One thing I've noticed is folk are obsessed with "low mileage".

Does low mileage actually guarantee trouble-free motoring?
A car that has covered 200,000 motorway miles, is better than one that has covered 120,000 miles in the city, in stop-start conditions.
With regular servicing, there's no reason why a high-mileage car isn't a good buy.

My Audi RS4 Sedan has covered 211,000 miles, still on its original engine, clutch and exhaust system.
The engine has never even had the cylinder heads removed, it uses no oil between servicing, and the engine's as smooth as one with less than half the miles.

I've always based my purchase of a car on its overall condition, rather than mileage.
A client of mine runs a 1991 Audi Coupe S2.
It's just clocked an astounding 544,000 miles!

All it's had so far:

A clutch at 503,000 miles.
A cylinder head gasket at 477,000 miles.
A turbo at the same 477,000 miles, it was getting noisy.
An exhaust rear silencer at 539,000 miles.
A water pump during the last timing belt replacement, at 493,000 miles.

The rest has just been the usual consumables, like tyres, brake pads / discs, serpentine belts, timing belts, bulbs etc.

One thing to note is:

Cars do not like storage, and short trips.
Storage may keep the mileage down, but it brings its own set of problems:

1) Oil degrades quicker if the car only covers very little annual miles, as condensation breaks it down.
2) Exhaust systems corrode from the inside out, as they don't get hot enough on a regular basis to keep them dry.
3) Brake pipes corrode from too little use.
4) Rear brake calipers seize up, the brakes still work, but the handbrake mechanism fails.
5) Clutch mechanisms seize up. On hydraulic systems, the master / slave cylinders generally spring leaks, if moisture is not dissipated from them by regular, hard use.
6) Electrical systems, especially wiring, degrades over time, and become high resistance, leading to major voltage drop to various components.
7) Engine oil seals harden, and break up. The result? Blue smoke.

There are several reasons why a higher mileage car is a better buy, also consider the fact, a lower mileage may NOT be the true reading!
It's not uncommon for a car showing 150,000 miles on the odometer, to have had a defective speedo for 40,000 of those miles, or the owner could have unplugged the cable / transducer.

So, please post your mileage and history, nothing more.
You can post a picture of your odometer if you wish.
use the format as shown below, I'll start:

Car: 1996 Audi A4 quattro.
Mileage when purchased: 201,000 July 2007.
Mileage as at now: 211,000 miles.

sienna

thank u for giving me this tips they r very useful, i intend to run dis my car upto 500000miles if possible

thank u again

one question, after reading yur tip to me, i deduced that, one must always try to speed up in driving, so as to heat up d systems perfectly, not slow rolling, am i right?

nkc, very correct.

thank u sir

one question deduced from d deductible

should we drive more with ac's or not

if i drive with ac personally, i dont stress d acceleration, but when there is no ac, i turn myself to autobahn

which is better, ac or no ac, or how many % shld we vary them

Driving with aircon on does no harm.

Though at WOT, the compressor is switched off to aid acceleration.

sienna
u have lost me, what is WOT?

Sienna,

I learnt that driving with ac on and your glass down uses less fuel than winding up fully. Two same type of SUV with equal fuel and travelled equal distance at equal speed. SUV A with glass down and SUV B with glass fully up.

Result: When SUV B ran out of gas (fuel), SUV A went on and covered extra 15 miles before running out of fuel.

Courtesy:Adam Savage, Jamie Hyneman and the rest of the crew of MythBusters on Discovery Channel

Anyone with equal experience?

hmmm

i beg to differ

windows down, will add drag and drag will cost u fuel

but when wound up, it glides in d air

whether sienna concurs or not, or discovery says so or not, that is what i know, and its proven scientifically\

It deosnt even make rational sense sef

wot: wide open throttle

thanks fotodaddy

i am now found

busynett:

Sienna,

I learnt that driving with ac on and your glass down uses less fuel than winding up fully. Two same type of SUV with equal fuel and travelled equal distance at equal speed. SUV A with glass down and SUV B with glass fully up.

Result: When SUV B ran out of gas (fuel), SUV A went on and covered extra 15 miles before running out of fuel.

Courtesy:Adam Savage, Jamie Hyneman and the rest of the crew of MythBusters on Discovery Channel

Anyone with equal experience?

I watched the same show. But you have misinterpreted the results. The correct were actually:

CASE 1; Windows down no AC gave the worst mileage
CASE 2; Windows up no AC same consumption as CASE 3 which was windows up with AC on

The reason was that at the test speed, the windows down created more turbulence and hence worse consumption.
Also at those speeds, the load of the AC compressor is more or less negligible hence no difference in consumption, but since the windows were up, there was less turbulence so less drag which gives lower consumption figures.

We're digressing!

Mileage figures?

pls dont digress people, post yur mileage pics

Meanwhile, to the original question;

While I agree with the general gist from siena, there are certain things that were not mention; mechanicals all have a life span. A bearing is rated at so many turns. A ball joint can take so many turns.

