davegtt

Ok guys, Im looking at buying a largish family type car and fancy a bit of class, want a nice smooth ride. and lots of space.

I want the best car I can find for my dosh

Now Ive eye'd up a Renault Laguna Reg '97 with 96k miles for £1500

and now Im thinking more of a Saab 9-5 SE, very nice car IMHO, bare in mind most of these affordable 4k cars have covered upto 150k miles being an ex rep car, I know its motorway miles etc but what are your thoughts would u steer clear? IMO its a saab and it'll keep on going we have a saab 9000 here at work thats done 155k and still runs better than the Volvo V40 we have with 75k miles. I know its all motorway miles etc but the misses is concerned with high miles, even with the 96k laguna.

Are u guys scared of high miles on non performance cars? 10 years ago Id be worried about high miles but it dont concern me anymore...

Your opinions please

Leslie

Some years ago I owned a BMW 735i. It was in nice condition and since I used to be keen on that sort of thing I dropped the sump, replaced the crank bearings, and piston rings and did a full de-coke. It had done 130K miles and I wanted to check it all out.

Some time later I had covered nearly another 100K miles and the engine was running just as sweetly as when I rebuilt it. The MPG was identical according to the trip computer, the performance was the same and it used no oil.

As long as a car is looked after with frequent servicing and oil changes it will do amazing mileages. Some cars will be better than others because of high quality materials used in the construction. These days engines just don't seem t0 wear out like they used to.

Pick a good car and you should be ok.

Les

Big Daz

I used to buy ex company cars 1.8, 2.0 Astras / Cavaliers when I was younger all with 70-80K + milages, cheap cars, had no (major) probs with any of them and I also sold ALL of them with another 20K + on the clock for a profit.
This was 10 years ago when cars were not quite as long lasting as today so I don't see the problem.

Big Daz

davegtt

my thoughts exactly, every1 I know worrys about mileage but they are remembering the cars that could never do 100k miles back in the day only deisels could reach that, pah. thats what I say, just getting a feel for every1 elses thoughts

POC

Last year I owned a 1997 Audi A4 2.6 V6 Sport Quattro with 140k on the clock, the body showed a few scratches etc, but the service history was there and the engine was very very smooth, I sold it after a few months use and abuse for a couple of hundred quid prophit.

The only car I really regret getting rid of!

If I were going to buy a high miler then for me it would have to be German, BMW/Audi/Merc, as Leslie said as long as the history and servicing is up to date then these cars will go onto silly miles! My ex next-door neighbor used to be a chauffeur; he ran his 730i upto 300k miles will no problems at all.

P

David Lock

Just bought a '96 Volvo 940 with 113k on the clock. I am not over concerned about mileage and I think it's helpful to know why - in this case a rep doing long motorway stuff which is 100% better than mum on school runs. Volvo replaced a Peugeot which was still going strong with 173k on the clock. I will get the cambelt changed though just in case. David

davegtt

sounds fair enough, theres a W reg Octavia on autotrader at the mo, cheapest 1 on there and its covered 282k miles and still going strong. how cool is that, I dont htink I'll be worried about high miles then as like said cam belts been done service history is there and it runs fine

cheers.

T.C

When I first went on Traffic (Police) we had the last of our BMW 528i on the fleet and at that time it had 452,000 on the clock and the head had never been off.

The biggest problem was that the chassis eventually cracked due to the weight of the kit carried in the rear (it was a Motorway car), but the engine was still sweet.

I am of the opinion that if you are buying an ex company car with high mileage, all parts that are likely to wear out will have been replaced as it is the tool of that company and they cannot afford to have that vehicle off the road, whereas a low mileage privately owned vehicle is probably as flat as a flat thing simply because it doesn't get used.

My in laws purchased a brand new Nissan Almera last year (its on a 52 plate) and in the year they have had it, the car has covered under 2,000 miles and it feels bloody awfull. The engine is tight, the brakes are wooden, everything about it suggests that components are starting to sieze up, whereas a well used car will be nice and free revving, and generally looked after well.

