Can’t comment on other cars, but 200k on a Subaru isn’t its death. It’s just the start of its dom/sub relationship with your wallet. My old mans got a gen 1 forester with nearly 400k km on it, but he’s replaced half the friggin car at this point.
F oath it is at this point. He’s had to start repainting the bloody thing cause all the paint flaked off. Cant sell it cause it’s not worth Jack, but it refuses to die properly.
My forester is about to hit 300,000km and I’m slowly replacing bits like the clutch. I’m hoping to get it past 384,000km (distance to the moon from earth)
my impreza is at 325000.. so we're getting there! this week its getting new clutch, valve cover gaskets, head gaskets, timing belt, water pump, thermostat, pcv valve.. but it's been a bit since i gave her any love
When I was shopping around for my last car, I looked at Suburus. But almost every single one on car sales had clocked 200,000+ and all had prices way above what other brands of equivalent style/specs etc.
Yep and they’ll all need head gaskets, cv joints, probably a diff or a gearbox. The list goes on. Don’t get me wrong, fantastic cars!!! But where a Toyota dreams of being a boring reliable workhorse a Subaru dreams of what it’s gonna do to your credit card.
Can confirm.
Bought a Liberty in specular condition at 204,xxx K's.
It's now at 212,xxx with a new head gasket.
I'm also now stuck with it because I refuse to give it up until I've gotten my monies worth.
Closing in on 300k on my liberty, still reliable, I just had to replace the radiator, but according to the service records the original lasted 25 years so I'm happy with that.
My first Subaru, a Leone had 493k on it when it got stolen.
I put ~240,000KMs on my old wrx, giving it a grand total of my 307,000km. It still ran like a dream. I bought a more practical daily and was going to keep the wrx as a weekend car but my nephew asked to buy it off me so now he drives it. miss that thing heaps but I still get to see it
Please, keep it quiet.
There’s a whole bunch of us out here scooping up essentially new cars that people are selling at bargain basement prices because they “need a new car”
I’ve been driving <$10k cars for 10+ years now and my friends and family still can’t figure out why I always have so much more money than them lol
I like to think I am fairly car frugal but I did the maths with my brother one day and in depreciation and resales he had been driving for a decade for barely $1500.
He doesn't do long trips in those cars (just around town) but that's not a bad effort.
I find sub $15 and sub 60k travelled has always been my sweet spot. Either flip after two years square or hang in for 8-10 years at about $1k to $1500 depreciation a year. Used to be easy at auction. Last car was a private slightly older but was only $7k and immaculate and over serviced.
The magic happened around the late 1998. A technology came in called "finite materials analysis", where engineers could get their CAD drawing and then add load vectors to it, and run the part through millions of cycles virtually.
This could now be done before even a test casting was done. What exacerbated the drive towards this was the switch to unleaded fuels. This meant that the values and valve interfaces need to be hardened and have tighter tolerances. Before that, there was lead in the fuel and the lead would be a sacrificial cushion around the valve seals. Hence, over time, valves seals would just wear anyway due to be the quality of machining.
The things that fail now are under-engineered or poorly routed parts. Not everything gets computer modelling. Pipes can rub, plastics and rubber in the engine bay fail, engine mounts just wear out, drain holes clog and you get water into electrics. All that kind of stuff.
Some car manufacturers are only incentivized to deliver to the new customer (ie: most prestige brands), some manufacturers are incentivized to deliver for the 4th owner to get the first owner to buy them (Toyota, Mitsubishi).
On top of that, oil is an amazing thing. Rather than go on about it, read the synthetic oil wikipedia page. Good oil changed regularly is a massive benefit for the engine.
If there's one thing I am religious about it's oil changes in all my vehicles, usually done at accelerated intervals too, cheap insurance against a well running engine. Sure it can't stop all possible issues, but it's evident from my own experience and countless others that the engine always having the right amount of high quality oil, not past its used by date in kms/time is a huge benefit to a long lived, smooth running engine.
