would high milage put you off?

[wanacoop]

Hi all, i have seen an s3c for sale which looks good.

I showed my g/f who will also part own the car and she said that 108k was a bit high milage and would we struggle down the line to sell it on?

I then said Chassis, chassis...chassis!! i assured her that milage was not top of the hit list, it was condition, chassis etc..

But now she's got me worrying, i don't want to get blinkered..

Any wise words to help me out???

[mikee boy]

Ignore the mileage, it's the chassis and the body that cost money to fix.

I bought a low mileage engine off eBay for 67 quid and it's great. At the end of the day it's a Sierra with some expensive specialist parts around it. Make sure the expensive specialist parts are OK.

[ketvrin]

Is there any service history with it ?

a 108k car that had a new engine, gearbox and diff and has a solid chassis would be a great buy...

I would not let the mileage alone put me off if it had been well looked after, was in good condition and was at the right price...

Chassis... History... Chassis ... History... Price should be your new warcry

[Dave_M]

[jimed]

My S has now done 103K and is fine. As above you need to have a good look at it - one that has been used and serviced is much better than one that has not been used much and has iffy history. In addition to the above the price may be a bit lower so an even better buy!
Jim

[wanacoop]

ketvrin said:

Is there any service history with it ?

yeah, he says that he has all the history from about 20k, but he also wrote
"both trailing arms have been replaced, the chassis tubes that hold the petrol tank in have also been replaced, outriggers replaced a couple of months back along with new seat belt mountings. The chassis has also been fully painted over the last couple of years and gets regular treatments of waxoil !."

which is good.

[Barkychoc]

If it has had chassis work its got to be worth serious consideration.
As has already been said the oily bits are cheap as chips.

[z_chromozone]

Condition is the most important thing. My Dad had a Griff with full TVR history 28,000 on the clock with knackered cam and followers. Other people drive really high milage cars with no apparent problems.

Personally I would forget history and just compare it with a variety of different priced S cars. The more you see the more you will know the right car when it comes along.

Z

[Barkychoc]

Plus you can be pretty sure it hasn't been clocked!
Have those S's out there with reasonable mileage and patchy history really done the indicated mileage? Who knows.

[ketvrin]

I would want to know who did the chassis work... if it has been done well then thats a plus point but if not... steer clear !

K

[geoffn]

123k on the clock of my 1990 S2 and it still runs like a dream. Full service history with chassis work and it was a daily drive when I brought it. Absolutely no regrets

[Colin RedGriff]

100k on a 15+ year old car isn't particulalry high mileage..... it's only 7200 per year. Given the average mileage of most cars is around 12,000 per year, a 15 year old car with 'average' mileage would be 180,000 miles. Granted these cars cover lower than most cars but I would still not consider this high.

Anyway how can you possibly be thinking about selling it before you've even bought it? Once you've got one you won;t want to sell it so it's a moot point anyway

As everyone has said condition, condition, condition.

[wanacoop]

ketvrin said:

I would want to know who did the chassis work... if it has been done well then thats a plus point but if not... steer clear !

K

this is something i havent thought about! Thing is, how do i know if the chap who did the work was any good?

[kenpage]

just get a name and post it on here he may be known

[trackcar]

117k on my V8S and about to embark on another season of track days strong as an ox

Thing is : these cars are prety old now, you aren't going to find many low mileage examples these days, and anyway surely 108k means some people have wanted to drive that car, which must mean it's a good car!! I'd beware of any car that the owner hasn't wanted to driver

I bought my S with 80k on it, ive added nearly 40k in 4 years and I fully expect to add another 40k in the next 4 years too

[tozerman]

I agree that the chassis is the most important thing, but surely any car with 108k on the clock will need some work doing to it in the not too distant future ie engine, box and diff, check the box and diff for whining clonking etc and the engine for smoking etc and you should be ok....good luck
Cheers.....Tony..

[CTE]

The Ford mechanicals if reasonably well maintained should easily be good for twice the mileage, with only servicing and due to the age, possibly thinks like rubber mounts which will perish. The more use they get the better, rather than sitting around with corrosion forming and oil degrading etc.

[Stephen Pook]

My V8S which is up for sale( http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/507241.htm in case anyone is interested ) has about 104k on the clock but has a rebuilt engine and has had new trailing arms and outriggers fitted in the past.

Recently flew through the MOT and got me from Brighton to Bath and back a few weeks ago with no problems at all. In fact in two years of ownership it's had hardly any problems and certainly nothing serious. My S3 a few years back had 98k on the clock and that was trouble free motoring as a daily driver until I sold it to buy a Chim.

From my experiences I would not be put off by high miles.

Steve.

[ketvrin]

wanacoop said:

ketvrin said:

I would want to know who did the chassis work... if it has been done well then thats a plus point but if not... steer clear !

K

this is something i havent thought about! Thing is, how do i know if the chap who did the work was any good?

If it was done by a dealer he'll have receipts (as it would not have been cheap...) if not then as said above, get his name to see if he have posted details on PH. maybe even pictures of the chassis work... ?

K

[wanacoop]

thanks for all your help guys, it really helps me out!

I'm kind of ok with the milage now, but...

it;s the lack of full history that is bugging me.
As the seller said in an email, all the important things had been replaced, and quite a few tiv owners do like to service and work on there cars as its part of the ownership.

The chassis sound to be good, the car has the interior/exterior colour scheme that i like the most..

Its a 2.5hr drive away, and i don't wana get there and feel pressured into buying it i'm pretty much busy for the next couple weeks, so tomorrow is my only chance to veiw.

I'm a indecisive person at the best of times!!