My Vauxhall Omega Elite is currently showing 89,000 miles and it purrs, It doesn't burn any oil, brakes are superb, fuel economy is good, and I would much rather have my car than the in laws Nissan despite the fact that it is a top spec and 3 years younger than my car.

carl

My dad had a lot of trouble with a high mileage 9-5 SE. They're nowhere near as reliable as the old pre-GM 900s and 9000s at high mileages.

davegtt

thats interesting to know Carl, what sort of prob has he been getting. expensive?

carl

Well it's gone back now (it was a company car) but it got up to around 95k miles. Computer packed up several times, suspension stuff, rattly interior, etc. We'd both had high-mileage old Saab 900s that were rock solid (I bought mine with 87k on the clock and sold it with 151k on it -- the only things that really went wrong were when I broke the gearstick off and when I blew a headgasket).

Brit_in_Japan

The Saab 9000 is the same platform as the Alfa 164, Fiat Croma and Lancia Thema. None have got exceptional reliability records so I would steer clear if I were you.

Ex-rep cars are the way to go. Motorway miles are easy miles.

carl

Same "platform" = same floorpan. I think that's about it -- the drivetrain's completely different and I thought all the suspension was different too.

Muffleman

Hi,

I too had problems with a 9-5 2.0t SE. I got it all done under warranty, but it was on less than 70k and the cam chain tensioner moved. The car then ran like a bag o' bolts ! This cost just under £3k to have fixed with Saab as the whole engine had to come out, but like I said it was under warranty. Still had to fight them though !

I'd be a bit more wary of high milers that aren't naturally aspirated, but that said - my wifes MY96 UK Scooby Turbo is on 140k, and it just shot through the MOT ! Drives without fault, pulls strongly and no smoke, flat spots etc.

All the best


Matt

davegtt

mmm, mite have to rethink then, any suggestions of a nice luxury type car for around 3.5k or less, wants something largish, was fairly impressed with the Laguna but owt else to rival it, not a fan of the mondeo either

T.C

I know people might laugh, but have you considered the Omega Elite? I know I am a bit biased as I have one myself, but the 2.5/2.6 V6 is a brilliant engine, as standard I have climate, full leather, heated front and rear seats, 3 driver memory which also adjusts the rear view mirror, photochromatic anti glare rear view, traction, ABS, Xenon headlights, electric rear blind, Bose 6 changer CD coupled to a Blaupunkt 8 speaker hi fi, 205 low profile alloys, cruise, remote radio controls on the steering wheel, electric slide/tilt sunroof, 5 head restraints, a massive boot, and the list of extras goes on all as standard and for a 2000 year reg I paid £4995 with 72K on the clock.

I have seen the same car on R and S plates going for under 4K and if you go back to the N and P plates under 3K.

Considering that they were over 35K new, you get an awfull lot of car for your money, and they are well bolted together.

David Lock

If you can put up with the green wellie and pipe jokes you can get a decent 95-96 year high spec Volvo for 3.5k. I am very pleased with the 940 mentioned above and even manage 30 mpg with a 2.3 turbo. Ugly but a pleasure to drive. Go into autotrader.co.uk and do some searches. Market is rock bottom for large second hand motors at present. DL

Reffro

You should be looking at the last of the W124 E-class Merc's. All bullet proof if cared for, lots of them out there, lots of specialists for cheaper servicing, cheap bits from GSF/Eurocarparts.

DAC

My GM900 2.0SE turbo has just gone 148,000. (I've done 25,000 miles and only windscreen washer pump and couple of bulbs replaced - other than oil/filter consumables.

odd dent/scratch - but engine is still sweet.
(gearbox can be the weak point)

parts are relatively cheap also.

185bhp and loads of torque.

bought mine 2+ years ago to see what saabs were like - now don't want to get rid.

can get similar to mine for less than £2k

scunnered

iTrader: (1)

There is nothing wrong with buying a high milage car. Imagine two identical cars at say 6 years old, one with only 2k miles, one lady owner, and the other with 50k. I'd buy the higher milage car for the reason that it's more likely to have been used properly. The engine will have been allowed to have warmed up to working temp, regular servicing etc. The low milage car may only have been used to do the weekly shopping. Not being allowed to warm up on the two minute run to the supermarket. Or it may have been in an out of the workshop all its life. Or it might only have had one service in the 6 years. I'm sure you get the idea.

DJ Dunk

iTrader: (5)

I wouldn't touch a high miler Laguna, especially one of the older models. We had loads of them as company cars that suffered from anything to flooded boots to gearboxes falling out, yes literally

Leslie

I had an Omega for a while and also have to say I was impressed with it generally. It was the 2 litre so the performance was not that good but it was amazingly good round corners,particularly in the wet. Not as good as a Scoob of course but better than most others on the road. I thought it was well put together too. The 2.5 litre one would be a good car.

Les