But volkswagen does have a winding hilly test track near Wolfsburg where shifts of people drive 24/7, the track is visible on Google earth. Driving 24h averaging 100 kmh say, one could soon get some results
What sort of mileages can modern cars achieve before the maintenance turns into diminishing returns?
Has anyone clocked up six figures for example?
I used to have contact with a chauffeur hire company that transported airline crews and tour company passengers around the country. They used mostly Mercedes E220 diesels and kept them for four years or so, by which time they had clocked up around 400,000 miles. I was told that the old high mileage cars ran sweet as a nut as everything was so nicely bedded in and they were more economical on fuel than newer ones.I would expect any car built in the last ten years to easily manage a six figure mileage unless it is excessively neglected or abused.
I used to have a 1987 Ford Granada that managed over 192,000. It was the ‘Cologne’ 2 litre model that had a reputation for longevity although the previous owner did have to replace all the injectors at one stage. The transmission was also pretty shot by the end and the differential whined like an electric train.
The highest mileages are usually achieved by cars that are in constant use and seldom started from cold. Taxis and police vehicles rack up huge mileages in short times but they tend to be replaced before they reach starship numbers.
when should you dispose of an older higher mileage vehicle?
Although they are indeed much more complicated, I think current cars are generally more reliable than those of 30 years ago.Modern vehicles are in many ways worse than those made 30 years ago: heavy, complicated, impractical, styled to look attractive (? !) at the expense of luggage space.
I should not be surprised if they do not last as long as vehicles used to.
The real questions - very difficult to answer - are:
when should you dispose of an older higher mileage vehicle?
how much you should spend on a vehicle to "keep it going"?
Taxis depend on where they're being used, and the age of taxi - age limits vary depending on local authority, so some places will have cabs running around with massive mileages on them. I was in a TX1 recently that had done over 700k.The highest mileages are usually achieved by cars that are in constant use and seldom started from cold. Taxis and police vehicles rack up huge mileages in short times but they tend to be replaced before they reach starship numbers.
The real questions - very difficult to answer - are:
when should you dispose of an older higher mileage vehicle?
how much you should spend on a vehicle to "keep it going"?
My 2007 Audi A6 is nearing 145000 miles and seems to be fine. I’ve very rarely bought anything that’s done less than 100k. Actually I just sold my Merc Sprinter and that was on 265000.
Has he had to do any of the body off jobs yet?My brother in law recently bought an 8 year old Discovery, and has had just about everything major go wrong with it in the following 6 months (exhaust, brakes, suspension, couple of wheel bearings, air con, etc.etc.) and has ended up spending more on repairs than he spent buying it.