Car/Engine lifespan

steamjetjoe

Hello all,
Just looking through some second hand cars. Assuming that a car has been reasonably maintained ie. serviced every 12,000 miles, How long could you get out of a diesel / petrol engine.

Graham_B18C

Depends on make of car, how its driven etc...if properly looked after they'll go for well over 100k, a mate of mine has a 98 punto with 115k miles! But i had an 01 punto and i needed to get a new engine after 56k miles, I only had it a short time and that happened!!! But if you're going Jap, then they'ss generally go on and on and on....both cars i mentioned were petrol, i've seen pleanty of Diesel's with well over 150k miles

steamjetjoe

Yeah I suppose its a diesel im really interested in. Its just that I see a few cars that have a nice price but then I notice the 120,000k and it makes me think twice. Im currently clocking up a little over 500km a week in my 1.4 stilo petrol & ws maybe looking for a efficent diesel for next year prehaps.:rolleyes:

Green Hornet

If they are well maintained they will go for well over 200K. I traded a 10 year old Civic a few years ago with 230K on the clock and still meet it on the road (although theres a few additions to the body at this stage :rolleyes:).
Never even changed the clutch or battery. It was all motorway driving though.

Graham_B18C

Its all well and good the engine bein mint but the car has clocked a lot of milage and i cant imagine the inside would be in perfect nick after that use. I feel the exact same when looking at new cars, milage can be a huge turn off. A car with 50 or 60k will feel much fresher and newer

Vain

Depends on the year of the car too like say a 96 golf with 130,00 and a 03 with 130,00 the o3 golf should in theory last longer:D

crosstownk

I've seen plenty of cars exceed the 250k miles mark. If an engine is regularly service and not abused there is no reason why it shouldn't make it to at least the 250k mark.

xbox36016

my dads old 04 530 d lasted 130,000 miles than the hole engine blow but still got 19,000 for it

maidhc

If a car is maintained it will last as long as the owner wants it to. Few cars "die" due to mechanical failure to be honest. They are just handed down until they reach an owner who is happy to neglect them and run them into the ground.

I still wounldn't buy a car with more than 50/60k miles on the clock though, and even then i'd be cautious about service histories etc.

Volvoboy

It all depend on the owner and how he/she is about servicing and the like.


Take an auld one in a Micra the bonnet gets opend one every two years for its nct.


And the highway man clocking up 30k miles a year on the motor way and gets the oil change once every 6K and inspeced weekly.


I know which one id want to buy.

mondeo

My 97 lancer has 131,000 on the clock as off yesturday and it runs lovely. Get your timing belt changed when it's due and keep your oil
changed every 5-8k and you will get infinite miles from a japanese car.

pred racer

sold my 406 tdi a couple of months ago with 160k (miles) on it passed nct the following week and is still going strong, imho the bodywork, shocks, brakes etc will start costing you money long before the engine gives up. I normally buy my cars with 100k and keep them for 2 years 160k (miles again) and ive never had any serious issues. just buy something that looks and feels like it was looked after, fix small issues as they occur and regularly service. youll be grand.

L1011

One manufacturer is currently warrantying its petrol engines for 1,000,000 kilometres! (albeit for a maximum time period...) With proper maintainence I'd expect you could get 200k+ km out of a modern petrol no bother.

things like fuel pumps can go before engines do and can be more expensive than an engine to replace in some cases

HungryJoey

Its generally things like suspension components, electrics or head gaskets that give trouble before the actualy engine itself packs in. Obviously a well looked after one should go for 150K+ with regular oil changes and inspections.

snowman707

My primera diesel has 197K miles
engine has never been touched other than service

replaced top links & 1 front hub bearing also a spring in the gearbox

my nephew has a 96 corolla diesel with 290k miles , the car has been in his family from new & passed down the line .

think they put a clutch & water pump in it during this time

Max_Damage

My cousin's '90 Micra had 185,000 miles on it when he sold it, although it was burning oil like no other.

crosstownk

MYOB wrote: »

One manufacturer is currently warrantying its petrol engines for 1,000,000 kilometres!

Yeah - the time limit is three years. Essentially it's a marketing gimmick. I assume you are referring to Fiat.

eringobragh

I'm near 190k now on my 95 Primera, original clutch, gearbox ,engine. She's a miser on oil as well doesn't burn a drop

L1011

crosstownk wrote: »

Yeah - the time limit is three years. Essentially it's a marketing gimmick. I assume you are referring to Fiat.

Four years, and yes, Fiat. Fiat have had a four year 100K warranty since 2004, its now a four year 1MK warranty - marketing gimmick when it is, realistically, a 4 year unlimited mileage warranty.

The bodywork is warrantied for a decade but its been a long time since the 'they rust!' accusation could be applied to Fiat. Recently the 'they break down!' one is just as inaccurate and it'll take a few years of 4 year warranties when the Jap's only give 2 for that to sink in...

Top Dog

A friend bought a '01 Passat TDI in the UK last year with 110k on the clock. Had detailed service history with it too.

Now has over 160k on the clock and still running like a dream.

kluivert

all cars will last as long as they are maintained.

This means servicing a car every 10k miles.