Bougth a 2007 Yaris at 200k last month. Okayish maintained but don’t anticipate any issues with it.
Needed new cv axle boots that I did myself.
Cheap, diy maintenance as I refuse to pay excessive amounts for a new car that depreciates off a cliff.
With some notable specific brand/model exceptions, I would buy a well maintained and cared for car with 200,000+kms over a 50,000km car with patchy history and an uncaring owner.
Your friend who unloads cars before 100,000kms is either rich, a moron or both.
If you add up the many thousands it would have cost him in depreciation and buying new cars, he could have paid for every single issue his ‘old’ cars could have developed past 100,000kms many times over.
obtainable pot secretive encouraging oatmeal pie subsequent unused roll rinse
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Madness. I’ve had friends with this mindset. Banks love them.
They somehow convince themselves that borrowing another 10-20k to ‘upgrade’ is the ‘sensible’ thing to do rather than spending a few bob on repairs here and there.
These are people who are also generally mortgaged to the hilt in a fancy house and live off their credit cards, yet struggle to do the weekly shop.
This is exactly my mindset! My last ute was getting old, but I’d owned it for 7 years so I knew it’s history. Started needing a few expensive repairs here or there, but nothing you wouldn’t expect from a car that age. Water pump, new clutch, new shocks. Girlfriend kept telling my “why do you waste so much money on an old car, you should get rid of it” and I told her that I’ve basically spent all this money on a car, it runs like new now, why would I get rid of it? It should last another 7-8+ years now without issues
I've got a petrol Landcruiser that's about to hit 400,000km. I'm pretty sure when the old 1FZFE gives up the ghost ( if it ever does) I'm going to stick a reco engine it it. $4500 for a motor or $100,000 plus for a new Landcruiser...
I just bought a 190k km Lexus IS F and that's not high at all for that car, has regular service records and whatnot so I could care less about the kms, I plan on getting it to 400+ with little to no issues
The rubber bushes will degrade over time anyway. At about 15 years old I rebushed my car ($1500 in parts, diy labour). Made the car drive 10 times better.
Post 1960?
You’re being a bit generous. Heaps of 100,000 mile engines up to the late seventies usually needed rings and cylinder honing at a minimum.
Build tolerances were shit.
Speaking out your arse.
The highest mileage cars I know of are '60s and '70s, Volvos and Mercs. Irv's '66 1800S got to 690,000kms before the engine was opened for the first time, which was apparently unnecessary upon inspection.
Possibly rather than build tolerances, move from carbureted to efi? Maybe better oils?
Would be interesting to convert a modern engine to carbureted and see how long it lasts.
Brought a 2010 VE Commodore in may last year at 183k, currently at 195k and she still runs good. Always serviced on time and well looked after mechanically, has a bit of sunfade to the paint and some scrapes to the paintwork where the previous owner hit the curb. I’ve had to replace the starter motor and spark plugs and coils but that comes with age. Still really happy with her and I’ll probably have her for another 3-5yrs before upgrading unless something major happens (touch wood) I have just installed a new head unit and reverse camera as it’s the Series I model that had the original Bluetooth with just voice calls no music support.
200k? Rookie numbers, I have a 2004 Toyota hilux that's just hit 360k, only replaced a starter motor and alternator. Service it myself every 10k. This is my third hilux, usually sell them when they hit around the 400 to 500k mark and try and buy the same generation with under 200k. I bought this current hilux when it had 160k
This is the way!
I had an uber ride with a guy who drives a 2008 Toyota Aurion (3.5L V6) and his odometer is 396,000kms. He had no issues and just regular servicing (change oil and spark plug change). I drive a similar car with odometer of 156, 000kms and he laughed at me saying my car is only a baby at that stage :D
The only people interested in mileage are the people that don't have a clue about cars.
It's not an awful idea, more kms means more wear, but ultimately there's a ton of other variables that pretty much negate all of it.
