"Original Miles"

Nothing that I know of really. The only real sort of "proof" is if the Registration doesn't say "Odometer Discrepancy". Of course almost any car that old is going to whether the miles are true or not. My '76 CJ-7 is supposedly "original miles" also but it had at least 3 owners before me and who knows how many owners before that. There is no way to know how many miles a 28+ year old car has that way. It could have been driven 30,000 miles in the first year and the engine fell apart and replaced and nobody would know. You just have to ask yourself if the car LOOKS like it could be original miles or not. The mileage is just a number, it doesn't necessarily mean anything. A lot of cars are junk at 30,000 miles and a lot of cars can be fabulous at

100,000. It all depends on who drove it, how they drive it, where they drove it, etc.

No, they won't take VIN Numbers that old.

A friend asked me about the miles on my CJ7, it has 170K or so.

I thought about it and said I know for 'sure' the speedometer has 170 on it and I believe the Dana 44 and the Dana 30 have those miles on them, though both are rebuilt, so that only counts for the cover and tubes.

Hey my Laredo chrome rims and front grill and stainless bumpers have those miles.

Who knows about the rest. I don't....

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's

"Kev>

...above and beyond original miles is the "one owner" statements. I know there is the one benefit of the person actually knowing any and all maintenance that has been done....but really I personally don't add much value to a car because it has had "one owner".....you could have two cars, both 10 years old. One has been beat to hell by the same guy who figured iot was paid off at the 5 year mark and wasn't gonna sink any more into it....just seeing how long he could get out of it. And the otehr could have been owned by a series of caring owners who faithfully maintained it. =-) I *will* do a thourough evaluation of a vehicle before purchase, and decide value based wholly on its own merits...I generally disregard everything the seller says as suspect =-)

...Gareth

I'm not really worried about me Bill. I do my homework and know things to look for. I guess it just bothers me when I see an obvious mis-representation. I feel bad when someone buys it, and believes it, let alone pays a little extra for it. I guess "a fool and his money" huh?

I saw an ad for an "Original Renegade I with 50,000 original miles" last year at a car lot, and neither of those statements ended up being true. I was just mad that I wasted my afternoon to drive out to look at it.

If you are buying anything more than 10 years old, you should not give a crap about the mileage anyway. You should go into any purchase of a vehicle that old with the notion that you will need to be doing repairs or a rebuild.

...well I won't knock all of it....there is some wisdom in planning for repairs on a vintage vehicle...unless it has been restored. Rubber, for one, deteriorates which means replcement of all brake soft lines and many seals. I concur, however, that his statement was a little over teh top. A true garage kept rust free 1500 mile original dent free vehicle is by far an easiier restoration project than a swamp runner. =-)))

...Gareth

Jay Stuler ( snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com) wrote on Thursday 20 May 2004 11:42 am:

Also, given that it takes about 20 minutes for an inexperienced person to remove, turn back the odometer, and re-install a CJ speedometer cluster, I wouldn't put much stock in any number I see there. I just see it as a reminder to change my oil...

Obviously false? You have to take into consideration the type of vehicle. Jeeps *can* fall into that "novelty vehicle" class where low mileage for a 20+ year old car is plausible. My neighbour across the street has an '87 YJ with 40,000 Kms on it, she's the original owner. The neighbour beside me has a '98 GC with over 200,000 Kms on it.

I met an old lady (70+) in a coffee shop about 15 yrs ago driving a mint, all original '67 Chevelle - black 2 door, red interior... spotless. Every time she drove the car she would get offers on it, some lo-balls, some high-end offers. She knew EXACTLY what she had... a mint '67 with less than

10,000 miles (at the time). Her husband bought it new and died shortly after - she drove it once a week to visit his grave. I spoke with her for about 20 minutes while looking at the car. It had been dealer serviced since new, she's kept every document related to the car and it even had the original spare and jack in the trunk. I considered flirting with her, I was 20 at the time. I wonder if she's still single? ;-)

-Brian

I wasn't saying the ebay CJ was obviously false. I'm talking about when someone claims low original mileage, and the floor mat under the gas peadal is worn through, the seats look like a 300 lb man sat in them for 20 years, gas pedal has no "grip" on it, or the steering wheel worn down. Things like that. I wasn't making a statement about the eBay CJ. Although a recent "full restore" with low original miles makes me wonder ;-)

I have seen some great original unrestored low mileage 60's and 70's Jeeps. But most that claim low mileage don't meet my BS test.

This is what an ORIGINAL Miles vehicle should look like.

One may not need to do an rebuild, but one would be wise to take the eventual need into account. My '81 that I bought in '98 and had 70k on the odometer (that only has 5 digits) now has just over 100k (maybe 200k, or

300k - it's impossible to tell) is getting ready for a rebuild.

I will be doing my rebuild on my Jeep when the time comes, but I have several other cars to choose from so I can afford to take my time. I will not do the rebuild on my BMW because I need the car back on the road sooner than I can get it there myself.

The mileage becomes less and less a reliable indicator of condition with the passage of time. Even a car that has very low miles can have serious problems that are rooted in the fact the car has been parked for so long. And a car with many miles in not necessarily ready for the scrap pile just because it is old. There are just too many factors to consider to point to the mileage and say, "well, that one sucks or that one is good." That's all I was saying.

This is what an ORIGINAL Miles vehicle should look like.

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