In the absence of a physical inspection, your best bet is to go with [b]verified [/b]mileage. However, the year should also be considered and then you can have a figure. I have seen taxis in germany in which a 2 to 3 year old car has a mileage of 150,000km. This is surely not highway miles. Quite a lot of stop and starts, I'm sure.

On physical inspection, you can acertain if the miles were from the highway or the "low"way. Dead give aways are a worn down brake pedal, Shabby drivers seat and loose ignition/key combo.

Over to you

Mileage does matter and it also doesnt matter. Depending on the car manufacturer and the owner.

A well maintained car at 200k miles is better than an ill-maintained car at 40k miles. A car that gets regular services, oil changes etc at the recommended distances will work well into 400k miles without any problems. Also the car manucfaturer and the state of tuning of the engine also affect the longevity of the car. There is a concept called 'planned obsolecense' by manufactures (not just autos' but in all things ) where by items are no longer built to last, and also the need to get consumers coming back, because lets face it, if an item was made to last, then pple will only buy once and never again.


Back to the topic, also the country in which the car was used also matters a lot. A car under warranty in the US up to 100k miles, gets an over haul at 100k miles and most of the serviceble parts in it are replace with new ones. Such a car at 101k miles has technically 1k mile usage and will be better than a car at 59k miles which is yet to get its scheduled service at 60k.

There is no blanket answer for it, and each case should be taken independently and wisdom applied before buying. Also I would like Nigerians to monitor world news, and then tie such news to trends they see. A lot of pple see 'brand new' cars with low mileage at relatively cheap prices, and they never ask why it is that cheap, in the past few weeks there has been flooding in the midset in the united states, there will be a lot of cars written of by insurance and they will find there way to the auction market. Soon we will have another wave of late model 07, 08 cars hitting the market in nigeria at cheap prices, and most pple wouldnt realise they are buying cars that had been damaged by flood in some other part of the world. They buy it and 6months down the line, things start developing. And it ends up costing more than they thot.

Using a factory fitted AC will have no adverse effect on an engine, because it would have been tuned for load balancing in such a way that it would not impact the engine, but the fact is that, it will use up more petrol. Its just a case of the engine having to do more work, and to do the work, it needs energy and the source of energy is the petrol. All u have to do is to run your car on idle and monitor the rpm. Put on the AC and watch the rpm drop slightly.

Finally, i have noticed pple asking for carfax reports and vin numbers. Carfax reports are good (quite good actually) but they are not fool proof, and a good carfax, doesnt necessarily mean the car never had an accident, all it means is that the accident (or incident whicever the case maybe) was never reported. You still have small shops that pple use to beat the system, and would not log any repairs they make.

This is just a heads up from a car enthusiast and follows motoring trends.

@ siena, we are all saying the same thing,

mileage is important in a car but shudnt be taken as the absolute guarantee of engine worthiness.
picture this scenario, a 2005 car with a milage of 80k n a 2001 car with a mileage of 120k,

most folks wud go 4 the 2005 car cos of its lower mileage, but someone who is conversant with engines will most def go 4 the 2001 vehicle.

the reason being the time frame over wch the said mileage was accumulated,
the ave standard is btw 12k n 15k / year,
so a rough calc will show u that the 2005 car has been thoroughly used, over its safety rating

another factor we shud also bear in mind, in BREAKING IN THE ENGINE OF A NEW CAR, though less attention is focused on this aspect, but its still an important criteria that will affect the life of the engine in the long term

i drive a 94 honda accord LX sedan US spec. i bought it over 130,000 miles and 1 have done over 84,000 miles on it, thats total of over 200,000 miles. and its stilll good
i agree with siena

i have a good question, about 1 year after purchase i noticed jerks on stand sill i serviced the injectors but it continued slightly after 3weeks i knew i had 2 change them but i traveled abuja to owerri and back in 1 week and it stopped. and it has been almost 18 months with out jerks from the nozzels. plesae can any 1 tell me why it stopped

@ Sienna abeg help me analize my own.

Car: 1992 BMW 3 series.
Mileage when purchased: 167,000 Kilometers March 2006.
Mileage as at now: 208,000 kilometers.

Well my CLK is running at 114000km at the moment and I bought it at 39000km almost new 5 years ago. Always serviced at Mercedes garage. Only sundry parts like brakes and tyres do i repair at approved garages. I could also do the service at approved garages but I just want the Mercedes stamp on my log book.

Covered 75000km in 5 years but in the last couple of years of working from home, I probably cover about 6000km a year or less driving into town on a night out. Most times the car stays in the garage (high fuel prices don't help as well)

I drive to London minimum of once a year, at least i get to put some mileage on it at that time. (2000-3000kms depending on my runnings in the UK)

I think if I'm buying a diesel, I wouldn't so much worry about mileage per se.