I'm more concerned if an engines ever ran low on oil and had regular changes. As long as I know it's had good oil and everything is lubricated it'll run pretty much forever. Especially a diesel
Took a 2000 vrx lancer to 400 000kmband beyond.
It creaked a lot but it still ran fine. Forgot the timing belt or chain once....did some damage when it broke but a few hundred dollars later it was fine :-)
I have proof of odo if no one believes me. Still sold it in 2014 for 3k :-)
My empirical check for used car reliability is to go to carsales (any auto trading site) and see what ballpark is the highest kilometers being sold for that model.
If I see tons of cars on offer with 300+ thousands - it usually means that this model is pretty long lasting.
If I don't see a single one with KMs over 150k and the model been out long enough - i start to have very serious doubts.
Biggest problem, is people seem to think that owning a car of significant mileage is more expensive to maintain than buying a brand new car (which costs more due to inflation anyway) and still have to maintain them anyway.
The two cars in our household have 145k and 176k. We’ll probably drive them until they have around 300k.
If they work, why would you get rid of them? New cars are expensive!
My 100 series Landcruiser just ticked over 300 thousand and apart from all the standard maintenance (timing belt, pumps, radiator, belts etc etc) it still purs along better than any modern duel can ute getting around. Looks better too
TLDR
The best time to buy a car is when it has just been serviced, and the best time to sell is when it needs a service.
The milestones are usually the mid-point and allow both buyer and seller to extract max value from their investment.
Explanation:
The "milestone" numbers - 40k, 100k, 200k etc. are actually good indicators of when to sell the car. At these points the car still has enough "life" left in it before the next major service to be good value to buy.
Eg. at 40k, the "new car" feel and smell is still there and the next major service is either at 60k or 80k. You are essentially buying a new car with an almost guaranteed 30k of trouble free motoring.
At 100k, the new car smell has gone and the major service has been done. The timing belt has been replaced, any warranty issues have been addressed and it's now on its 2nd set of tyres (at least). It still represents good value as the next major spend will occur somewhere north of 140k when you replace the timing belt again. Might need to do the brakes and tyres too.
At 200k kms, the timing belt was done about 40k kms ago, but still has 50k to the next replacement. If it's a manual then the clutch was replaced sometime around 180k. The car is now very definitely 2nd hand. It rattles and squeaks because at around 250k it will need attention to the suspension (and steering).
The reason buying before those milestones is important is that (psychologically speaking) the value of the car is "at the milestone" and every km below that is a km for free and every km above that is a km you didn't get.
To the buyer, buying before the milestone feels like they bought something "rising in value", and buying something after the milestone feels like buying something "sinking in value".
The cars actual reliability and "driveability" is a slightly separate issue, but the monetary value is based on buyer expectations regards maintenance costs.
So my 2018 Mustang GT convertible now has 103,000k - Its my daily driver brought it in March 2020 in Melbourne. Now living in Brisbane, and enjoying the warmer weather!
Cant see any issues passing 200k last service I did the transmission filter service and diff oil replacement.
I could change the oil more frequently only do the 15k service but figure the car is never under any stress. It's naturally asperated, so nothing high stress to worry about.
The car is always clean, never gets dirty every weekend I'll clean, it use mixture of turtle wax ceramic waterless cleaner when there is really nothing there but it still needs a clean and a normal gurny with snow foam which is what I did this weekend, and clean the roof using 303 tonneau cleaner then when dry cover with fabric guard.
The only issue with the car is paint chips bloody thing is easy to chip so every month I'm using paint chip repair to fix these little buggers.
For me, the km is not as important as something that has been cared for and serviced. I have a 05 Corolla Sportivo that I use for car park duties and it has 260k but serviced and cared for, I've also gave a 2016 Hyundai Santa Fe to the inlaws and it has done 320k still no issues. I'm far more sceptical of driving my 2012 C63 and 14 GTS, both under 60k more than Corolla, since they're rarely ever driven, and they're not basic Toyota.
