Is 100K+ a high mileage for a modern car?

Question

i am seeing a lot of exfleet cars for sale with what I consider a very high mileage i.e 100,000 in four/five years.They are usually FSH etc.In the past I have always thought that a car with that number of miles would be a worn out wreck,however I am not sure if this idea is out of date .With three young kids and no money ,I have to consider buying one of these as they appear to represent good value for money.Do they?

Answer 1

It depends on the engine size, amongst other things. Broadly speaking, the bigger the engine, the more miles it has in it. Thus a 100,000 mile 900cc Ford Fiesta, even if it looks nice, will not realistically carry you around for too much longer, while a 150,000 mile Volvo 760 with a 2.8L V6 is barely run in!

Generally, for fleet cars of this age, much of their mileage has been done on motorways: long trips at a more or less constant speed, which spares the engine the strains of constant acceleration and deceleration. With a FSH, any major problems have been ironed out, and the engine itself well looked after.

On balance, I'd say they were worth having if the price is right. Aim to get something that's at least an 1800cc though, particularly as you've got several kids. Anything smaller will tend to lack the 'oomph' to cart you around, and will be nearing the end of its life.

I've got 4 kids, and generally drive big older cars - my current one is an Alfa Romeo 164 3.0 V6. They're expensive to insure, but cheap to buy, and have a cracking spec. Its also big enough to fit all the kids and luggage in for holidays!

Answer 2

The mileage figure is only the most basic part of a cars fitness designed to give the incompetent an inkling of a cars history. In truth there is only one way to decide if a cars fit, listen to the engine!! If it sounds sweet, ticks over almost silently, revs without any knocks, and pulls properly then the engine is fit. If when doing 40 in second with your foot off the accelerator there is no whine the thrust bearings are good, if the clutch is taking early and doesn't smell or slip it's good, do the doors fall open or do the hinges feel strong? Does it overheat in a traffic jam? If you can answer the obvious correct answers to all these questions then irrespective of the mileage the car is good.

I have a Ford Scorpio that I use for work, meaning it regularly carries 5hundred weight of booklets, then 3/5 fully grown adults inside, it has done 311,000 miles now, and in 6months the only fault I have had is a new battery. It had it's MOT last week and went straight through with no faults.

Mileage is still of some issue as it affects resale value, but if a car does 200,000 motorway miles its rarely accelerating or braking and the peripherals are not receiving any real wear, therefore it's probably almost as perfect as when it left the factory.

Answer 3

Generally, as long as an engine is cared for, they last longer than the rest of the car. I've had 2 Fords, 1 Lincoln and 1 Buick. All domestic. Only my 1st car, a Ford, did the engine die first. That was at 138k miles, and mostly because I neglected it. On the rest, it was the rest of the car that went downhill first. The interior gets thrashed, the suspension starts breaking, electrical items go out, etc. I'd say as long as you've treated the engine well with regular maintenance and frequent oil changes, you've got a lot more life left in it. 1999 is 8 years old. That's starting to be what I would call an older car. A 145 hp engine is not a real powerhouse for that size car. I've been looking at a Chevy Impala lately, and they come with a standard 6 cylinder engine getting 211 hp. The cars are roughly similar in size. I would say, no, it's not powerful enough for a strong take off.

Answer 4

Depends on whether it is diesel or petrol. Diesel cars go on forever and ever whereas petrol ones have had it by about 150,000 or so.

Double check any warranty that you are offered as this sometimes excludes what you would think would be automatically covered and make you get the car serviced at a particular garage or the warranty is void.

A friend of mine bought a car from a dealer with a one year warranty, had it serviced at the garage of his choice not the recommended one. And yes, you've guessed it, now he has a problem which would be covered under the warranty but it has apparently been voided because he didn't use the dealer's garage for the service.

It is also worth double checking the car's true history with HPI or the AA to make sure it's not a ringer or still on HP to someone else. It does cost you a bit now to do that but if you are on a tight budget, it might be better not to get involved with a dodgy motor and have it taken off you later by the Police.

Answer 5

To the average repmobile (like Mondeos, Vectras and the ilk), 100k is nothing. It'll have been done mostly on motorways rather than damaging stop/start motoring, and they're usually serviced up to the hilt. Go for condition rather than mileage.

We've got a Vectra (not the most exciting of cars but a good m-way cruiser) that we got with 118k on the clock and now it's just turned 177k with no problem, apart from the usual servicing, tyres, pads etc. Do invest in breakdown cover though, it's well worth if if you've got a car full of kids and something does go wrong.

Answer 6

If you "have no money" (it's probably relative, since you have access to the internet), go for a small Japanese car, like Toyota Corolla, or smaller. Those are economical and reliable.
100,000 miles isn't that much, and you can complain a lot about it to lower the price. Don't forget to tell 'i'll call you back later' a few times. Then they'll lower the price even more. I think you can at best take the kids with you when shopping for a car; then people are less likely to ask too much for a car.

Answer 7

No.Modern cars with full service history doing high fleet mileage will be in better condition than low mileage vehicles which have been used for short stop-start trips.Most mechanical wear occurs when car is started and over the first ten miles or so.
So if you see a car advertised as "only used by pensioner to go to church at weekends "take care!.

Answer 8

It depends how many miles you are going to clock up on top of the already high mileage, if you can get 5 years out of it then that should be OK, but if you think you will be doing 10-15,000 a year then I wouldn't bother. It would be OK for me because I only do about 4,000 miles a year. If it was used for motorway use then that wouldn't be too much wear and tear on the gearbox etc but then again all car salesman tell you that.

Answer 9

Look more at the year rather than the mileage. Life expectancy of a vehicle is about 10 years. I'm going strong in a 98 with 238.000. Of course it depends on how well it was maintained. I've seen 8 year old cars that are quite nice, and 3 year old beaters.

Answer 10

Rule of thumb ...
20,000 km per year is normal for a family car

Look at the positive and negative of Fleet cars :
GOOD -
- Log Books
- regular maintainance (every 5K to 10K km)
BAD
- Not an owner driving it, so may not worry about the long life of the car as much

If your mechanic can't see any body repair work, and the log book looks regularly filled in, it would be a good family car

Careful of Dual Fuel cars: petrol has natural lucratives for the engine, while LPG is drier. You should drive a tank of Petrol to every tank to 3 of gas ... Fleet drivers may just stay on LPG because it is cheaper. That would have run the engine hotter