@FotoDaddy,

These taxis have seat coverings to protect the original material or leather but still a sagging seat is a sagging seat.  

Interesting thread.

For those of us who are not mechanics or skilled enough, I'd recommend this rule of thumb for cars imported from the US:

If the car has over 15,000 miles/year then it has been used more than the average car. Thus a 2005 model car, which was additionally manufactured in 2005, with  60,000 miles, will be less attractive to me than a 2004 model car built in 2004, with 60,000 miles - assuming the same car brand.

proo212:

These taxis have seat coverings to protect the original material or leather but still a sagging seat is a sagging seat.

Told them!!!

nice thread
but i will also use it as a medium to praise toyota
my toyota carina E
year? no idea
mileage when purchased 172 000
year purchased october 2001
mileage now 321000
no engine troubles, just the occasional service and brake pads
going to have to upgrade very soon
but i have grown soooo attached to the car
i wasnt even affected when my brother bought one in coventry for £400
she has been so nice to me.

Bought a toyota carina E too in 2003 from a collegue travelling out of the country. Mileage then was 150,000

mileage now 287,256. still have the original engine. car still travelling to and from Ife and Warri every two weeks as my wife is running a PHD course at Ife.

This car has never failed to start once. I mean slot in the key and start he car, it will answer one time. Efficient and faithful car.

Of course brake pads and front Shocks have been changed but other things remain intact. It carries a 3S engine.

woow

those toyos r strong, d timing belt never cut, abeg sienna, why is it so for there's

nkc:

woow

those toyos r strong, d timing belt never cut, abeg sienna, why is it so for there's

No mind them!!!! Na so them go they talk. Alternator no mess up, Water pump no mess up, Fan belt and timing belt no mess up, Battery nko. I hear una!!!

If na so toyota for no dey do new model na, as who go buy am since everybody dey use them own. Story!!!

Fotodaddy,
I am a guy that listen vey well and won't argue on what I don't know.

Battery of course has been changed. Does toyota make battery? I am not sure ur new SUV battery will last forever too

Even though it is recommended for timing belt to be changed after some time I haven't changed mine. Believe it or not.
Water pump has not ben chaged either
Fan belt has been changed once.
original alternator is still there.
Kickstarter still intact

I don't intend to argue here but will stand firm on what I say.

waoosa

he aint arguing, we are learning brah,

hmmm, yur toyo is making u happy i see

yes bro and so is my honda.
To tell you the fact, I don't intend to sell my toyota. It will continue to be the backup car for my CRV and Honda accord

Tell me about 2004/2005 Audi A4 1.8T. How is the fuel consumption and availability of parts . I am falling in love already with the car.

cool

dont know much, but i know fuel consumption is not on d high side, parts am not conversant, sienna, will clear d air on d 2 sections well. but d car is worth it, but i would prefer u go for a 2.0 cos 1.8T means Turbo, d day u dont put d EXACT correct oil, sludge kicks in and that i bye bye to yur car if u are not vigilant

waoosa:

yes bro and so is my honda.
To tell you the fact, I don't intend to sell my toyota. It will continue to be the backup car for my CRV and Honda accord

Tell me about 2004/2005 Audi A4 1.8T. How is the fuel consumption and availability of parts . I am falling in love already with the car.

I had a 1.8T passat. and it was not easy!!!

I love the car o!! Did almost 60K in 2 years with it but it showed me'

I lost all the valves(20 of them!!!) 8000km to the recommended timing belt change mileage when my belt cut!!! each new valve was 1.5K. every part I needed was easily got here in Lagos.

But on a sad note, I lost the turbo. Twice!!!

Still love the car though but it was not easy. I had to fly in the turbo cos I no wan hear story!!! First turbo cost my about 130K DHLed to my house, Second turbo cost me 85K cos I found a supplier in Italy. (Now as a rule, I alwasy have a spare turbo, my current diesel is on a new one and the spare is chilling. Why, I even have spares for the turbo and have rebuilt 2 for friends here in Lagos)

Fuel consumption was good for the power it delivered. I had the oomph of a V6 with the fuel consumption of a 1.8. (mor or less) What could be better. You shuld know that in general turbo charged cars require synthetic oil, so add 6.5k for mobil 1 every time you service the car.

I sold to car to a happy guy who failed to insure it and 2 weeks after he had finished payments, the car was stolen!!! never to be seen again. Thank God, I had already handed over everything to him.

Summary, get your cheque book ready. But in between writing cheques, you'll be smiling all the way.

NKC and fotodaddy,
Thanks . I appreciate. I will need to do more research on the 1.8 and 2.0 for the next 2months b4 I decide which to buy.

I am not used to VW but I am good in maintenance of any car as I have used V6 engines(2001 Nissan maximaQX 3.0) before so I think I can cope. If I uderstand you well you are recommending 2.0 instead of the 1.8?

You have idea of the cost?

NKC, B the way, I am also a Tech guy. working with in Warri.