I personally would not buy a car that had done less than about 4000 miles/year on average. At that sort of usage there is some chance that the car will have had the odd decent run.
Rot should not be a serious issue on any car unless it's more than about 12 years old. I've always maintained that it is age, not miles that break cars, and that mantra has served me well enough.
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Having bought one Pegeot 106 11 years old with 28k miles for younger son and SWMBO having a 44k miles 106 diesel which is 15 years old (owned from new), I have some expertise in this field..
1. Low mileage cars do rust. You get condensation in the box sections. It NEVER dries out. they rust badly. And you cannot see it until it breaks through the metal.
2. Brake pipes rust. Obvious.
3. Exhaust brackets corrode and crack .. and will do when driven frequently. Often this means new downpipes...
4. catalysts if fitted can be clogged up with soot.
5. Steel radiators rust. Badly . And if antifreeze is not changed everything silts up. Check antifreeze.
6. Engines get internal condensation. If oil and filter are changed yearly (SWMBO's for example) not an issue. If not bearings gone.
7. Engine seals harden and wear with a fixed position if motionless for long periods. Then an oil change using semi synthetic oil = oil leaks. You CANNOT test for this.
8. Brake fluid will corrode ABS and cylinders if not changed every two years. Worse for a little used car.
9. Sumps do rust: often very badly.
Son's 106 had rust ( welded), engine leaks (after buying see 7) and 3 exhaust cracks - fixed by welding and rusty sump (£10 from scrappie)
As I did all the work it cost nowt. If a garage I would estimate c £250 plus and brake issues.
(Brakes and pipes had already been replaced on son's car.
Conclusion: if buying one, allow £300- £500 for repairs if not already done and you have to get a garage to do them.
And finally... Inspect the engine under the rocker cover carefully for sludge (no oil changes/low miles) and oil/water for leaks.
You can buy a piece of rubbish which has been driven little as the owner worries about it going wrong. Which is one reason for it being sold...
Edited by madf on 30/11/2008 at 17:38
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This is the problem I am having, I have spent £80 last week on a new CV boot, new door latch and reverse switch inc labour. This week it is two new tyres another £80, it is rusting as it has two new sills but I figured the rust there should not be a problem within the two years I plan to own it. Brake pipes will need sorting though my mechanic thinks they are fine as its just suface rust but I will get these seen to.
There dosn't seem to be any issues with the engine though.
If you pickl a car you like you might you then might be able to get one the same but newer to replace it, using the old car as a parts doner, this is what I plan to do with mine. Mine has 67k on the clock and is almost 13 years old, so its not as bad 28k 11 year old one.
I fell into the trap of low milleage so it dosn't matter if its old, I also fell for the trap its only a cheap car it dosn't matter if it brakes, but I am also very safety concious which results getting the car fixed all the time.
Now finally when I bought my car I was impressed with the fact the tyres all had good amoints of thread on them. After buying it I realised that one of them was cracking, when I checked the date I found out it was 9 years old! So you may also have to budget for new rubber.
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The Daewoo I have qualifies as a low-mileage vehicle (50K at 11 years old -- on the cusp of what I would normally consider acceptable). No rot, although the exhaust is a little manky and the brake pipes were corroded (now replaced with copper ones).
Other than that I do not see any rot-related issues on the car. The handling isn't brilliant (it's not unsafe but it is a bit squidgy and vague at times) -- problem is I can't work out whether this is due to wear or if it's just the way they are.
It has had an oil leak, which was repaired at the same time as the cambelt was replaced.
All in all, in almost two years of motoring to have spent only around £300 (including a cambelt)+tyres/servicing on an 11-year-old car that was given to me. Sounds as if I have been lucky!
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The 106 my mum has is seemingly indestructable. OK the throttle body is jerky, but it's been like that since we had it, but everything else is fine, and has not had anything more maintenance than a high mileage vehicle would. Does abot 500 miles per year since we got it 10 years ago. Now 16 years old at 45k.
all had good amoints of thread on them. After buying it I realised that one of them was cracking when I checked the date I found out it was 9 years old!
I had one like that until this year when the tread wore down ;-) . How many tyres, well maintained with correct pressure, do you think get blow-outs these days? You hardly go anywhere in it anyway!
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I was in a car once on the M62, it had a blow out, it was a terrifying experience and one that I don't want to repeat, therefore with tyres I am not taking the risk.
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If we are talking cars over 10 years old, I would say
If it needs new sills, forget it. They used to be a problem with 1960s and 70s cars, and fitting new ones was a temporary fix and nothing more. The tinworm was entrenched and could not be eradicated. Cars from the 80s onwards were better rustproofed - if one of those needs new sills, don't bother to fix them. Look for another.
If you can't tell whether brake fluid or coolant has been regularly renewed, again look for another - there could be gasket or radiator or heater matrix failures round the corner. And brake calipers/cylinders may well be seized.
It doesn't always follow that cars doing low annual mileage do short runs - my 19-y-o goes out every 2-3 weeks, usually for an 80-mile round trip. But I agree that is unusual.
The latest MoT report may have some Advice, which will detect problems with external things like brake pipes and exhaust mounts. Beyond that, trust your intuition.
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My sills were replaced in May according to the MOT, how tempory is tempory? Apparantly there was a small hole in one one of them so they replaced both sills. Would it be reasonable to expect to get another year out of it? I wish this thread existed before I bought my car :(.
My problem is I have no patients and its the usual its only a £100, that logic is all well and good but I tend to forget it will need fixing as as soon as I buy it! My machanic has at least checked the brakes and says they are ok.
The lesson learnt here though unless its a very well cared for example it would probably work out cheaper to get a loan for a newer car long term, I am thinking about a Panda.
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In 1997 I bought a four year old 4,000 mile Honda Civic Shuttle for my mother. It had had two services in the four years. The car is still running in our family having done no more than 50,000miles, with a little rust but generally requiring less than £250 per year on repairs to keep it running.
I haven't driven it for a while, but my Dad said it was driving wonderfully last week.
Mind you, its an old school Honda, built to remarkably high standards, far higher than the old school Mercedes I reckon.
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I bought my MG TF last year, at which time it was 3 years old and only covered 1200 miles a year. The previous owner had covered only 800 miles in 2.5 years.
We have put 8K on it this year, including a trip to Italy and been all over the uk - its been absolutely fine. I suppose it depends where and how its been stored though - sat outside doing nothing is different to being dry and warm in a nice ventilated garage!
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My sills were replaced in May according to the MOT how tempory is tempory?
If the sills have gone, the car has reached the point where it isn't worth spending much repairing it.
Replace the sills tomorrow, and 18 months down the line they will need welding up again. Guaranteed.
At this point, the car becomes a throwaway item.
This is why old, small cars are not something I'd entertain. Almost without exception they're either (a) too expensive for what they are, (b) a complete shed or (c) both.
Best cheap car = far-Eastern larger car with negative image, as far as I am concerned.
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They were replaced in May :(. No signs of them rusted yet. I have already ordered £80 worth of rubber :( I am thinking of canceling it if its not too late and just ordering one now to reduce the amount of money I am spending. My dad has the same car so at least when I throw it away it is worth a lot to us in that regard for spares.
The problem is the safety compromise.
I am stuck with small cars due to insurance reasons, but I am thinking of tryng to get a newly new Panda or something.
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