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Excellent article!.
Haven't had too much experience of mega mileage motors myself, but the first van i bought when i became a window cleaner was an Iveco Daily which had done 175k. I kept it for nearly a year, but decided it was far too big (though it was a SWB) and heavy duty (3.5t) for my needs. Really liked it though, loved the highly adjustable (and very comfy) seat, the truly epic heating/ventilation system, the 'london taxi' steering lock, and looking down on SUV drivers!.
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I would love to read the article, but some pop up advising me how to 'whitelist' it appears putting the article out of focus, clicking on the pop up only sees it re-appear seconds later, that site could soon see me losing the will to live.
Presumably the article encourages good regular maintenance?, in which case i approve.
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I’m always fascinated by well used cars. Every time I get in a taxi I’m always quizzing the driver about how many miles it’s done and how the car has coped with it. As a salesman in the 90’s I often dealt with local taxi firms, taking some mega mile part exchanges which often drove surprisingly well despite intergalactic mileages and as a home trader I often sold Peugeot Hackney’s to a contact in Manchester who’d pay more than drivers could get for them themselves up here.
I remember the most robust were Cavaliers with the 1.7 Isuzu turbo diesel, most had 500k plus before becoming uneconomic. Bluebirds and Primeras with the 2.0 normally aspirated diesel would clock up even more as would the Toyota Carina II and Carina E with their own normally aspirated 2.0 diesel.
The Sierra 2.3 was well liked but heavy to drive as most had no power steering, the later 1.8 TD was nowhere near as tough. I had one firm that took every 2.3d and Pinto 1.6 petrol I took in no matter the condition. Wouldn’t touch the CVH petrols though. Local firms didn’t show much interest in the later Mondeo 1.8 TD and the only ex taxi example I took in felt very tired at less than 150k.
The Peugeot 405 1.9d was mechanically robust but the interior fell apart by 100k.
Ditto the Renault 21 1.9d but the earlier Laguna 2.2d was well liked for its comfort and reliability. Shame later cars went downhill.
Peugeot 406 1.9td & 2.0 HDi were one of the best taxis ever made. Well built, very comfortable and fit for 500k upwards if looked after. Local taxi firms bought every one we got in.
The original Skoda Octavia proved to be an excellent taxi with the old 1.9 SDi and TDi motors capable of 500k easy enough. Gearboxes on the SDi were weak but the TDi was stronger and much better to drive. Taxi fleets took everything on sale at sensible money.
Today’s diesels are too complex to have full confidence in and I see taxi firms are moving away from Skoda and VW in their droves, apparently because of the value of problems they’ve had with the more recent 1.6 and 2.0 diesels and also the DSG box which has proven to be too soft for taxi work. There’s loads of Toyota Avensis taxis locally but most run BMW motors and only time will tell if they’ll last. Any drivers I speak to seem unaware it’s a BMW unit, thinking they’ve bought a Toyota with a Toyota engine. The smaller Auris Estate Hybrid is also proving very popular and to date very reliable but again I don’t know if any big mileage examples locally but I do know of a few big mile Prius’s with big six figure distances covered with no major grief other than disappointing fuel economy on longer runs. I think this is where my money would go if I wanted a taxi today, a good used Auris Hybrid Estate.
Edited by SLO76 on 22/04/2019 at 09:16
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Ive had plenty of high milage cars but always purchased with full detailed service history. Its interesting reading the history of cars and many have had significant work and eye watering expenditure ( seen replacement gearbox, replacement engine , numerous clutch with dual mass flywheels being very common, suspension components and air flow meters etc very frequently. My views are yes most modern cars are capable of half a million miles but if most of the components are replaced it get a bit like trigger from only fools and horses , same broom for decades but how many handles and heads !!! .... ??
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Further to my last comment it’s informative to listen to taxi drivers opinions on their cars especially those that’ve proven unreliable and uneconomic. Last time I was in a Vauxhall Insignia 2.0 diesel it was eye opening to hear his tale of financial woe because of that Fiat designed diesel under the bonnet, even though it hadn’t covered a particularly huge mileage. He was going Japanese next time. Ford Mondeo’s are hit and miss too with many horror stories but plenty of big mileage examples that’ve been no bother at all. Good maintenance and a big dose of luck is often required with most European cars today if you want to cover big miles.
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Yes my 2012 diesel mondeo estate was lovely to drive but had more lights on the dash than a disco! Engine management and limp home mode was a regular occurrence. Seems taxi boys are liking the Dacia estate car and taking them too big milages , often see them at local car auction in good condition sold as ex taxi ..... food for thought ?
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Locally, Toyota Prius are popular as taxis. In Dundee I note they have a fleet of Nissan Leafs.
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No they're not.
Even with a politically incorrect and antisocial life of 30,000 easy motorway miles a year (which sadly is as acceptable now as gardyloo was 200 yrs ago), I think most vehicles would have some expensive bills by half this mileage. Our two Passats did around 200,000 miles each but they were no longer 'good' by then! Even in high mileage USA the average vehicle scrappage mileage is around 200,000, and that includes vans. I can't find any UK figures but I think the average would be around 150,000 for ordinary cars with only a very few above 250,000.
