High (ish) mileage diesels - risk or bargain?

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Thu 11 Aug 2011 18:32
High (ish) mileage diesels - risk or bargain? - Dingle232

In my perpetually restless state of mind I am really considering the possibility of buying a 4 year old diesel Audi/BMW with around 60k on the clock. Both are one owner cars, tidy with full dealer service history but I have previously only ever bought low mileage cars.

The dealers party line is that '60k is nothing on one of these' but it's not just the engine is it? Alternator, suspension, clutch etc etc all accrue a mileage 'life' as well.

What's the view - are they a risk or seriously worth considering as a prestige marque with a low price tag that will actually run for 150 - 200k miles?

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Thu 11 Aug 2011 18:47
High (ish) mileage diesels - risk or bargain? - unthrottled

Yes, it's wise to consider the car as a whole, rather than just the engine. The type of miles are more important than the number. Sadly, the odometer does not discriminate.

I wouldn't be tempted by a 7 year old Audi with 150K on the clock though. The prces aren't low enough to justify the risk. If the car is still as good as new, why is the owner suddenly keen to part company with it?

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Thu 11 Aug 2011 18:59
High (ish) mileage diesels - risk or bargain? - Bobbin Threadbare

I wouldn't be tempted by a 7 year old Audi with 150K on the clock though. The prces aren't low enough to justify the risk. If the car is still as good as new, why is the owner suddenly keen to part company with it?

When I was car hunting last year, I tried out an Audi A4 (think it was the 2.0L FSI) on a 54 plate with 136k on the clock. It started ok, but there were lots of little bits that put me off; the broken glove compartment for one. I reckoned that it'd not been looked after well, and bought a Mazda 6 instead, with 70k ish on the clock. At least if my Mazda craps out, it's generally cheaper to fix.

Unthrottled seems to forget that some people like to get rid of a car because they want a different one ;-) There's nothing wrong with my Mazda but I will sell it next year because there's so many others that I'd like to drive <child in a sweetshop>

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Thu 11 Aug 2011 19:23
High (ish) mileage diesels - risk or bargain? - unthrottled

Unthrottled seems to forget that some people like to get rid of a car because they want a different one ;-)

True. But if they've been happily driving an older car with big miles for the last 3-4 years and suddenly they want a replacement...

...that 'genuine reason for sale' might be a bit too 'genuine'!

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Thu 11 Aug 2011 20:11
High (ish) mileage diesels - risk or bargain? - ForumNeedsModerating

Indeed - the 'genuine' reason might be that thery think big bills are on the way. As unthrottled has said, the premium on the middle range German metal persists even at high(ish) mleages - I'm convined that many people buy on depth of shine & badge, rather than fundamentals (that's no great insight of course, I'm sure 95% of all OM marketing is based on that..).

That's not to say the OP will get a bad or failing car, but he/she will undoubtedly pay an unwarranted premium to have the badge on a relatively recent plate. My experience og German metal is that it's fine when it's young & problem free, but becomes a very expensive problem otherwise.

However, we all want our 15 minutes of status these days, so....

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Fri 12 Aug 2011 20:19
High (ish) mileage diesels - risk or bargain? - Roly93

Unthrottled seems to forget that some people like to get rid of a car because they want a different one ;-) There's nothing wrong with my Mazda but I will sell it next year because there's so many others that I'd like to drive <child in a sweetshop>

Thats true. I just sold a spot-on 4 YO A4 Avant which I had from new with 60K because I wanted a change, I do a lot more mileage now and I could see a few jobs (nothing serious) that needed doing on the horizon. So whoever got my car has an up-front motor which needs some new brake pads and a cam-belt change - nothing dodgy at all.. This car should do 150K with no probs...

Edited by Roly93 on 12/08/2011 at 20:20

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Fri 12 Aug 2011 20:30
High (ish) mileage diesels - risk or bargain? - unthrottled

Yeah, but 4 yr/60K isn't really in the catagory of discussion. I presume we're looking at 6yr+, 120K+ cars.

