I have an 89 volvo 740GLE used as a daily driver, it had 150,000 on the clock when we bought it 10 years ago, the odometer packed up, we left it for a couple of years until the speedo followed it. It now says 132,000 as the “new” speedo said that when it stopped recording two years ago.
Any guess as to the real mileage?
Total costs, tyres, servicing and cambelts and this year a clutch.
£400 well spent…
And it has one of these on the grille!
2008 seat ibiza, 1200cc 3 cylinder. 127,000 miles. When i use it i still think its not running when sitting at lights its so smooth and quiet . Only thing changed a couple or bushes last year .
Of course mileage is a problem. No matter how well built it’s just a matter of wear. The big variable is “how much” and a lot of that depends on servicing. And luck.
In the 60’s I got 120K out of a “classic” Mini with just a new clutch at 90 odd K. My Dad got 140K out of an 1100 auto. Both were sold as going concerns with MoT’s. But it’s not the metal bits you have to worry about these days, almost all cars are good for 200K if properly serviced.
It’s all about the electrics and the electric toys. (A new ECU can cost about the same as a gearbox rebuild. Auto electricians can get away with well over £100 an hour as well.) And that is luck.
I don’t know about budget but the current crop of Fiat 500’s seem to be holding up well but, when I asked my mate that runs an independent service business what I should buy Mrs. O. last year the answer was “Buy Japanese and put up with the shi**y interior. If you can’t afford a Honda, get a Mazda.” So I bought a Mazda 2 Sport.
I’ve bought two cars with 150K+ miles, both sound. I’d suggest it’s not the engine to worry about, but life left in the gearbox / turbo / exhaust / suspension - these are affected more by the previous driver’s behaviour than the distance the vehicle has or hasn’t travelled. Eg I’d take a 100k repmobile mini over a 10k driving school one!
my focus had 120,000 when I got it now on 135,000 and drives like new, my bmw had 197,000 now on 225,000 also drives like new. BUT the focus did have to have brakes and a clutch fitted last year and the bmw needed a tyre, my opinion of a car with 120,000 miles is it will have had all the things changed already that need changing
A couple of people have mentioned getting high mileages out of their diesels, however most modern diesels since about 2009 or so (when new cars had to comply with Euro 5 ???) have been fitted with more and more s**te to clean up their emissions that the fundamental simple reliable diesel engine is no longer so. Diesel Particulate Filters go any time after 80k miles. You’ve also got the Dual-Mass Flywheel clutches which are a pricey replacement when they go, which is totally dependent on the use the car has been put to - I know a taxi driver who has to get his done every 50k miles, yet someone else’s might last 180k miles. Turbos fail due to mechanically ignorant drivers who don’t let their car idle after a run to circulate the oil. I hear a lot more about injector problems these days, but then they are more of a precision instrument than they used to be. High pressure fuel pumps. Choked up Exhaust Gas Recirculation valves are another one to add to the list.
Basically I would say that unless your daughter is going for an older car (perhaps pre 2009), then buying a high mileage modern diesel can be a minefield. None of the above things are cheap, above 100k miles you need to set aside a good few hundred £ a year to cover repair costs.
Stick with petrol for a used car unless you’re going for something fairly new.
The last diesel I owned was a 2002 Astra that I kept for 5 years and took from 14k to 122k miles. Should never had sold it, but when I traded it in the salesman said it was in better nick than most of the 6-month old cars on his forecourt. I’ve had nothing but hassle from my current Hyundai though, so planning to sell it very soon and will be sticking with a mainstream Ford or Vauxhall and doing any work myself.
My bike turned round 122K last week 
I bought my Audi Avant 1.8 SE petrol with 40,000 on the clock around 2000 ad.
I had it serviced a bit up till 100,000 miles then gave up, by that time it had circumnavigated the Iberian peninsular visited the Lake District innumerable times, taken me on several snowboarding trips to the Massif Central and visited Dubrovnic via the north coast of Poland.
After that it was a work van and I decided to spend no more on it.
I did give it a wash and vac before seducing Mrs J on a visit to Bruges in 2006.
Gradually things deteriorated, a sheet of ply dropped from a first floor window took off the drivers side mirror (held on since with two applications of Gaffa tape and a screw), some plasterboard sliding off the roofrack took out the radio aerial, the central locking packed up which meant I had to disconnect the petrol cap solenoid.