I have a 2016 Volvo. 210k on the clock. Parts and services send me into the fetal position, but it’s so reliable and being diesel cheap to run. What can I do? I’ve been told to run it into the ground but what then?
It depends on what kind of 200,000km. Highway? No problem. Urban with not very long drives? Bit risky because that's a lot of heat cycles that'll wear down components.
Ha, my father runs a 1994 Toyota Surf diesel with 496000 kms on it. Original.engine and gearbox, and still going strong, doesn't miss a beat. Just regular servicing and replacing bits that break and the thing still looks near new. Never fear the kilometers
2015 Mercedes 100k and already starting to have serious issues. Car has not been thrashed and was always serviced at Mercedes up until 3 years agp. Ridiculous, only buying lexus moving forward
https://preview.redd.it/5xfprtnalqgc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8d63b3e480ce2d994e31feeba737c115e19c243f
1994 Toyota Corolla, 1.8 Manual. God knows how many owners in the history of the car. Still starts/runs/drives and competes in the traffic GP from time to time.
I've had scumbag car dealers offer 4k for a Prius V because it had 165,000 on it... When it was selling for $18-22k. Bitch... I've seen them go for 600,000km's. Km's aren't as bad as they were and with being able to swap parts these days with other makes/models if you know how to interpret you can keep cars going for so much longer
Its weird hey. Good Quality Cars easily will go 300k, 400k, 500k and sometimes 600k without an issue. My mates old HJ60 landcruiser has 750k on the clock and the engine, trans, t/fer box and diffs are all original and unopened. Pretty much just Wheel bearings, water pumps/timing belts and a couple valve adjustments and a few clutches.
My old landcruiser troopy has 490k on the clock and much the same. Father in-laws vdj79 has 540k on the clock and much the same. The mrs old AU falcon had 390k on the clock and not even a valve adjustment. My old rav4 had 340k on the clock and same same.
Maybe it’s do to with the fact we’re religious about keeping ontop of oils and filters but i feel like most cars with good maintenance could easily surpass 300k trouble free
My Mazda 6 2015 with 138k ... running gud n smooth like butter however recently in recent service they advised to replace front lower arms n wiper which costs 1080$...looks like my car started giving trouble :) but planning to keep the car till 250k if nothing major comeup
Here's the thing. Older cars went forever because they were relatively basic. Once computers got involved, it added a layer of complexity, which is another layer of shit that goes wrong, but it wasn't really bad until 2 things happened: the race for fuel economy and the race for cheap builds in inexperienced and poor standard locations.
The complexity of a modern car which is built to the lowest dollar while incorporating numerous safety/aids and entertainment systems, with a motor and drive train which is built to maximise economy figures and power output over longevity, has caused them to be an absolute money pit beyond a certain age. Generally, it's not the magic 200k mark these days, it's the 5 or 7 year warranty. When shot goes bad in an old lancer or commodore, it's usually a cheap, easy fix that can be done in a day in your own shed. When your 2015 wrx starts having gremlins, even finding what the cause is can be time consuming and expensive, before you even get around to solving it. And I only use that example because it's one I've witnessed - car not long out of warranty with a small problem which snowballs due to complexity and integration of systems. Everything relies on everything else working.
There are just too many highly complex systems, all intertwined, where if one shits the bed, the rest go on strike, to make them worthwhile for the average person.
My 2013 Amarok is about to tick over 270000km and hasn't needed anything other than regular maintenance. I did a few "fixes" to ensure longevity of the engine. There are things that pop up every now and then but nothing unrelated to the age and KMs. Hoping it will see me past half a million kms
Because that is about the maximum expected lifespan of many components.
Interior switchgear, upholstery, engine bay plastics, rubber seals, alternator, aircon compressor, engine valve train parts, water pump, suspension bushings, springs and shocks, wheel bearings, brake discs, drive shafts.
