Diesel Odometer Mileage

yupyup7up

Hi guys,

I'm looking at 04 audi a4s(1.9 tdi 130bhp)

All of the cars of that year appear to have pretty high mileage to me.
1 in particular has 120k miles. Is this normal mileage or should I be concerned over it.

Thanks

Gumbo

120k on an 04 car is only approx 17k per year.
i wouldnt be worried about it providing it has a service history to back up the mileage, doesnt have to be main dealer, but receipts along with NCT certs/MOT certs to help verify the miles.

and at that mileage certain item would of need to be replaced ie. bushes, suspension componetnts etc so if these havent been done and need to be done, work that into the price.

DubDani

I would say 120k mls on a 7 year old Diesel car would be fairly normal. Much less, and I would be more concerned that it has been clocked.

It is said that to make a Diesel worth it you usually need to drive around 20K miles per year, which would equate to 120k-140k mls for a 2004 car.

yupyup7up

thanks for the replies guys. I was looking at an audi a4 130bhp tdi 2004 with an S line kit on it for 8k with 120k miles, 1 year NCT and 17 inch alloys. It is lowered too(something I dont really want).

Is this too much to pay(was hoping to get it for 7300-7400) for a car with 120k?

newmug

120K is nothing. My 93 golf had 280,000 when I sold it in 2007, still running perfectly.

sean1141

120k is nothing if it was looked after and serviced on time with the correct pd spec oil which these diesel engines need.. dont know about the price but check donedeal,advertscarzone etc to see what the asking price is.. in the end of the day the car is only worth what you are willing to pay for it..

GTE

Chiming in with the others the mileage on that is fine. They can go for 2 or 3 times that if cared for properly.

What you will have to consider at 120k is have any wear and tear items that are due servicing been replaced and when do they need replacing.

Also, considering the year and horsepower of that car a full service history is more important then on older 1.9tdi's.

The oil must be correct on those engines. If not then some damaging wear and tear could have caused problems in the engine.

As a reference the oil should meet the VW505.01 standard and their is a longlife version and newer VW specs that include 505.01 now. What I would do is look at the service history and call garages and indy mechanics. Ask as if you want to book the car in what oil they would use for that engine.

VW 505.00 is wrong.

marzic

As said above if it has service history it wouldnt be excessive mileage. If you do buy one around 120k get one that has had its timing belt done (every 60,000mls) would save yourself several hundred euros. As always if you are unsure bring someone with experience with you.

paddyp

newmug wrote: »

120K is nothing. My 93 golf had 280,000 when I sold it in 2007, still running perfectly.

280k on a 93 tdi is nothing.

120k on a pump deuse tdi engine is a completely different story. It needs to have run on special pd oil with religious servicing and even then the cams which are tiny will be worn.

120k on a dual mass flywheel is also a totally different story.

To the OP I wouldn't pay any attention to the mileage on the clock there are hardly any tdis left in Ireland that haven't been clocked especially if it was imported from uk at any stage. The clocking kit is available for peanuts on ebay.

Get someone who knows about pd engines and dual mass flywheels to check it for you.

yupyup7up

yupyup7up wrote: »

I was looking at an audi a4 130bhp tdi 2004 with an S line kit on it for 8k with 120k miles, 1 year NCT and 17 inch alloys. It is lowered too(something I dont really want).

Is this too much to pay

Well, the way I would look at it is you will struggle to get one for much less, I think it's mad money for a 2004 car though.

JJJJNR

paddyp wrote: »

280k on a 93 tdi is nothing.

120k on a pump deuse tdi engine is a completely different story. It needs to have run on special pd oil with religious servicing and even then the cams which are tiny will be worn.

120k on a dual mass flywheel is also a totally different story.

To the OP I wouldn't pay any attention to the mileage on the clock there are hardly any tdis left in Ireland that haven't been clocked especially if it was imported from uk at any stage. The clocking kit is available for peanuts on ebay. Get someone who knows about pd engines and dual mass flywheels to check it for you.

OP I wouldn't mind generalisations like this, its pure scaremongering if the car was purchased in the UK you can check its history online using motorcheck.ie or a HPI check and both will give the full maintenance record.

yupyup7up

I'm starting to get worried about getting a diesel at all now! I'm going to be doing about 10k miles a year. And I just wanted to get something better on fuel than my 1.6 1998 corolla but still have a bit of power.

I've heard nothing but problems about the diesels, DMF, DPF, PD problems, the list goes on! starting to wonder is it even worth getting one

yupyup7up

yupyup7up wrote: »

I'm going to be doing about 10k miles a year. And I just wanted to get something better on fuel than my 1.6 1998 corolla but still have a bit of power.

...............starting to wonder is it even worth getting one

On that mileage I wouldn't bother, 200 miles a week @ 30mpg is €40 ish/week on petrol.

paddyp

yupyup7up wrote: »

I'm starting to get worried about getting a diesel at all now! I'm going to be doing about 10k miles a year. And I just wanted to get something better on fuel than my 1.6 1998 corolla but still have a bit of power.

I've heard nothing but problems about the diesels, DMF, DPF, PD problems, the list goes on! starting to wonder is it even worth getting one

My brother changed the DMF last year and engine in his PD galaxy last year and I changed the engine in my passat at christmas, both of us have agreed that our next car will be japanese and petrol.

The A4 / passat front suspension is a mental design definitely not up to the bad road in ireland if you drive mostly city and motorway you'll be ok but if like me you do a lot of miles on rural roads factor in changing the front suspension arms.

In terms of mpg. My dads 1.6 carina leanburn estate does 47 mpg combined around cork city and west cork the leanburn needs a perfect o2 sensor to work thats the only thing he's ever had to change. Our old 1.4 almera did 47 mpg combined.

At current prices and 10000 miles per year and those kind of mpg the difference in price between petrol and diesel is less than the difference in the tax.

The 130bhp passat would be much more fun to drive though!

paddyp

JJJJNR wrote: »

If the car was purchased in the UK you can check its history online using motorcheck.ie or a HPI check and both will give the full maintenance record.

Thats how I know, I spent months looking for an estate and checked several tdis estates which had less mileage now in Ireland than they did in the UK. Seems to be particularly the estates which would often have been fleet or sales reps cars and have very high mileage for the year.

Oh and it was the same for the accord estate which are like hens teeth in Ireland.

[edit] Actually it was two that had less miles not several but there were others that had done an implausibly small mileage after being imported[/edit]

cadaliac

RoverJames wrote: »

On that mileage I wouldn't bother, 200 miles a week @ 30mpg is €40 ish/week on petrol.

+1
offset the cost of repairs to a diesel (esp with 120k on the clock) against the extra per week on petrol, and it should favour the petrol car.
You could be lucky and get a good one but chances are - not. They are wear and tear items (DMF and suspension parts).
Crazy money for an 04 car btw.

JJJJNR

OP would you not get the 1.8T in the A4 with the mileage you do, pick a very nice one up for that money.

bazz26

Look at it from another side, you are going to spend €8k on a newer car to save maybe 10c per litre at the pump. You would want to be filling up every day for years to make that money back in order to justify it.