I've got my eye on a VW but the mileage is 127k which is very high. I'm a woman and haven't got a clue about cars. Its got full service history though.
VW engines are supposed to be very good and mileage apparently doesn't really count on them.. To what extent is that true??

Originally posted by Kittenkel
I've got my eye on a VW but the mileage is 127k which is very high. VW engines are supposed to be very good and mileage apparently doesn't really count on them.. To what extent is that true??
3 crucial questions

What cc is the engine
Is it petrol or diesel
Do you know what it@s been doing (town work/taxi/or motorway)

If you can answer these we'll be able to help more.

:)

Engibe is 1.4
Petrol
Dunno what its done really

Most importantly, what year is the car?

Originally posted by Kittenkel
Engibe is 1.4
Petrol
Dunno what its done really
Cheers for that,

Ok from the fact it's a 1.4 petrol we can guess that it's probably not done lots of motorway miles (rep-mobile), nor will it have been a taxi.

These 2 facts are bad and good, in that order.

Reason: motorway miles are easy on modern engines, taxis take a real beating.

It's a petrol, pity, diesels typically last longer.

So, back to the original question, yes 127,000 miles is pretty high mileage for a 1.4 litre petrol town car, be very cautious, even if it is a VW.

NB I'm no expert, so treat what I've said however you wish, and hopefully someone else will be along soon to help a bit more.

Whatever happens, good luck. :)

My old Vectra was 1.8l 16v S reg and that had done 100000 when I bought it and I sold it on 113000. The car ran like a dream, I never had any problems and it's still fine. The problem is people won't buy it if you ever want to sell it. The book price on my vectra was over £2000 but I sold it for £1250 becuase of the high milage. Same with insurance, if someone crashes into it and it gets written off you won't get anything for it as the insurance payout will be adjusted for milage. Also what are you using it for? if you are planning on doing 10000 miles or more a year I would say it might not be such a good idea, but if your just a low user then it could be good. Just remember that the car is worth almost nothing with over 100000 miles on the clock so make sure thats what your paying for it. Even if it is in A1 condition. At the end on the day it might break down tomorrow or it might run forever. I just found out my car needs a new gearbox and it's only done 65k and is in wonderful condition, well, apart from the gearbox it seems.

The year is 1995
It seems to me that its down to luck then- some cars even if they have 120k on the clock might run for ever or it could be the end of its life.
I am going to use it to and from work which is roughly 10 miles a day- and a holiday or two a year ( which is going to Devon and I might attempt to go and see friends is Holland) but thats it really-
The car is in extremely good condition for age- what worries me is the miles!

What is the exact car model? does it come with any service history? do you know the owner? Most importantly, how much is it? I am assuming it's it's very cheap.

£1000 but i dont know the owner

To be honest I think that sounds quite expensive but you have not said what the car is. Polo? Golf? Any service info? paper work on stuff done to it? reciepts? Is it HPI clear? (you can pay to have the car checked out to see if it's stolen or has been written off)
what car is it? the model including any letters? could then check and look for others to compare.

Golf, service history and they changed exhaust, fuel pump..

I said it was a Golf!!!!!!!!!!
3 door, M reg, 127k on the clock!:P

WHAT MODEL!!!! 1.4 what? 3 or 5 door? check out the price in parkers guide, if you register at a cost of £3 it will give you an evaluation adjusted for milage. I ran the earliest check I could without paying which was for a 5door Nreg (1996) golf 1.4L and in very good condition with 80000 mlies it came back at £1450, so an older car with an extra 50k on the clock I would guess would be 7-800 but that is a guess. Probably worth three quid to see what they think. then remember, it's a buyers market with cars so the parkers price is often quite high, especially if you don't know much about the car.

golf!!!!!!!! see my previous post!

Opps! sorry, I missed that!

http://www.parkers.co.uk/pricing/used_car/valuation.aspx?deriv=8232&plate=53&pay=false&buyorsell=buy

Thats as close an evaluation as you can get without paying them three quid!

Let us know what it comes up with if you have it done.
:)

Very good site neek many thanks. Seems the golf is very very reliable- I may go for it, i'll keep you posted!

I think in this country we think 100.000miles on a car is a lot because were a small country and tend not to do a lot of mileage. Cars are designed for other countries who tend to use the cars until they go around the clock. Best car I ever had was a Cavalier with 150,000 on the clock never let me down once. My friend has a two year old car that has had two starter motors already I think its just depends on how lucky you are.:)

Its certainly not the case that mileage doesn't matter - it's more a case that the type of mileage matters more than the the absolute value! Having said that engines tend to be fairly robust apart from the odd thing like pumps or gaskets going (check to see there is no 'mayonaise' in the oil). Your much more likely to have problems with the gearbox (check all the gears are easy to get into and that the gearstick doesn't vibrate as you drive), brakes, bodywork or other extraneous bits than the actual engine :)

If you don't know much about cars take someone with you who does when you go look at it and make sure you have a god long test drive on different roads - you may find a 1.4 in a large(ish) car like a golf a bit underpowered, especially in Sheffield.

