5 ms·

Why do you think a vehicle with 200,000 miles on it doesn't have 200,000 more miles in most of the components? It isn't remotely difficult to imagine that being

Why do you think a vehicle with 200,000 miles on it doesn't have 200,000 more miles in most of the components? It isn't remotely difficult to imagine that being possible. One of my ICE vehicles was 299,648 miles when a component in the transmission gave out. The only reason I didn't repair it was around a decade earlier someone had bent the frame. If I had been willing to replace that part, I would still be driving it today. People replace vehicles because they want and can afford replacement ones, not because they are mileage limited.

giardini 1y ago
sidewndr46 says " One of my ICE vehicles was 299,648 miles when a component in the transmission gave out." I'm guessing it was a Lexus?
extraisland 1y ago
> People replace vehicles because they want and can afford replacement ones, not because they are mileage limited. That isn't quite true. It is often because it is uneconomical to keep. The issue with many older vehicles is that it just starts costing more to repair it than the car is worth. You are constantly putting in good money, after bad and the the costs keep going up over time. At that point it is often better to buy another vehicle. I could have kept my 2007 Vauxhall Astra going for another 100,000 miles. The issue is that the car was worth £600-1000. Each repair was costing upwards of £300. I could buy another second hand Vauxhall Astra with the amount of money I was spending on the car yearly. It just wasn't worth it.
- sidewndr46 1y ago
  This is just a bad application of sunk cost. The reason why you spend 300 pounds to repair a 1000 pound car is because it is a known item. If you buy a used one for 600 pounds, it may need even more repair than the one you already have.
  - extraisland 1y ago
    Repairing a known item makes sense when the costs are small compared to a replacement. I have old bicycles that are worth nothing and I am quite happy to spend maybe £50-£150 in components to fix. Costs are much lower than buying a new good bike or trying to find another good second hand bike (which I would need to fix anyway). However that frequently isn't the case with car. It is £300-1000 every time I need to get it repaired. This happens at an increasing frequency as the car ages. This can then add up to several 1000s quite easily. e.g In the last year I owned that Astra I had to to fix the following issue (all costs include labour): - New Clutch (and it needed to be towed to the garage as the clutch wouldn't engage). £1000 for clutch replacement, £150 for the tow. I also needed to rent a car to drive to a funeral. That cost me another £100-200 IIRC. So we we are up to £1350. - Car would randomly go into Limp mode. New sensor cost £300. Vehicle was never really fixed. It just went into Limp mode much less, so there was another problem somewhere. Which would need another trip to the garage. - Service. This flagged several issues with the car. All these small repairs was another £800. I am already upto £2,450 and I know I've forgotten stuff. I bought the car for £4000 originally. If it was something like a classic barn on wheels Volvo which are bullet proof, or a classic Rover like a Rover P5. I might be willing to keep dumping money into it. But it isn't, it is a Vauxhall Astra.
    - dazc 1y ago
      With 4k I would to go for a Focus or Fiesta, I think you're always risking trouble with a Vauxhall? The Focus of around 12-14 years ago, particularly, was seriously over engineered which is why you still see so many of them around. I had one for 4 years, approaching 200k miles, it came to grief at the hands of a 95 year old lady driver. Her car was wrecked, the Focus stood up well but, alas, even the minor repairs required were deemed uneconomical. No help to you, admittedly, but if it assists anyone else avoid a similar issue...
      - extraisland 1y ago
        The Astra G and H 1.7 cdti variants were really good. Newer ones not so good from what I have heard. Ford Focus around the same time period are indeed decent. Going to try to get one at some point.
bryanlarsen 1y ago
Again that's statistics. Some 200,000 mile vehicles have 200,000 more miles on them. Some don't. If you can live with that uncertainty, you can save a lot of money.
- extraisland 1y ago
  Most Diesel Engines (even ones well looked after) won't last after 300,000 miles and will either need to be rebuilt or replaced. A replacement Diesel Engine is several thousand pounds and that is before labour. Then other things like hoses, anything rubber will perish and will be replaced. Everything starts going at some point and the cost mount up quick!
  - sidewndr46 1y ago
    Where do you keep getting all this information from? Yes, there are some engines that suffer catastrophic failure well before 300,000 miles. But it isn't even most. I have rubber parts on vehicles that are decades old with no sign of degradation. Vehicles are not made of compost.
    - extraisland 1y ago
      On a regular car 300,000 miles is like 20-30 years of use (approximately 30 miles a day). How many cars you see on the road today that are over 30 years old? I barely see any vehicles over 20 years old. Things wear out on an engine over time, you lose compression over the time and thus power, you can have other components that will reach EOL. A lot of this starts happening on vehicles well before 200,000 miles. I know it does, I've had to deal with it. I am having to replace a knackered turbo on one of my vehicles, and I had to replace the belt tensioner and replace the timing belt, I've had to reseal the sump. Rubber perishes over time. Regular maintenance and what conditions something subjected to can improve the life sure. I've replaced plenty rubber bits and pieces because they've perished. There is a reason they offer rebuild kits for some components, because those rubber / plastic parts go bad after a while. These are just facts.