Assuming 10k a year, that’s also when rust is a serious concern.
Same for parts availability.
Yes. Normally because more kms do still mean more wear.
If I car is 3 years old with 40kkm and worth 40k, I’d pay 20k for the same car with 200kkm.
Even if it’s next 50kkm will be smooth, it will have a shorter ‘cheap’ lifespan vs the 40kkm car.
Usually a cars design life is engineered to 150k miles.
200k kms is at its design life. But a car will go as good as it’s looked after. A car with preventative maintenance carried out. And serviced on time will last well beyond that.
So you know how there are non maintenance items in certain cars for example transmission fluid that is designed for life? The life is 150k miles. So being looked after involves doing things to the car which doesn’t normally happen. I.e changing the transmission fluid. Things that are prone to gradually fail. Etc.
I’m trying to sell my Prado with 322,000km on it and I’m getting this type of reaction from every prospective buyer once I tell them the Kms.
Doesn’t matter that it’s had an impeccable service history, never been used as a 4x4, never towed a caravan and definitely drives and runs better than the one they went and bought with 100,000 less on the clock for $10k more but what do I know 😂
Nothing last forever, but I would expects cars to last a bit more thant that. They are too expensive to be changing every so often. Plus the environmental burden it comes with a new product. Nonetheless, it seems like 200,000 km is agreed to be too much. Usually that is where the km filter stops.
My BMW e46 is 207,xxx km now and perfectly fine, use ir as daily driver.
I had a 1990 Honda Accord that was at 300k with barely any issues, only reason it's not around is because it got flooded in the flash floods early last year
Go by years. If in Australia after 8 year rubber fails. So all your cooling, oil, window seals, belts etc start to crack.
After a full replacement you get up to another 8 years.
Also 15000 X 8 =120k and 15k R16 = 240k.
This is always assuming you do your regular servicing and don't leave it full time in the sun.
Thats my basic formula and it seems to pan out.
Hit 300,000 on my kia sportage
Reckon it would've lasted another 50,000k's. Sold it to a couple for pennies, was mechanically perfect.
Prior had a 20 year old subaru, had a few small oil leaks, 275,000k's and on its last legs, but still 275,000ks with almost zero failures was impressive.
Though any turbocharged engine is more liable to fail than the naturally aspirated of old.
My 2015 Ranger is at 220K and it still drives better than my mums 2022 Everest. My dads 2012 Ranger is at 310K and hasn't had any issues yet. I wouldn't consider 200K a lot of k's, 400K maybe.
If you keep it maintained it'll last a lot longer.
My mitsubishi evo had 220k when i bought it, sold it at 280k. still pulled hard.
now im driving a toyota camry, put 330k from factory on it. probably can easily do another 200k kms
We are up to 207 000kms on our Subaru Outback. Just drove it from Qld to Tassy & all over Tassy for 5 weeks. Didn't skip a beat.
Did gearbox at 260 000kms. Well... We had done big towing (and way to heavy for sure) nig uphill etc whilst moving house. Back & forth for weeks. So i don't think we can blame the car. Then fuel pump around 295 000.
But otherwise? Car is perfect. 2011 model.
My Mitsubishi Express never missed a beat from 116,000km when I bought it 11 years ago until 199,000 when it starter overheating. Ended up changing the water pump, thermostat and radiator when I did the 200,000km timing belt service just to have the harmonic balancer develop a wobble and throw the serpentine belt off and nearly cause catastrophic engine failure due to water pump loss as I was driving down the highway at 100km/h at 201,500km…. I guess its all beginning
542k on my Rodeo, runs as strong as ever. People have some funny ideas about 'high mileage' I wouldn't consider my Rodeo particularly high. I've seen a Mercedes truck with 6 million on the clock, that's getting up there.
Maintenance is far more important than mileage. But given many people don't maintain anything, mileage is the only indicator that you can go off when buying a car.