While car mileage is important, the amount of previous owners is also a useful thing to consider. If the car is reliable, you would expect people to be happy with it and keep it for a few years. However if it looks tidy but is becoming unreliable, then maybe the last owner is trying to pass it off quickly.

I work in a company where we all used to have lots of company cars which did high mileages. And they were all fine and reliable with their high mileage, apart from Mercedes, which started having severe engine rebuild problems with valve guides wearing out at only 65k miles. But our Fords, Rovers, Vauxhalls, BMW, and Toyotas all breezed through their high mileages without any problems at all.
Cars to avoid were Renault(poor build quality) and Mercedes(engine problems and expensive repairs)

I currently drive a J reg Astra upto about 1000 miles a week, still going strong at 120,000. I'm sure how it's driven and maintained will make the biggest difference and probably something else will go before the engine.

As for £1000 for a golf... i think it seemed a little expensive. Have a look at www.autotrader.co.uk Put in the car details and your post code but set the distance to national so you can see what people are selling similar cars for across the country.

Good luck.

-PK-

It has had 3 previous owners in 10 years. The only thing is how can you possibly know how the previous owners have driven the car and taken care of it? Service history ok but thats it!

Your best guide to the condition is probably the current owner (assuming this is s aprivate sale!) - check up on:

How long have they had the car? If they have only had it a few months why are they trying to get rid?

Why are they selling the car? They are unlikely to tell you it's 'cos it's ready fot the scrapheap, but have you BS detector on high gain here!

And finally, and possibly most imortantly, whats you gut instinct about the seller and car - if something feels dodgy turn around and walk away - there are plenty of other cars out there...

Originally posted by evildrneil
Your best guide to the condition is probably the current owner (assuming this is s aprivate sale!) - check up on:

How long have they had the car? If they have only had it a few months why are they trying to get rid?

Why are they selling the car? They are unlikely to tell you it's 'cos it's ready fot the scrapheap, but have you BS detector on high gain here!

And finally, and possibly most imortantly, whats you gut instinct about the seller and car - if something feels dodgy turn around and walk away - there are plenty of other cars out there...

The last owner had it for 7 months- he wanted to sell it to get something more powerful, the seller seems ok to me, genuinely honest, women have got a great gut instinct!

OK sounds like your happy with the car then! (Be aware though that the 1.4 may be a bit underpowered for steep hills and you may have to work it hard!)

The only other thing it is probably worth doing (apart from taking a more knowledgable friend along to check it over!) is to check priced on somewhere like autotrader for prices (http://atsearch.autotrader.co.uk/WWW/CARS_popup.asp?modelexact=1&lid=search_used_cars_full&make=VOLKSWAGEN&model=GOLF&variant=&keywords=&min_pr=75&max_pr=1000&mileage=&agerange=4&postcode=s2+4dd&miles=100&max_records=200&source=0&sort=3&ukcarsearch_full=SEARCH&start=10&distance=37&adcategory=CARS&channel=CARS&id=200512187203867) - £1000 seems a bit steep for a car of this age and mileage to me!

Might check this out!

You should be looking at around £700. £1000 is way over.

checking autotrader it appears that £1000 is quite reasonable actually.

Speaking of high mileage, I've just passed 132000 in mine, it was on 102,000 when I bought it just over a year ago.

The engine itself hasn't been a problem, but it's needed a gearbox recondition, a clutch and a clutch slave cylinder. All these things were probably due to the mileage (although the clutch obviously needs replacing now and again). The cost of that little lot is > £1000.

I think a lot of it is just down to luck as you can't know how the car has been driven since new.

Also from autotrader, if you're uneasy enough to ask questions about the mileage and don't want to spend a lot more then maybe looking at something like this is an option (stuck with VW presuming that you like the reputation).

1996 VOLKSWAGEN POLO 1.6 L
4 Doors, Manual 5 speed, Saloon, 51,000 miles, Metallic Dragon Green. Radio/Cassette, Recent MOT, superb condition throughout. Parts and labour warranty, unless specified otherwise. Competitive finance .click dealer website button below or www.eastbarnetmotors.co.uk for quality photos and more details. 10am - 7pm Monday to Friday. 9am - 6pm Saturday £1,195.
my emphasis in bold.

My car's just passed 190,000, and it was over 150,000 when I bought it, and it still goes beautifully. But then it is a (pre-GM) Saab, and they've been known to rack up a fair bit of mileage (http://www.saabcentral.com/trivia/mileage.php) - 400k or more on one engine. I'm not sure how VWs compare but I think they're also reasonably sturdy (although the Passat I used to drive was a pig for several years - until I discovered the tiny hole in the carburettor the week before I sold it).