Hello,

 

I have a question which will no doubt cause some to debate. The question is simple. In regards to reliability which car would you rely on more, a car with twice the age but half the miles .... OR .... twice the miles but only half the age. 

 

1. Take two VAG quality built engines, both serviced regularly, driven sensibly, identical in every way except, for age and mileage. Which would you purchase regardless of the miles you intend to do if both priced the same?

 

For example, take a Skoda Octavia II VRs 2.0 TFSI....

 

Car One) 12 years old with 60,000 miles (5,000 miles per year)???

Car Two) 6 Years old with 120,000 miles (20,000 miles per year)???

 

2. If the same rules apply, would your decisions change if they were diesel VRs engines instead of petrol?

 

The reason i ask this is a friend of mine used to work for a car warranty company and would argue that in terms of offering car warranties, when assessing 'risk', mileage and age would always be the two biggest factors.

 

Gaz

 

 

 

Car 2 for me every time.

 

A young car with high mileage smacks of motorways journey's at a constant speed. It also suggests a company / fleet car which more than likely means full main dealer service history.

 

Cars like to be used / driven, I'd avoid a car that has been sat around and used simply to tootle around in.

 

Condition is a key decider too.

It does depend on the car too. A small car such as a fiesta, lupo etc i'd go for the older low miler. They are not designed to do big miles, you also find low  mileage examples often have a lot of history. I bought a N reg civic in 2005 with 27k on the clock. I had receipts for everything down to dealer fitting and supplying bulbs. 

My Vrs Tsi is 4 years old and has only done 21k, not through short journeys but because I go away with work often and have access to other transport. Serviced every year no matter mileage and is in brand new condition, a 120,000 mile car would have so much more worn out than an engine that sat on the motorway.

Condition/History etc would ultimately make me decide however no way would I go near a 120k car.

I'd go for younger car with higher miles as silver 1011 says, motorway miles.

My Vrs Tsi is 4 years old and has only done 21k, not through short journeys but because I go away with work often and have access to other transport. Serviced every year no matter mileage and is in brand new condition, a 120,000 mile car would have so much more worn out than an engine that sat on the motorway.

Condition/History etc would ultimately make me decide however no way would I go near a 120k car.

Why what's wrong with a car on that mileage? Most of the cars I've previously owned have done more miles than that and been totally reliable and a lot better condition than lower mileage cars. Modern cars can easily cope with the mileage. My father in law has replaced more parts and had more issues on his ten year old, 60k mile astra than I've ever had on any of my cars and yet he keeps saying how it's such a good low mileage car. As ever if the car hasn't been maintained then it's not a great buy regardless of the mileage.

Corrosion vs mechanical wear.

Too easy to generalise but i would think younger rep mobiles will have been booted to death because they don't care-it's not theirs and they've a quota to fill and a deadline to meet.

Older preloved cars may have more life left in the mechanicals but the bodywork and everything you don't see will be rusting away quite nicely.

So in the end you have to make the call if the price is right.

Condition is more important than either.

 

I've seen more than a few low mileage cars that have been neglected and uncared for. "Lady owner" does not fill me with hope since I've seen how SWMBO and her pals treat their cars.

 

I'd avoid mega big mileage but also mega low mileage.

 

Probably the ideal is an average miles car with few owners and as mint as possible inside and out. I look for odd thinks like premium tyres etc. My thinking being an owner that has kept the car for a long time, serviced on time and is fitting good tyres etc is more likely to have looked after the car in general.

 

I'm sure there are exception but I think it's a reasonable starting point.

Condition every time as well for me,

Bought and Sold a 55 plate Clio on 40k ish iirc and it was utter crap. Needed lot to get it up to standard and had generally been neglected compared to my 120k Clio

I'd also go with the newer high mileage car, mileage on a car does not bother me at all. Over the last few years I've had quiet a few cars with over 140K on that have never let me down or needed any work.

 

F Reg BMW 520i, sold at just short of 150K miles.

L Reg MK1 Mondeo 2.0 Petrol, sold on 148K miles, the car went on to live quiet a few more years after I sold it.

P Reg MK2 Mondeo 2.0 Petrol Auto, sold with 146K'ish miles on it, that also went on for another year or so until the auto gearbox went.

 

More recently

2001 Y Reg Audi A8 3.7, sold last year with 192K miles on the clock, car is still running today with 200K miles now under its wheels. I know the current owner, who texted me to let me know.

 

My current car

2004 04 Reg Audi A8 3.7, currently on 139K miles, I've done 11K miles in 16 months and its never put a foot wrong, except a failed coilpack.

Where the miles were covered means more to me than the age or mileage itself. I believe 10k miles in and around cities will cause more wear and tear than 30k miles on a motorway. Stop-start journeys, more frequent gear changes, longer periods of idling, pot holes, speed bumps, etc etc all cause more wear than many miles cruising at a fairly consistent speed on a motorway.

This applies regardless of age so make sure you find out more about how and where the car had been used.

Also, buy the seller not the car... not literally, but judge the seller and ask yourself; does this person seem the type to appreciate the need for mechanical sympathy? Would I let them borrow my car?

how can anyone guarantee a high mileage car has done it all on motorway? could have been short journeys ie- taxi driving.. I know someone that always buys cars with high mileage (100k+) and spends more time fixing them than driving them!!