Re-new suspension and brake components every 100k miles, keep engine components clean of carbon dust and the engine will not burn oil and will still feel fresh.

Cars will last easily 500k miles if looked after.

I would rather buy a high motorway mileage serviced every 10k miles rather than a car that drives less than 5k miles a year on the school run that is serviced every year.

maidhc

kluivert wrote: »

I would rather buy a high motorway mileage serviced every 10k miles rather than a car that drives less than 5k miles a year on the school run that is serviced every year.

Hummm.... I would be very slow to buy any high milage car unless I actually knew the car. There are plenty of low/medium milage cars about.

VH

maidhc wrote: »

There are plenty of low/medium milage cars about.

true

galwaytt

maidhc wrote: »

Hummm.... I would be very slow to buy any high milage car unless I actually knew the car. There are plenty of low/medium milage cars about.

Low / medium mileage means nothing. It says nothing about type or frequency of use, or maintenance.

Mileage in itself, is not a problem.

And, there is some evidence that modern cars are simply not up to the historical mileage's of previous generations - they are very much sold as products, rather than something more. Lack of spares types for some vehicles, and lack of repair procedures for many others, would support that. Product replacement, rather than product longevity, is now an engineering goal.

Market saturation in terms of car population in this part of the world, now sees it impossible for any manufacturer to build truly long-lived vehicles, and still sell all they can make. Indeed, the opposite is now the case - that they rely on product replacement to create sales opportunities for new product. Why build a 20yr car, when they can flog you another one in 10? It's all about economics.

My own experience of (too many...) cars inside the last 5 years in particular had given me quite some jaundice on the subject. To such an extent that I'm now revisiting the whole car purchase subject.......I have regularly bought new cars since 1999, both ordinary and not-so-ordinary, but my experiences in most recent times of new product, has been mixed, to say the least. The last two cars I've bought are both old and high mileage, and I have to say, despite the maintenance costs, and some key part renewals (which you can still do !!), the actual cost of ownership is still less than an econobox.

In particular, I don't think modern comon rail diesel's will ever reach the longevity accorded older generations. They are, quite simply, at the forefront of their capabilities, whilst older ones, were, tbh, quite crude, but fundamentally over-engineered. That margin does not exist in today's units, and the specialist knowledge to repair, as well as lack of part repair capabilities, is sadly lacking.........

Perversely, petrol engines in normally aspirated form, will actually will [edit: may] become more long lived than their diesel counterparts, for the reasons of simplicity and repairability.

Who'd have thought that, 10 years ago??

VH

galwaytt wrote: »

Mileage in itself, is not a problem.

You are guaranteed things wear out with mileage. More miles = more wear.

Notch000

low milage can be a balls too, care that have sat round for a good while generally give muchoos trouble when restarted

Mr.David

kluivert wrote: »

I would rather buy a high motorway mileage serviced every 10k miles rather than a car that drives less than 5k miles a year on the school run that is serviced every year.

+1

High frequency, low mileage journeys are damaging to cars especially the powertrain due to it not reaching operating temp (despite that misleading temp indicator in your car, it only properly reaches the correct temp after 10+ miles).

Motorway miles contribute very little in terms of wear. Engine about 3000rpm under low loading, smooth road surface etc.

snowman707

Mr.David wrote: »

+1

High frequency, low mileage journeys are damaging to cars especially the powertrain due to it not reaching operating temp (despite that misleading temp indicator in your car, it only properly reaches the correct temp after 10+ miles).

Motorway miles contribute very little in terms of wear. Engine about 3000rpm under low loading, smooth road surface etc.

+1


totally agree

a fairly new member to boards & am amazed at the number of queries & discussions here re head gasket failure.

have never replaced a head gasket, my cars are usually bought with 70 -100 k miles & we usually stick another 100- 150 k miles fairly trouble free

have never owned a 'D' reg & shy away from cars that may have low miles & high engine hours

JimmyCrackCorn!

I abused all my cars. They were regularly serviced but i did drive them quite hard

92 1.0l Nissan micra 110,000 miles, Engine still good no sign of oil loss/burning. Got the Golf for handy money at the time.

1997 VW golf 1.4 120,000 miles, Oil loss(into cylinders) drove it undil a water seal gave in about 20,000 later.

Silva Ks 60,000 miles. Died due to an incident (wasnt me)

As a cheap runabout:
POS 1998 Peugeot 406 1.8l, Currently 139,000 miles, Serviced once maybe before i got my hands on it, I serviced it, No sign of oil/water loss.
Took quite a bit of work but i had a sunday or two free and i did get the car for nothing as it was neglected to the point of fit for crusher.

• ARB Drop links
• Trailing arm Bush
• Fuel filter
• Fresh brake fluid
• Fresh gearbox oil
• track rod ends
• Brake disks
• Dash bulbs
• Oil + filter (Filter removed with screwdriver and hammer)
• Plugs
• Tb kit
• Filled a bumber
• Paint + artist paint prushes

Its hard to kill a car these days and as you can see im a firm believer in driving a car till its death (when it becomes unsafe or i kill the engine). It does help though when you dont have to pay for leighbour.