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A well maintained engine used as a taxi could well last that long, but other bits around it will fail and at some point will render it not worth the cost of repair.
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Irv Gordon, who sadly died last year, did eventually get his beloved Volvo's engine rebuilt but the car outlived him, as he had always said it would!
https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2018/11/16/remembering-irv-gordon-volvos-3-million-mile-man/
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Mileage only tells part of a story. You can’t decide purely based on a number.
You could have car A on 10,000 which has spent all its life going around the Nurburgring. The seats are worn out from constant occupant changes and it’s not quite got to its first service...
Or car B with 500,000 high has a service book full of stamps and a folder of receipts. No one has ever sat in the passenger seats and the driver gets in and out twice a day.
There’s a car local to me with below average miles who only drives 600 miles a year. Fails the mot every time, has a misfire and needs the battery charging in the house if not driven for a week.
Or my 210k A4 3.0 Tdi which has a fsh and has never had an advisory since I bought it.
Mileage isn’t everything but so many people are scared of 60k, 100k, etc
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both my previous cars achieved well over 170k miles, both Nissan Primera petrol cars, serviced regularly (10k miles) and both could have lasted longer but had defects that meant time to go before the maintenance bills went out of control.
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reading some of the comments here on high mileage I would not be very confident buying a modern car particularly a prestige make. I see lots advertised 3years old or less 100kmiles circa £10-15K. Just how much life have these cars left in them without having to pay out big money on repairs, most being out of warranty and MOT.
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reading some of the comments here on high mileage I would not be very confident buying a modern car particularly a prestige make. I see lots advertised 3years old or less 100kmiles circa £10-15K. Just how much life have these cars left in them without having to pay out big money on repairs, most being out of warranty and MOT.
Car Mechanics had an article on buying a E series 3 litre diesel .. with mega miles. But it had been regularly serviced.. The faults were not huge.. but if you used a main dealer...!!!!!!
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Only if regularly serviced, driven with some mechanical sympathy, and fairly high annual mileage.
500k miles at 10k pa will make it a classic long before it expires. Spares become difficult to source by the time it gets to 20 years old. Compared to a new car it will feel old, lack equipment, lack refinement and be uneconomical. You need to be doing at least 25k pa.
A major failure will not be worth fixing at 20 years +. Equally the accumulation of other time and age related repairs (exhaust, shocks, bushes, clutch, brake discs etc) will be uneconomic if they come together.
If you are into bangernomics by all means drive it into the ground at whatever mileage that happens. Getting emotionally attached will simply transform it into a money pit!
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Only if regularly serviced, driven with some mechanical sympathy, and fairly high annual mileage.
500k miles at 10k pa will make it a classic long before it expires. Spares become difficult to source by the time it gets to 20 years old. Compared to a new car it will feel old, lack equipment, lack refinement and be uneconomical. You need to be doing at least 25k pa.
A major failure will not be worth fixing at 20 years +. Equally the accumulation of other time and age related repairs (exhaust, shocks, bushes, clutch, brake discs etc) will be uneconomic if they come together.
If you are into bangernomics by all means drive it into the ground at whatever mileage that happens. Getting emotionally attached will simply transform it into a money pit!
Agreed.
Our 16 year old Yaris is starting to show signs of rust as the galvanising wears off. When the areas of the body that are stressed - suspension holding areas- corrode, proper repairs are not cheap..
I'll bodge and keep the rust minimal - few owners do as you really need underbody access on a lift or a pit to maintain it properly.
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I have a friend who passed his driving test 43 years ago but who is still only on his third car. He's always had a car and has used them daily, but he's just not interested enough to want to change them unless he absolutely has to.
They were/are in order, a Ford Escort estate, a Renault Laguna estate and the "new" one ( it's pretty old now too ! ) is a Kia Cee'd estate.
Of course he's had to have work done to all of them from time to time, but fortunately never anything too financially scary.
He's the sort of guy who takes a practical view of his cars rather than an interest in them if you see what I mean?
He's quite good at basic maintenance like making sure fluids are kept topped up and tyres are properly inflated etc, but I'm pretty sure he wouldn't easily remember what size of engine he had for example.
They've certainly not been mollycoddled having been in effect used as vans in the week and family cars at the weekends.
Can't remember what sort of miles any of them did but you'd have to assume they were/are pretty high.
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Our gardener is like that - buys a simple estate car, nearly new then keeps them for about 15 years. He recently changed to an Astra 1.4 petrol estate and previously had a Mk 1 Focus 1.6 petrol estate. A lesson to us all really...
Edited by Paul Robinson on 25/04/2019 at 19:28
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Our gardener is like that - buys a simple estate car, nearly new then keeps them for about 15 years. .....................a Mk 1 Focus 1.6 petrol estate. A lesson to us all really...
My gardener(Mrs F)'s Mk 1 Focus 1.6 petrol estate is 18 going on 19 - had it for over 14 years now. But it's only done 138,000 miles.
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