car mileages - whats average engine lifespan capability

In news: snipped-for-privacy@individual.net, Sam decided to enlighten our sheltered souls with a rant as follows

My Merc is on 165000 miles with no problems...

I'd say a well serviced Punto should last about 140k without any major problems,

10 yr old Fiesta slightly less, unless it's a 16v Volvo 440 I'd avoid just because they're horrible.

Get a big old barge, it'll be cheaper and last longer.

Agreed. Small cars with high mileages are likely to be shagged. Get an old big car, they are cheap to buy, and may actually be less in maintenance too. A Volvo 740 would be a better buy than a 440, and can be bought with more the 200k miles on them without any worries.

I know where there's a lovely Merc 260E for sale..

I'd add that if considering a high milage vehicle of any type, make sure it has an up to date and comprehensive service history - even if a DIY one, supported by receipts. Many buy cheap high mileage cars which are in decent condition and then totally neglect them. So you really need to buy it from the owner who piled on the miles - not a later one.

Agreed. My E34 520i Touring has now got over 345000miles on it and it still drives better than most 'new' cars.

JB

Avoid ex-taxis though - if they've been used for mini cabbing, there's only one reason to sell - its had it!

I know a certain someone who is selling a J reg carlton.

Douglas

A very valid point!

Generally as long as they're looked after plus another twenty thousand miles or so. :)

If an engine has been treated with respect (especially when cold) and had at least the oil changed at the manufacturers recommended interval it has a decent stab at being able to cover big mileages, even the likes of a small engine in a small car.

Conversely, change the oil "at every MOT even if it doesn't need it," extend beyond 5,000 rpm whilst leaving the end of your street in the winter when the oil is still below freezing point, then warm the engine up using the limiter up to third gear, yeah that'll not help matters. When warm it's another story...

Ignoring bodywork, no, absolutely not.

A bouncy ride, decent engines but older ones can have noisy tappets that make the Endura-E seem like a silky V6 (about £25 per tappet to fix, as I understand), lots of interior space, most don't corrode at all (a few have big problems), cheap insurance on the smaller engine varieties, the GT Turbo has a "difficult" and turbulent chassis but it's quick. There's a review of the Punto, and some other cars, on my website.

If you're planning on doing your own maintenance to the car then perhaps getting something that's easy to fix, parts are easy and cheap to get hold of, and if you break it you won't have to pay too much for a garage to fix it. This typically means sticking to Ford and Vauxhall, but I'm not discounting the other makes of course.

As far as engine longevity goes, many websites reckon that older small capacity (i.e. 1.3 and under) Ford engines just don't last long without needing a rebuild. Most Fiestas die because of bodywork corrision or crashes rather than needing a replacement engine. Regular oil changes keep them running - 170,000 miles, the last 50,000 with it sounding like a tractor, but it keeps on running...

get a GOOD old volvo. can't go wrong. for nearly ten years i've owned just two cars. an '81 242 for the first five, and an '84 240 wagon for the next. bought the first for $950.00 ten years ago, and when i sold it five years later it was still running strong. the car was so dependable/reliable that the only repair i remember doing on it over the years is a fuel pump, water pump, and driveshaft center bearing. and the clutch cable broke once. a little semi- regular maintnance and that car was happy! i'm driving the wagon now and it's pretty much the same deal. bought this one for $3000.00 five years ago and i swear to you the only actual repair that has been performed is for a fuel pump. this and semi regular service. and the standard oil changes and tranny service, which i do as recommended. both these cars had over 190,000 miles on them when i bought them, and the wagon now has 262,000 trouble free miles on it. again though, these are cars that were very well maintained over the years before i purchased them. that is key. along with an honest and accuate seller. of course i don't expect you might be interested in cars quite as aged as this, but a newer 740 or 940 may do you just as much justice.

Much as they're not really to my tastes either, they are very cheap nowadays and probably no worse a banger than an old Escort/Astra etc. A mate of mine with little if any mechanical sympathy had one for several years and about

80,000 miles - in the end he got rid of it as it had a dodgy alternator and a couple of other quite fixable faults. And the paintwork was faded as he'd never had it washed, let alone polished :o)

In news: snipped-for-privacy@individual.net, Carl Bowman decided to enlighten our sheltered souls with a rant as follows

indeed.

There isn't much on the road that's worse than an Astra, or old FWD Escort.

The Volvo will beat the Fiesta by several miles, if you're talking squarish headlamp models of Fiesta. The fiesta will be rusty around the filler cap, and the engine will sound like a bag of nails in a 30 year old tumble drier. If it's a 95 on model, with the oval headlamps *AND* the 1.25 litre engine, it's a good 'un. If it's got the 1299 or any other CC in it, it'll sound like the aforementioned nails / drier scenario.

My choice for s**te old banger would be an Audi 80. Won't rust if it's not been crashed and repaired badly, and the engine's should be pretty good. Failing that, a MK3 Golf should be pretty solid despite it's lardiness. I'd recommend a MK2, but you only get injection on the GTi, and carbs are a bit of a pain in the backside. If fuel's no object, I'd go for an old 6cyl bimmer or jag. Should do stellar mileages. Or one of the old E class Mercs. Mate has an ancient 260E and you still can't be sure the engine's running on tickover.

In news:eyNKd.636$ snipped-for-privacy@newsfe4-gui.ntli.net, Doki decided to enlighten our sheltered souls with a rant as follows

I'm selling one of those Mercs ;)

Have to agree. My dad's 1993 (K) 80 has never missed a beat over the years and is still going strong on the original factory fitted battery.

I've always drove Volvos until very recently (fiscal problems) I had a C reg. 740 estate that I used as a daily driver, also had a 740SE saloon and a nice 740 GL auto with loads of extras I put in. The C reg one had 100,000 on the clock when I bought it. It was a 2.3 manual GLT. I decided to use it as an experiment in abuse. I thrashed it everywhere for another 200,000 miles. I scrapped it at 320,000 miles because of rust in the floor pan. I never changed it's oil or serviced it, just kept everything topped up. The parts I replaced were: front disks, brake pads, water pump, distributer (Hall effect wiring went), clutch, tyres, windscreen wipers. Nothing else in 200,000 abusive miles. At 320,000 miles it failed it's MOT for the first time with the afore-mentioned floor pan rust. I treated my other Volvos properly, but this one was an experiment as I said. I was very impressed with the way it held up with no servicing for so long and the thing that killed it had nothing to do with the engine, which was the most abused part of the car.

Thought they ran on petrol?

In news: snipped-for-privacy@davenoise.co.uk, Dave Plowman (News) decided to enlighten our sheltered souls with a rant as follows

It's all a big con. The big lump under the bonnet with spark plugs is just for the heater.