giardini 1y ago

sidewndr46 says " One of my ICE vehicles was 299,648 miles when a component in the transmission gave out." I'm guessing it was a Lexus?

extraisland 1y ago

> People replace vehicles because they want and can afford replacement ones, not because they are mileage limited. That isn't quite true. It is often because it is uneconomical to keep. The issue with many older vehicles is that it just starts costing more to repair it than the car is worth. You are constantly putting in good money, after bad and the the costs keep going up over time. At that point it is often better to buy another vehicle. I could have kept my 2007 Vauxhall Astra going for another 100,000 miles. The issue is that the car was worth £600-1000. Each repair was costing upwards of £300. I could buy another second hand Vauxhall Astra with the amount of money I was spending on the car yearly. It just wasn't worth it.

sidewndr46 1y ago
This is just a bad application of sunk cost. The reason why you spend 300 pounds to repair a 1000 pound car is because it is a known item. If you buy a used one for 600 pounds, it may need even more repair than the one you already have.
- extraisland 1y ago
  Repairing a known item makes sense when the costs are small compared to a replacement. I have old bicycles that are worth nothing and I am quite happy to spend maybe £50-£150 in components to fix. Costs are much lower than buying a new good bike or trying to find another good second hand bike (which I would need to fix anyway). However that frequently isn't the case with car. It is £300-1000 every time I need to get it repaired. This happens at an increasing frequency as the car ages. This can then add up to several 1000s quite easily. e.g In the last year I owned that Astra I had to to fix the following issue (all costs include labour): - New Clutch (and it needed to be towed to the garage as the clutch wouldn't engage). £1000 for clutch replacement, £150 for the tow. I also needed to rent a car to drive to a funeral. That cost me another £100-200 IIRC. So we we are up to £1350. - Car would randomly go into Limp mode. New sensor cost £300. Vehicle was never really fixed. It just went into Limp mode much less, so there was another problem somewhere. Which would need another trip to the garage. - Service. This flagged several issues with the car. All these small repairs was another £800. I am already upto £2,450 and I know I've forgotten stuff. I bought the car for £4000 originally. If it was something like a classic barn on wheels Volvo which are bullet proof, or a classic Rover like a Rover P5. I might be willing to keep dumping money into it. But it isn't, it is a Vauxhall Astra.
  - dazc 1y ago
    With 4k I would to go for a Focus or Fiesta, I think you're always risking trouble with a Vauxhall? The Focus of around 12-14 years ago, particularly, was seriously over engineered which is why you still see so many of them around. I had one for 4 years, approaching 200k miles, it came to grief at the hands of a 95 year old lady driver. Her car was wrecked, the Focus stood up well but, alas, even the minor repairs required were deemed uneconomical. No help to you, admittedly, but if it assists anyone else avoid a similar issue...
    - extraisland 1y ago
      The Astra G and H 1.7 cdti variants were really good. Newer ones not so good from what I have heard. Ford Focus around the same time period are indeed decent. Going to try to get one at some point.

bryanlarsen 1y ago

Again that's statistics. Some 200,000 mile vehicles have 200,000 more miles on them. Some don't. If you can live with that uncertainty, you can save a lot of money.

extraisland 1y ago
Most Diesel Engines (even ones well looked after) won't last after 300,000 miles and will either need to be rebuilt or replaced. A replacement Diesel Engine is several thousand pounds and that is before labour. Then other things like hoses, anything rubber will perish and will be replaced. Everything starts going at some point and the cost mount up quick!
- sidewndr46 1y ago
  Where do you keep getting all this information from? Yes, there are some engines that suffer catastrophic failure well before 300,000 miles. But it isn't even most. I have rubber parts on vehicles that are decades old with no sign of degradation. Vehicles are not made of compost.
  - extraisland 1y ago
    On a regular car 300,000 miles is like 20-30 years of use (approximately 30 miles a day). How many cars you see on the road today that are over 30 years old? I barely see any vehicles over 20 years old. Things wear out on an engine over time, you lose compression over the time and thus power, you can have other components that will reach EOL. A lot of this starts happening on vehicles well before 200,000 miles. I know it does, I've had to deal with it. I am having to replace a knackered turbo on one of my vehicles, and I had to replace the belt tensioner and replace the timing belt, I've had to reseal the sump. Rubber perishes over time. Regular maintenance and what conditions something subjected to can improve the life sure. I've replaced plenty rubber bits and pieces because they've perished. There is a reason they offer rebuild kits for some components, because those rubber / plastic parts go bad after a while. These are just facts.