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Sat 13 Aug 2011 22:29
High (ish) mileage diesels - risk or bargain? - Roly93

Yeah, but 4 yr/60K isn't really in the catagory of discussion. I presume we're looking at 6yr+, 120K+ cars.

Point taken, but my point is that people dont always get rid of cars because there is a serious problem with them..As was eluded to earlier.

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Thu 11 Aug 2011 20:37
High (ish) mileage diesels - risk or bargain? - corax

In my perpetually restless state of mind I am really considering the possibility of buying a 4 year old diesel Audi/BMW with around 60k on the clock. Both are one owner cars, tidy with full dealer service history but I have previously only ever bought low mileage cars.

You need to be a bit clearer, such as what model, what engine? If you're looking at an Audi 2.0PD 140 or 170, google problems for that engine, particularly when approaching the sort of mileage you're looking at. But any diesel at that mileage would need to have a warranty or enough in the kitty to cover any repairs, which can turn out expensive.

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Fri 12 Aug 2011 13:21
High (ish) mileage diesels - risk or bargain? - Collos25

60k is hardly high mileage 150k 200k is high mileage most diesels are disposed of by lease companies at 3 or 4 years and are normally just under 100k,private ownership after this sort of mileage is dependant on how the original driver used or abused the car many are clocked so as not to pay excess mileage charges.Like any second hand product there are many aspects that need consideration.

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Fri 12 Aug 2011 14:17
High (ish) mileage diesels - risk or bargain? - madf

Anyone who buys a vauxhall Vectra diesel with 150k miles needs their head examining.

A Mondeo with 150k miles might be very good.

An Audi A2 with 150K miles will be needing at least £2k spent on suspension, wiring etc, A 150k Toyota Yaris might need £250..

Horses for courses and maintenance..

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Fri 12 Aug 2011 19:22
High (ish) mileage diesels - risk or bargain? - primeradriver

It's a car -- a mechanical machine, many of whose parts are shared with far cheaper cars. It rots, its engine wears, its gearbox is prone to failure and its electrics prone to giving up without warning. Just like anything else.

The only difference is that your 7 year old Audi will owe you, so you'll fix it, regardless of how many thousands you end up out of pocket. A 7 year old Renault with the same problems, you throw away as it's pretty much worthless.

Buy a car that's as new as you can afford. The badge doesn't keep the car going. If you must pay a premium, pay for the features and the quality of the engineering, neither of which you'll get in any great quantity in a low-end "premium" car. The £60,000 specials, yes, the £25,000 super-Focuses, nah.

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Sat 13 Aug 2011 08:39
High (ish) mileage diesels - risk or bargain? - oldbangers

Anyone who buys a vauxhall Vectra diesel with 150k miles needs their head examining.

A Mondeo with 150k miles might be very good.

An Audi A2 with 150K miles will be needing at least £2k spent on suspension, wiring etc, A 150k Toyota Yaris might need £250..

Horses for courses and maintenance..

"Anyone who buys a vauxhall Vectra diesel with 150k miles needs their head examining"

I have just got my 1996 Vectra DI through mot at cost of £170

Mileage is now 180000, bought for £550 on 130000 3years ago. Cost for servicing/mot over period ca £500

Other car (about to be scrapped due to wifes boredom with it) 1995 Rover 218sld, mileage 220,000, bought 4 years ago £500 with about 197k on clock

We have a work from home mechanic who is fair, reasonable and knows his stuff..

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Sat 13 Aug 2011 08:48
High (ish) mileage diesels - risk or bargain? - oldbangers

should have said vectra 140000ish at purchase, previous car Xantia with 250+mileage,£250 purchase, lasted 3years

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Sat 13 Aug 2011 15:27
High (ish) mileage diesels - risk or bargain? - jamie745

I couldve condensed that further. Anybody who buys a Vectra, regardless of age, mileage, value, service history or MOT length, should still have looked elsewhere :)

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Sat 13 Aug 2011 15:42
High (ish) mileage diesels - risk or bargain? - unthrottled

For pounding motorways, you won't find anything better.