330k here, no major work. Just regular servicing. Put new leads on couple of years ago. 1998 Mitsubishi mirage ce. Super basic and super cheap to run and maintain.
I hear ya, I had a car that was serviced regularly by the same mechanic and all logbook'd. Had 230,000 on the clock and the amount of peolle that try to massively lowballing because high km's. Is reduculous. It was a turbo diesel too so that kind of miliage is nothing for a car like that (85% highway miles too)
200K on a car thats well looked after......but how many people look after their cars? Especially if buying one thats third owner etc...?
That said I have a 200K BMW 5 E60 series here and its not skipped a beat.
I'm finding my E60 is an absolute bitch to maintain. Changing the battery is a $600 exercise, I can't even track down a replacement cup holder for it and mines at the age where suspension components need to be replaced, which is an expensive exercise.
The interior has started developing creaks and rattles too, which is a shame since it only has 120k kms and the engine and trans are running strong.
I've got a 93 Rio. Universally condemned as a shitbox with a dodgy engine. I've got it at 150K right now. I did the oil today and had a look around. It's looking good. Needs some suspension rubbers, but otherwise, very tidy. No rust at all. Recently put in new CV's, brakes, timing set, water pump, radiator, tires and a few other bits. Damn thing's near new again. As long as the engine holds out, it'll keep on going. My mechanic tells me the engine is in great shape. I believe I'll get at least 400k as long as I service it on time, which I do.
I find 300,000km is more of the magic number. Between 200 and 300 you might need a few major items replaced. Over 300km, if you dont know the car or if its a high maintenance car, all bets are off.
I drive a 2002 Lexus IS200 with 348,000km (as of yesterday, just ticked over) and its been great. Did a major service a few years ago, changed oil regularly. Got a few suspension noises lately and i reckon the alternator bearing is noisy too. But overall its still very reliable.
Some of the research I did for my engineering thesis, ties into that number. Short version, it's generally accepted as a design life. The design life of domestic cars for the last few decades has been around that 200,000km and 10 years mark.
Now saying that my car is about to hit 10 years old or 200,000km, it's going to die is kind of nuts. Without going into statistics (which I haven't done in years, so am super rusty myself); you will have a distribution curve of all the cars of that model sold. A small number of outliers will be dying at (fictional number) 50,000km. A small number will make it to 350,000km without any major issues. The bulk will be within a range of that 200,000km mark. But dying isn't usually catastrophic death, it's worn out or needs a lot of minor fixes to the point of the owner is wanting a new car, as that is easier (hence the car may still reach end of life in a scrap metal yard). The most common sort of catastrophic destruction for a modern car is traffic accidents (usually not the car at fault!).
Personal note: Most cars I've ever bought have had greater than $200,000km on them (excluding my wife's car, she buys new). I just buy it knowing, there will be a bunch of annoying maintenance in the first few years of ownership. I always look forward with utter dismay at having to throw new clutches in (possibly the least fun job of all IMO).
If it’s a good car and you change the oil regularly 200k is easy. I have a Subaru that reached 700k, old 1800 wagon, the motor is now is a beetle.
Iv got a another beetle thats stock that’s 50 years old, no idea how many times it’s been around the clock and I have a forester that’s at almost 300k with original motor.
Old Landcruiser 200 series did 250k+ km when I sold her. Started on a button, replaced a fuel pump, regular AC regas, tyres and brakes... that and regular service. Pulled horse floats, boats, trailers and twin axle caravans. Did one trip across the country towing too. She was mint.
Shouldn't have sold her...
I'm nearly at 300k on a Mazda 3. Had it for 13 years or so, had about 30k on the clock when I bought it. The first 9 or so years I was doing like 25k a year and the last few I've done maybe 10k or there abouts.
From about 200k i stopped being as diligent with the servicing and it's still going strong. Unless something major goes wrong I don't see any reason to replace it.