 

low mileage every time!!

Where the miles were covered means more to me than the age or mileage itself. I believe 10k miles in and around cities will cause more wear and tear than 30k miles on a motorway. Stop-start journeys, more frequent gear changes, longer periods of idling, pot holes, speed bumps, etc etc all cause more wear than many miles cruising at a fairly consistent speed on a motorway.

This applies regardless of age so make sure you find out more about how and where the car had been used.

Also, buy the seller not the car... not literally, but judge the seller and ask yourself; does this person seem the type to appreciate the need for mechanical sympathy? Would I let them borrow my car?

All 3 of our cars are low mileage for their age, but not through too many short journeys, they just don't get used much. (We are retired folk, the commuting days are long gone!) 

We like the choice, they are all paid for & get serviced by age rather than mileage.

Corrosion is unlikely, 'cos they are garaged, the interiors are in good condition 'cos we aren't vandals, & although they are all reasonably quick cars, they are never

pushed hard until the oil temperatures are up to 90+C.

 

 I'm aware that modern cars can cope mechanically with high mileage, but they always to seem to show more wear / tear on in the inside, + external paint damage.

 

As for "buying" the car's owner / driver, I've no idea of how you'd feel about purchasing any car that we have owned, you probably wouldn't want to deal with a pair of OAPs,

if only 'cos we don't drive "proper" OAP cars!

 

DC 

lol @ motorway mileage! this is all I hear when people are trying to justify their high mileage cars, how did the car get on the motorway? do they live next to a junction? (you get the idea). also paintwork suffers on a high mileage car too and Skoda's paintwork is not the hardest, every time I go on the motorway my car seems to pick up some kind of damage :( if it's not a rock bouncing off the wing onto the mirror it's a bloody piece of a trailer tent flying off and whacking my car . I try to stay clear of the A66 now!! seat bolsters seem to get a hammering on high mileage cars too, you can tell an ebay add car has a collapsed bolster when they deliberately don't show a pic of that part, they don't fool me!

All 3 of our cars are low mileage for their age, but not through too many short journeys, they just don't get used much. (We are retired folk, the commuting days are long gone!)

We like the choice, they are all paid for & get serviced by age rather than mileage.

Corrosion is unlikely, 'cos they are garaged, the interiors are in good condition 'cos we aren't vandals, & although they are all reasonably quick cars, they are never

pushed hard until the oil temperatures are up to 90+C.

I'm aware that modern cars can cope mechanically with high mileage, but they always to seem to show more wear / tear on in the inside, + external paint damage.

As for "buying" the car's owner / driver, I've no idea of how you'd feel about purchasing any car that we have owned, you probably wouldn't want to deal with a pair of OAPs,

if only 'cos we don't drive "proper" OAP cars!

DC

Quite the opposite, if I was looking at your car and you were saying the same thing about letting the car warm up fully before posting it hard, I'd be delighted. Certainly happier than being told about it's performance and how well it corners, or other such comments.

As for the other comments in this thread about paint damage, it's not anywhere near as simple as motorway mileage = damage. I commute 80 miles a day of which 65 are on the motorway and I can count the number of stone chips on one hand. Same applies to the seat; bolster wear comes from regularly getting in and out of the car. Once I'm in I sit still so my seats are looking great after 82k miles (on an 11 plate).

Each car will be different and there are many, many factors to consider. You can't judge it on any one factor alone.

Being able to spot a high mileage taxi is easy.

A high mileage fleet/company car over a low mileage private car gets my vote every time.

I've learnt the hard way.

Being able to spot a high mileage taxi is easy.

A high mileage fleet/company car over a low mileage private car gets my vote every time.

I've learnt the hard way.

My ex police car at 140,000 miles drives like a car straight out of the showroom so much so that I bought another for the wife to replace our Golf. When it was Mot'd the tester said if he hadn't known the mileage he would have thought it had done about 20,000. 

The second is not quite as good because it has some very very slight play in the steering which I still need to check out before its mot. It wouldn't fail but I'd like to find out where it is.  Ok cosmetically they are nowhere near perfect but I don't mind that.

All rather depends on service history and condition much as others have said.

A car salesman friend of mine some years ago was given an 04 Mondeo 2.0 TDCI Zetec to tool around in....a trade in that effectively became his company wheels.

It was an ex company car and had done well over 100k miles (suppose the car was about 3 years old at the time) and was a true motorway mile car....immaculate inside and out and if you didnt look at the odo you could have taken it for a 10k miler.

In the year or so he had it didnt skip a beat and sadly met its demise in an RTA....had it not it'd probably still be going strong now. Really changed my perception on high milers...though I must say ive always gone for lower mileage vehicles myself.

Taking the OPs example i think i would probably take a facelift high miler on in that the TSi/CR motors are a bit better and that they are a little fresher with newer infotainment etc...however a very low mile, low owner enthusiast owned pre FL TFSi vRS with a decent spec would be v hard to ignore.

id probably avoid a PD TDI vRS regardless as the DPF and injector issues would be too much of a worry for me...had an opportunity not too long ago to buy an immaculate 08 plate Leon FR PD TDi with only 27k miles and full history (knew rhe keeper too) for frankly not a great deal of money but it was too bigger a gamble.

young and well proven every time