100k+ miles Eunos - ok or avoid?
Discussion
As the title suggests, I'm looking at a 95 1.8 Eunos roadster with 120k-ish miles on the clock, its averaged around 9k miles per annum which I think is acceptable for most cars, but my questions to the experts are:
- how much life is the engine likely to have if and when I hit big bills or it reaches the end of it's life (I dont plan on tracking, s/c or turbocharging it)?
- is there anything to look for specifically on high mile cars?
It appears to be generally in very good condition in comparison to some rough looking cars with half the miles for the same price - unless the high miles are an issue I'd rather buy a high miler in better nick, is this the right thing to do?
Cheers in advance.
- how much life is the engine likely to have if and when I hit big bills or it reaches the end of it's life (I dont plan on tracking, s/c or turbocharging it)?
- is there anything to look for specifically on high mile cars?
It appears to be generally in very good condition in comparison to some rough looking cars with half the miles for the same price - unless the high miles are an issue I'd rather buy a high miler in better nick, is this the right thing to do?
Cheers in advance.
Mines on 120,000 abusive miles (last 70,000 with mobil 1). But that's fine. Only major thing it had was a rear main seal on the engine and I only had to change that to take it on track.
A guy in the states has done 300,000 and then his clutch pedal snapped.... So look out for that one in a few hundred thousand miles.
A guy in the states has done 300,000 and then his clutch pedal snapped.... So look out for that one in a few hundred thousand miles.
I bought mine at 103k, it's currently at 120k since I bought it in March, it's been SORN since the end of Oct. I drove it hard & fast alot of the time, all roof down! 
Theyre stupidly tough little cars, keeping in mind the mix of roads my commute has & the amount of miles I do...It coped superbly well. Hardly spent a thing! & great fun on PH runs!!
Keep an eye on ya water pump & when that was last changed. If that let's go & you don't get it sorted, your rad will soon go pop, then when they both go, so does your HG! It will begin to at least as I found out...Worst case scenario I had to deal with set me back £700 inc labour.
Thats it. Just keep an eye on that in particular & you'll be alright
Theyre stupidly tough little cars, keeping in mind the mix of roads my commute has & the amount of miles I do...It coped superbly well. Hardly spent a thing! & great fun on PH runs!!
Keep an eye on ya water pump & when that was last changed. If that let's go & you don't get it sorted, your rad will soon go pop, then when they both go, so does your HG! It will begin to at least as I found out...Worst case scenario I had to deal with set me back £700 inc labour.
Thats it. Just keep an eye on that in particular & you'll be alright
It's done a few more since then.
Really all I've got to gripe about is -
- Rust. But that's an age thing, and a Eunos may well be better than a UK car on this front.
- At this age they're cheap cars and you sometimes find a previous owner has skimped on the odd job. I got stung for a cambelt this year because it had been done previously, but without new tensioners.
im at over 180,000km, and in the last 25,000km ive really abused it. oil changes every 8,000km or so, it still runs very sweetly, doesnt drive like a 18 year old car at all, it almost drives like new! just flew through its mot. the only things ive ever changed apart from the oil is the plugs, leads and filters. might have to invest in some new pads at some point.
these cars are bullet proof if theve been well maintained. like previous posters have said, be more concerned with the condition and history not the mileage.
these cars are bullet proof if theve been well maintained. like previous posters have said, be more concerned with the condition and history not the mileage.
A2Z said:
As said above, buy on condition. High (well maintained)miles are not a big problem. Have a look at some of the buyers guides (there is a good one in this months Practical Performance Car). Check for rust in sills and arches.
Is Practical Performance Car available in shops? I've just been to Smiths to see if I can pick up a copy but it's not in. I'm going to see an MX5 tomorrow and it would be good to have a read of it
yellowbentines said:
theboyfold said:
Is Practical Performance Car available in shops? I've just been to Smiths to see if I can pick up a copy but it's not in.
I'm having trouble sourcing a copy also, anyone have a copy of the article, a scanner and some free time on their hands? 
Cheers, but I managed to get a copy in WH Smiths, however most of the info I'd already picked up from here or various MX forums.
Now the difficulty is finding the right car, I just can't seem to find it, a not-too-rusty mk. 1 eunos with a manual box seems hard to come by within 200 miles of Glasgow!
Now the difficulty is finding the right car, I just can't seem to find it, a not-too-rusty mk. 1 eunos with a manual box seems hard to come by within 200 miles of Glasgow!
yellowbentines said:
Cheers, but I managed to get a copy in WH Smiths, however most of the info I'd already picked up from here or various MX forums.
Now the difficulty is finding the right car, I just can't seem to find it, a not-too-rusty mk. 1 eunos with a manual box seems hard to come by within 200 miles of Glasgow!
I thought I saw a good one up in Scotland! Which is always typical as I'm down near london! Can't find the link at the moment though...Now the difficulty is finding the right car, I just can't seem to find it, a not-too-rusty mk. 1 eunos with a manual box seems hard to come by within 200 miles of Glasgow!
buy on the condition of the car overall, don't get too wound up with mileage as already said above.
I bought mine on the condition of the shell primarily. as odd as it sounds i ended up buying an eunos track day car with 120k, being a weekend toy it never had to see our roads in winter much so hasn't got a spot of rust on it. if you find one as good, set out with some heavy undersealing or get a company like dandy cars (?) to do it
mine still had the original 1989 gearbox + diff oil in it from factory, which was a bit disconcerting! however a few flushes with fully synthetic redline + mobil 1 gear oils and attention to the turret had things back beautiful again - these really are tough little cars
LSD's - don't be swayed by one that has one over the other which doesn't, a lot were viscous and just revert to open over time anyway, i'm not convinced mine had one at all!
one other thing, the performance difference between an early mk1 1600 and a late mk1 1800 really isn't that much, power and torque went up but so did the weight, so don't discount 1600's completely
I bought mine on the condition of the shell primarily. as odd as it sounds i ended up buying an eunos track day car with 120k, being a weekend toy it never had to see our roads in winter much so hasn't got a spot of rust on it. if you find one as good, set out with some heavy undersealing or get a company like dandy cars (?) to do it
mine still had the original 1989 gearbox + diff oil in it from factory, which was a bit disconcerting! however a few flushes with fully synthetic redline + mobil 1 gear oils and attention to the turret had things back beautiful again - these really are tough little cars
LSD's - don't be swayed by one that has one over the other which doesn't, a lot were viscous and just revert to open over time anyway, i'm not convinced mine had one at all!
one other thing, the performance difference between an early mk1 1600 and a late mk1 1800 really isn't that much, power and torque went up but so did the weight, so don't discount 1600's completely
I think the reading might be correct as he's written out 120,000 miles, however he's one of many selling their car that don't want to respond to me for some reason, anyway, I'm in no rush and have found one or two owners willing to respond, send me additional photos etc.
What I have found so far, is that all of the higher miles cars seem to be in better condition and better maintained, perhaps good condition = enthusiast owners that drive their cars = higher miles? Either way I'm now not concerned with mileage at all if it's been looked after.
What I have found so far, is that all of the higher miles cars seem to be in better condition and better maintained, perhaps good condition = enthusiast owners that drive their cars = higher miles? Either way I'm now not concerned with mileage at all if it's been looked after.
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