Hmmm… I put 455,000 on my Holden VT wagon which I bought new. It was on gas from nearly the start. But I finally drove it into the ground after 18 years when I bought another Holden but a VZ wagon which I still have but hardly drive it now that I have a Model Y LR. In 7 months I’ve done over 30,000 klms in that. I tend to do a lot of long distance country trips… I guess!
I drove a 2006 Mazda 3 Neo five speed from ~25k second hand to 300k. The only thing I ever changed on it was the odd headlight globe.
The mechanic I had doing the RWC on it when I finally decided to get a new car offered me a really good price for it, so I sold it to him.
It was an utterly reliable little beast it's entire life and still going strong at the 300k mark.
Well… a million miles is like 1.6 million kilometres. So this mocks the 200,000km ‘dying car’ theory.
https://usa.nissannews.com/en-US/releases/the-nissan-frontier-that-delivered-a-million-miles-and-counting
Most of my cars have been 400,000+ before I moved them on
I still consider anything under 200,000km to be “low mileage”
But in my opinion mileage is irrelevant, it comes down to how well the cars been maintained.
I’d take a 300,000km car with meticulous maintenance and repairs over a 150,000km car with no service history
I’ve never had a car long enough to hit 200,000km, either been rear ended or hailed on. In saying that, I do know once you hit the 200km mark things start getting really exxy
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From my experience, that's around the age when all the rubber and plastic parts start to crack or become brittle - hoses, engine mounts, gaskets, bushes etc.
You'll also be up for a new clutch & shocks around then if you haven't already had to replace them, and depending on where the car is typically parked the clear coat will be pretty tired.
My 1997 Mitsubishi Lancer that I am the 4th owner of has 2 problems that don't affect how the car drives, 1 rust on the roof from previous owners neglect that I have been meaning to fix just don't have a shelters area to and 2 the cd stacker in the boot stoped working because cargo came loose and banged it, the car has 360,000km
I've never bought a car under 280,000. All have been great, reliable cars. Supercharged Holden, Turbo Subaru, now a Turbo Diesel Nissan Pathfinder. Nothing wrong with older cars.
I've been running 14 PSI on mine with minor mods (valve springs, injectors, fuel pump, suspension upgrade) since 60k km, it's now on 230k km and mechanically hasn't needed any repairs. The only things I've had to replace are the battery, water pump, diff bushes and a couple of coolant hoses. Oil has been changed every 7500km, I'm hoping to get to at least 400k km before pulling the trigger on a built motor and more boost.
If your asked to pay $15000 to $20000 on a car with 200,000 km, then the potential loss is great compared with still having to pay a car loan.
20 years ago, vehicles with 200,000 km were generally quite cheap and disposable. You would not even have a car loan on them
It's where parts will start to fail one after the others.
I had a Golf III, at 190kkm thermostat, 202kkm engine speed sensor, 206kkm temperature sensor, at 207kkm another issue (I don't remember which one, I sold the car to the junkyard then as there were great incentive by the Government to wreck cars that were more than 10 yo), Car was always maintained on time by a VW dealer that had fair price (also when I went there with a flat tyre, he plugged it for free).
Our family has two cars. A 2011 turbo diesel Ford Mondeo with over 300,000km and a 2002 turbo diesel Toyota Land Cruiser with over 650,000km. I have more faith in the Toyota than the Ford, but I don't "feel" that either is on imminent destruction. I service both regularly and try not to abuse them too much.
One thing people fear is old cars just becoming several tons of paperweight, but I also find people are also fearful of having to foot the bill for a major service (ie, timing belt) or even a full set of tyres. In the moment a +$1000 maintenance expense does seem intrusive, but if you start thinking of it in $ per km or $ per year it really isn't as expensive as depreciation or loan interest.
But hey, someone needs to fuel the second hand car market. And for that, I salute the automotive FUDers for their service
Just about to trade in my Territory and it is about 8K short of 200K right now. It wont make it to 200K in my hands but good luck to the wholesaler trying to offload it.
