Mileage on cars

getcover

Apologies if there is a thread on this already.
I will be buying another car within the next week or so. I've had a Vento diesel for years, so want to stay with a diesel engine. I've seen quite a few Passats and Volvo s40s for sale on the various used car websites, all well within my preferred price range.

My question is about the maximum mileage a car is capable of doing. My old Vento has 165,000 miles on the clock, and while it is a bit of a banger, it still runs fine. A few of the cars I've been looking at have mileage in the 130 - 160,000 mile range, and I'm wondering if there would be much left in a car with that sort of use.

Is there a maximum mileage limit, before a car becomes unusable? Would a Volvo s40 1.9 diesel with 153,000 miles on the clock be worth €2,000 - €3,000?

(I realise that I'm asking a question equivalent to how long is a piece of string!)

Drummerboy08

We have a few 05/06 cars on fleet at the minute with 260,000kms + on them. We took back 4 mazda 6's in January and each had close to 300,000kms on them.

I think once a car is looked after, serviced at its intervals, it should be ok.

maidhc

Drummerboy08 wrote: »

We have a few 05/06 cars on fleet at the minute with 260,000kms + on them. We took back 4 mazda 6's in January and each had close to 300,000kms on them.

I think once a car is looked after, serviced at its intervals, it should be ok.

The problem is when you buy s/h at high milage you just don't know the history of the car. Even a service history dones't tell you stuff like how the driver once hit a kerb and ran the engine without oil, etc etc.

Drummerboy08

maidhc wrote: »

The problem is when you buy s/h at high milage you just don't know the history of the car. Even a service history dones't tell you stuff like how the driver once hit a kerb and ran the engine without oil, etc etc.

Thats true, but it also applies to cars with lower mileage, a kerb or pothole could be hit at any mileage, the same could be said for the oil (well, over 30-40k KMS anyway). But i see what your saying, there is a much bigger window for things to have gone wrong.

bazz26

You always take this chance when buying a high mileage car. The engine may be capable of doing alot more but other major components such as suspension, gearbox and clutch wear alot faster than the engine itself. If these components need an overhaul or replacing then the cost can make it uneconomical to run the car.

At the end of the day however the car really is at the mercy of how the previous owners looked after it irrespective of what the odometer reads.