High Mileage

neacy69

Just beem looking for a new car thinking of VW bora 1.9TDi but a lot of the cars in autotrader and Cbg/carzone seem to have high mileage for their years ie. 2001 with 90k/110k. Would you consider buying a car like this? and if so what would you look out for? timing belt etc?

merlinsmerryman

Average mileage would be in the region of 12-15k a year. Cars like the Bora 1.9TDI (Passats) are a popular choice for taxi drivers so ask if the car has ever been taxied. Yeah things like the timing belt would be something obvious to look out for especially on a car with that many miles. 01 with 100k thats about 25k a year or 2k a month thats a lot of driving.

StRiKeR

service history as well, going by how well the car been looked after you have a fair idea how well the engine maybe, that also depending on how it was driven, I wouldn't like to buy a car that used to be a taxi, taxi drivers don't care much from what I've seen. Check shocks, bushings, steering, ball joints, CV joints, all these are easily tested with a test drive

drdre

not 12-15 for me, i got a 05 golf in june and i have already done 13600 km.thats a hell of alot in 6 months.:D

maidhc

It is very hard to find any Diesel with low mileage. People who pay the premium on them new do so on the basis of getting the value (and more) back over the time they have the car. Most diesels do 20k plus a year from my experience.

A FSH would be a must alright.

It is unlikely it is a taxi, they normally buy s/h and keep until death. Mileage might be a bit low too for one.

Moanin

Between 90-100k on a diesel is nothing on a 4 almost 5 yr old car.If Maintained regularly, a diesel will do a couple of 100k miles more.Diesels average 25k a year so I would say this is normal miles for a diesel!I have a 02 diesel with 85k on the clock and its running perfectly.

The timing belt should have been changed at 60k on VW TDis

bazz26

Average mileage on a diesel is between 20k to 25k a year so 100k on a car that is 5 years old at the end of next month is about right. In fact if I saw a low mileage 5 year old diesel I would be more suspicious than a high mileage one.

The most important thing here is the service history and physical condition of the car in question imo.

A well looked after high mileage car can be a better buy than a low mileage car that has only seen a service once in 5 years.

For example a high mileage ex company diesel car might be a better buy than say a low mileage diesel car with a big rusty tow bar. As the company car was probably leased, this would includ in the leasing contract maintenance and servicing meaning that the car would be serviced on schedule probably by a main dealer. The car was also probably only driven on half decent roads. Whereas the low mileage diesel with the tow bar might have spent most of it's life towing heavy loads out of fields or contruction sites on bog roads.

Also the VW Tdi is usually very frugal so 100k is only broken in.

Big Nelly

drdre wrote:

not 12-15 for me, i got a 05 golf in june and i have already done 13600 km.thats a hell of alot in 6 months.:D

Over 10K miles in 6 months on my Passat....I got it with 75K miles on the clock which was good for a 00 Passat 1.9Tdi.....as mentioned above 100K miles on a diesel is nothing!! the engines are built to last!! mostly when I was looking I found the Bora was after been used on a farm or something like that and thats why the milage was so high.,...seem to be able to get the Passat 1.9tdi with lower milage if you look around!!


Also the Passat seems to be a more common car for a taxi driver and not a bora! have seen very few taxi drivers in Boro's around town but have a look out and you will see alot of Passats and the Skoda of course!!

Dcully

Bought an 03 Passat comfortline TDI with 48,000 miles on the clock.
English car,absolutely immaculate,not a single mark or scratch inside and out ,even has that lovely new car smell
So lowish mileage TDIs are to be found folks.
Im delighted with mine i must admit,really lovely machine.

bennyc

Sorry to go off topic Dcully but how much do you reckon you saved from the average cbg etc price going to England

MercMad

Scrutinise the NCT test results which may be a good indicator of braking and suspension componenets. After that the service history should hopefully indicate that it has been looked after and has had componenets replaced, T/belt, shocks, discs, track rod ends etc..........

After that the only thing to really budget in is about €1000 for a really good service and replacement of any of the above items if there is no eveidence they've been done !

maidhc

One thing to remember is that while a TDI engine will last for many miles, there is the business of the rest of the car.

On a high miler you simply have to accept small things will be going wrong/wearing out. Bulbs behind the dash, the hinges of the drivers door, gearbox linkages, running gear, exhaust, brake rotors, door locks.... etc etc.

On a car with 100k these shouldnt be a problem, but you just dont know. Sometimes it makes more sense to go for a new octavia (and spend a bit more in the process) than investing big money in a bora/passat with high miles.

Dcully

Sorry to go off topic Dcully but how much do you reckon you saved from the average cbg etc price going to England

I bought of a guy i bought last 2 cars from ,he imports them from UK so i cant really comment.
Asking price was 18,500 which seems to be in or around thegoing price for this model.
I wanted to go for an English car as from my experience they are far better looked after than Irish counterparts,could be the roads here though in fairness.

Big Nelly

Dcully wrote:

I bought of a guy i bought last 2 cars from ,he imports them from UK so i cant really comment.
Asking price was 18,500 which seems to be in or around thegoing price for this model.
I wanted to go for an English car as from my experience they are far better looked after than Irish counterparts,could be the roads here though in fairness.

Mine was an Irish one and I was lucky because in perfect condition.....cousin bought herself a new Mini....well 03 one from the North.....all the extra's and everything on it....lovely car....in perfect condition....cost her with VRT about 16 grand which is a great deal....next time I am swapping(prob next year) going to get a UK import or go up myself and pick up one!!

merlinsmerryman

drdre wrote:

not 12-15 for me, i got a 05 golf in june and i have already done 13600 km.thats a hell of alot in 6 months.:D

8500 miles do the same in the next 6 months and it's 17 thousand miles, not too far off 15000 miles.:D