Age or mileage - which is most important?
Discussion
I'll take the 3 year old car with 20k thanks
Plenty of chat about heat cycles being hard on an engine and all the emissions gubbins, especially on a diesel.... FiL has a 1.6TDI Octavia, it threw a DPF fault at 4K miles purely on how he drives it.
However with miles, regardless of age, everything else is prone to wear. Suspensions components, bearings etc etc.
You really have to judge a car on a case by case basis.
Plenty of chat about heat cycles being hard on an engine and all the emissions gubbins, especially on a diesel.... FiL has a 1.6TDI Octavia, it threw a DPF fault at 4K miles purely on how he drives it.
However with miles, regardless of age, everything else is prone to wear. Suspensions components, bearings etc etc.
You really have to judge a car on a case by case basis.
Trailhead said:
Hi all
What do you think impacts reliability the most - age or mileage?
Assuming the same model, price, condition etc which would you prefer:
3 year old car with 90k miles
Or
6 year old car with 20k miles
Assuming it’s something run of the mill like a TDI golf.
My experience with older cars of very low mileage hasn't been great.What do you think impacts reliability the most - age or mileage?
Assuming the same model, price, condition etc which would you prefer:
3 year old car with 90k miles
Or
6 year old car with 20k miles
Assuming it’s something run of the mill like a TDI golf.
Maybe because certain materials can perish over time regardless of use.
And/or lots of short journeys repeated over years can create a lot more wear than average.
Having said that, out of the 2 in your extreme example, I'd probably take the latter, if you could be 100pc sure the mileage was correct.
They cause different things to fail - some components in a car degrade with age, some with use and some with both. I'd happily buy either of the above, but would focus my checks on different things when inspecting them (not that 6 years is particularly old or 90k miles is particularly high mileage).
Edited by kambites on Thursday 3rd October 13:12
Personally take the younger vehicle, more likely (not certain, but,) been used for motorway work with that amount.
Again, buy on condition if service is all good and proper, and you can get it at a good price - mileage is totally irrelevant to me personally.
Cars fail new and old, luck of the draw - just have some rainy day fund for a warranty, worked for me.
Looking at 1.6TDI Golfs at the minute myself (for Mrs Dailyhack) 2013/14 (with 90/100k>) pretty sure the cambelt is needed around 100k? So add that into the equation aswell.
Again, buy on condition if service is all good and proper, and you can get it at a good price - mileage is totally irrelevant to me personally.
Cars fail new and old, luck of the draw - just have some rainy day fund for a warranty, worked for me.
Looking at 1.6TDI Golfs at the minute myself (for Mrs Dailyhack) 2013/14 (with 90/100k>) pretty sure the cambelt is needed around 100k? So add that into the equation aswell.
Edited by DailyHack on Thursday 3rd October 13:12
dan98 said:
My experience with older cars of very low mileage hasn't been great.
Agree and If I was ever brave/stupid enough to buy another TVR I would definitely buy one that has been used regularly and not get to hung up on the mileage. Cars tend to run better if used regularly I think. Once you get past a certain age, I'd go off condition and history rather than age or mileage. That said, I never buy a car with more than 50k on the clock. I tend to keep my cars a long time (4 or 5 years) so I'd rather it was under 100k miles when I moved it on. A lot of people are put off by the 100k mile barrier.
I'd take a 6 year old car on 20k miles over a 3 year old one on 90k miles as a rule.
I'd take a 6 year old car on 20k miles over a 3 year old one on 90k miles as a rule.
zafbandicoot said:
Condition is everything.
Car and Owner.
I would be happy buying from an enthusiast who has driven his car hard but at the same time ensured it remains in top condition.
I would buy a 80k 6 year old car if it was immaculate and the owner was clued up.
An important point.Car and Owner.
I would be happy buying from an enthusiast who has driven his car hard but at the same time ensured it remains in top condition.
I would buy a 80k 6 year old car if it was immaculate and the owner was clued up.
I'd much rather maintenace is carried out little and often than just looking at meain dealer invoices. I had the choice of a few M3's, the one I went for was idential to another but the owner kept a log of his own interim oil changes. That swung it for me.
kambites said:
They cause different things to fail - some components in a car degrade with age, some with use and some with both. I'd happily buy either of the above, but would focus my checks on different things when inspecting them (not that 6 years is particularly old or 90k miles is particularly high mileage).
Also, for those who care about such fluff, the newer model may be a more up to date specification.designforlife said:
Neither, condition is King.
This - condition is king.In my case a 1996 Defender at over 300000 miles - worst case of both mileage and age but it had a mechanically sympathetic previous (and current) owner and did lots of long trips:
1. The powertrain was at optimum temperature for long periods burning off any internal condensation.
2. It was serviced regularly and properly.
Result is a reliable and tidy vehicle.
but what if both cars were maintained within manufacturer guidelines?
ie. say the car needed an oil change every 10,000miles or 1 year, whichever comes first
the 3 year old car will have had 9 changes
the 6 year old car will have had 6 changes (one every year).
which would you go for? lets assume all other parts were maintained in the same way/according to their intervals.
ie. say the car needed an oil change every 10,000miles or 1 year, whichever comes first
the 3 year old car will have had 9 changes
the 6 year old car will have had 6 changes (one every year).
which would you go for? lets assume all other parts were maintained in the same way/according to their intervals.
Agree with everyone else who says that there are good and bad examples of each type.
Those very high mileage cars that tend to get highlighted on here ( such as 100SRV's Defender above ) that have done say 150-200000 miles and more in 10 years or so are more likely to have been 3 years / 90k cars than 6 years / 20k ones in their previous lives.
Those very high mileage cars that tend to get highlighted on here ( such as 100SRV's Defender above ) that have done say 150-200000 miles and more in 10 years or so are more likely to have been 3 years / 90k cars than 6 years / 20k ones in their previous lives.
Edited by Wooda80 on Thursday 3rd October 18:11
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