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Sat 13 Aug 2011 15:43
High (ish) mileage diesels - risk or bargain? - jamie745

I respectfully disagree. I was in one as a taxi once and its so boring as a car i'd pray for a massive car accident just to brighten up my day.

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Sat 13 Aug 2011 15:52
High (ish) mileage diesels - risk or bargain? - unthrottled

A twitchy car can be fatiguing to drive long distances in a straight line. Vectras are dirt cheap, dependable, have decent engines and comfy seats (unless you're short). For long distance motoring on a shoestring, you'll do well to beat the Vectra.

Dull? Nothing is more boring than a breakdown followed by a repair that you can't afford. Don't get me wrong, I don't want one-no one does. But that doesn't mean that they are no good.

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Sat 13 Aug 2011 15:56
High (ish) mileage diesels - risk or bargain? - jamie745

What you mean is the Vectra's steering and handling is so wollowy and useless that it stays in a straight line with minimal effort. If you turn the wheel 90 degrees it doesnt move! Doesnt move! Its like an old American car.

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Sat 13 Aug 2011 16:03
High (ish) mileage diesels - risk or bargain? - unthrottled

Basically-yes! But those old American cars were great at eating up the miles on seemingly endless US highways.

Unlike the old American land barges, the vectras will get decent economy. At the weekend you can pile all the kids and luggage in and visit Granny in Inverness.

I know that you'll say the Mondeo does the same and is better to drive. That's true but I'm downgrading the Mondeo because of Ford's range of lacklustre engines. Fatal flaw in a car designed for high mileage.

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Sat 13 Aug 2011 16:13
High (ish) mileage diesels - risk or bargain? - jamie745

Theres nothing wrong with the Duratec engines in the Mondeo's, the 1.6 and 1.8 in the older ones were pretty poor (the 1.6 didnt move) but the 2.5 V6 was a superb engine and could go the length of Europe many times over without trouble (the rest of the car...not so much) the third generation Mondeo had fine engines but again the 1.8 was worth a miss, the diesel pulled well but ok wasnt as efficient as some rivals but it was a very heavy car and maybe the engines werent good enough to pull it. The 1.6 in the new one is pointless. Only the 2.3 petrol is worth bothering with in the new one in my view.

American land barge? I like that term. I think they used to call them Land Yacht's. And America is a massive country with alot of straight roads (you can go 2000 miles without turning the wheel) so such a car is well suited to that.

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Sat 13 Aug 2011 19:14
High (ish) mileage diesels - risk or bargain? - daveyjp

The risk is not having anyone outside of main dealers who can fix a modern diesel engine.

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Sat 13 Aug 2011 19:25
High (ish) mileage diesels - risk or bargain? - unthrottled

Not too sure that main dealers would know how to fix a modern diesel engine...

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Sat 13 Aug 2011 20:33
High (ish) mileage diesels - risk or bargain? - Avant

'Repair by replacement' is nothing new: I remember my father complaining about that in the 1960s. I think it became the norm when franchised dealers replaced many of the old fix-anything garages, and at the same time car mechanicals got more complex.

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Sun 14 Aug 2011 17:37
High (ish) mileage diesels - risk or bargain? - Death51
I have a friend who is a car dealer, owns a pitch with about 60 cars at any one time. He now never buys diesels over 3 years or 80k and they must have FSH, he generally found that faults with diesels outside of this was killing his profit.

Vectra's are pretty solid cars imo, I had a 3.0 V6 diesel Sri and it was one of the only cars I kept for over 3 years, had it remapped to 220 bhp and it just purred. The Mazda 6 I had was good but got rid as got bored, mondeo before interior was just falling to bits and just isn't as well put together as Mazda/vectra. Now have Ovtavia Vrs and that just puts the rest to shame with the solid/quality comparison of the interior etc.
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