In it`s final year the climate control packed up or to be more precise the fan gave out so the last winter was a combination of steamed up frozen windscrees and a chilled driver through driving with open windows. (the electric windows soldiered on to the end)
Finally this time last year, with 225,000 miles and no oil change since 100,000 miles I scrapped it and got £180.00. (due only to dire warnings that the upcoming MOT would be pricey and the insurance and tax were due and a free Daewoo with only 60,000 miles was given to me - hint - seduce women, it works)
She was still good for 120mph on a private road.:crying:
Still on original exhaust system and clutch.
I did more than 122 Kilometers before lunch the day I bought mine.
Bloody hell Jet - well done on that !
I think I saw it in the Ace car park just before you sold it…
My Mums 1999 Toyota Corrola is going strong with 110k on the clock, no signs of any major problems (touches wood).
My dads old mk5 cortina is still going strong we sold it to our neighbours at 230k miles as we needed something a little bigger and they are still running it up and down the motorways to manchester and back 1-2 times a week last time I looked at it it was on 300k and still on the original gearbox
My dads current car is a toyota previa which is sitting at a measley 130k and still pulls like a train with only regular servicing althoug it sounds like the nearside CV joint is starting to go his previous previa was going strong at 200k before someone ran into the back of him and wrote it off
Disgraceful !!! 
If she is going to run it into the ground then you don’t need to worry about resale but if she’s only going to keep it for a couple of years you might be better off with something that you can sell on at the end with less than 100k on as it is still a psychological barrier for many. Bear in mind when she sells it someone else’s dad will probably be buying and they might have the same preconceptions…
Always interesting these types of discussions.
You should absolutely, every single time you buy anything, buy on condition and condition alone.
I would rather buy a well looked after car with 100k on, than an ex rental car with 30k on.
So, consumables (tyres, discs and pads, service items, cambelt (if it has one), exhaust and clutch), are they in good condition and any bills to show they’ve been replaced recently or in the case of the exhaust, does it look good with no obvious damage or bad rust?
Check all the fluid levels and if they’re bang on or pretty much bang on and there are bills to support the consumables being changed and the engine sounds ok and the car drives well, then you should be good. In terms of miles, if you’re looking at 2 absolutely identical cars but one has 70k and the other has 108k, then there should be a worthwhile difference in the asking price to the tune of 4/500 quid.
Always buy a car with a spare key, because if you lose a key, it can be massively expensive on newer cars to have this resolved. If it only has one key, then bargain hard, specially on a mini, as the world is not short of mini’s for sale!
Please keep in mind that your daughter is going to bash it off kerbs, posts, barriers and potentially other cars and spill drinks, food and makeup all over the inside, so a first car should never be a precious thing.
Buy her a car keeping the above in mind, get base AA cover and then add their mechanical breakdown cover for an additional £50 and that will cover the car for mechanical failure as the result of a breakdown to the tune of £500 and you can have 5 claims per year with a small excess each time, so up to £2500 in a year (I have this cover on the 3 cars we have and used it recently when the starer motor went on my BMW 330I sport. I called them, they came and took the car away, fixed it the next day and then collected me and took me to it and all I had to pay was a £35 excess for the claim.)
So, condition, condition, condition. AA mechanical cover and let her rip!
Here’s a good rule of thumb on checking any older vehicle regardless of mileage.
Check the condition of the brake fluid 
My theory is if the brake fluid has a fresh look about it the previous owners may have been service orientated, if it looks like a black sludge it could well be an indicator that some servicing has been skipped.
I wouldn’t be overly concerned with an ex Jetstream vehicle that hadn’t had an oil change for over 100,000 miles since the oil would have been constantly replenished by way of burning off and topping up.
All very good points - thanks!
I suppose it’s like checking a room is clean by looking under the beds - if it’s all fluff and scrunched up tissues then they don’t clean their rooms very well.
Well do I remember an immaculate low mileage Trumpet that I saw that the owner had tried to conceal a leaking oil seal ( probably because bike had been stored for so long and seals had shrunk). It would have meant a complete strip down and rebuild for some poor sod.
When I left the bike I felt sorry for someone naiver than me ( if such a thing is possible ) who, on seeing the gleaming paint and the low miles would have bought it only to have to spend what he paid in getting it put right…AND the bastard seller re advertised on Gumtree as ‘Immaculate’ 
If your finding fluff, scrunched up tissue and last years porno mags in the brake fluid reservoir walk away