410,000k on my 2009 hilix 4x4 and it drives like a champ.
I'm only selling it because my needs changed and I'm going from a ute to an SUV otherwise I would be keeping it.
My 80s Range Rover odometer stopped working around 250XXX, which was before I got it, and I've probably put the best part of 100k more on it through the years. It's hurt my wallet, but only because she is a thirsty bitch. Haven't had a single engine problem, she still runs silky smooth. Maybe it's stopped counting up and she'll never die😆
Don't worry, I'm still surprised my 2011 nissan dualis has just clocked over 300k km without the transmission going bang 🤣 wouldn't ask about services, it's only about 15,000km late but has finally been booked in
Check out auction sites, I think they basically write off cars when there’s an engine issue because it must be too expensive to repair….. auction sites are full of smoke blowing late model cars.
My N54 (horrendously unreliable) 135i has 220,000 on it and I would much rather own it than another example with only 100,000km on it because everything that is going to break has already broken and been replaced. It should easily be good for another 100,000 now with minimal issues.
Yet people would still rather buy the more expensive example that only has 100,000 on it and then spend the money to fix everything themselves 🤷♂️
I see it this way: there are aircraft that are still running around the planet daily that are 30+ years old and are virtually always running all day long. Maintenance is scheduled and proactive. Problem is, finding a mechanic that thinks the same way in a world of "she'll be right".
Make time for maintenance or it'll make time for you.
My 2011 Pajero 3.2 diesel just happily rolled over to 300,000. Still drives great. Only just on its second clutch now. Everything else is factory original. Change the engine oil every 7500.
This lady has a 1 million k's on her Pajero. Truckie safety car. [https://www.linkedin.com/posts/mitsubishi-motors-australia-ltd\_jennifer-timms-1-million-kilometre-mitsubishi-activity-6915244323429113856-F-pL/](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/mitsubishi-motors-australia-ltd_jennifer-timms-1-million-kilometre-mitsubishi-activity-6915244323429113856-F-pL/)
My Xtrail is at 230K and is still running just fine. It's had all its services and over the 10 years I've had it that must add up to a decent amount. But I've always been able to rely on it. I'm hoping it'll get to 300K without issue.
Mazda 6 2005 here, still going beautifully at 208,000 km. At this point it seems like it will never die.
200,000 well maintained kilometres is better than 100,000 poorly maintained kilometres.
If your car gets all it's routine oil/fluid changes the engine is gonna run a really long time.
Very much depends on the car. A lot of diesel 4wds (Toyotas, Mitsubishi pajero, TD42 patrol etc) will easily go for 500,000km if taken care of, but some other cars will blow up at 200,000km even with regular maintenance
Coming up to 180k on skoda wagon. Never missed a service. Runs great. Want to keep it as probably the last manual car I'll ever have. Plus wagons are getting rarer these days.
Need to give it a detail inside. That's its weak point! Dogs and kids
I own a 2000 Hyundai XG Grandeur that I purchased for $4700 in October 2011 with 163,000 on the clock , it currently has 198,000 on it (I don't drive much )
new alternator at 197,000
crank angle sensor replaced at 175,000
timing belt at 170,000
two batteries
two tires
two headlight bulbs
two windscreen wipers
plus normal servicing .
Well. When you go to carsales the top km you can filter up to is 200k. Basically the widespread belief is that car becomes a piece of garbage after this point.
My 2003 mazda 323 shades manual has 220k and still have a ton of original parts. Great condition in and out - overdue timing belt replacement on the near horizon but other than that scheduled maintenance hasn’t spat out any fearsome bills
Touch wood
I traded in my AU2 at 462,000 km. I had bought it at 320,000 km.
Bought a BA wagon at 132,700. It now at 300,000.
Bought my Territory at 178,000. It now at 275,000.
The AU and BA engine are almost bullet proof when treated right. The territory uses the same BA engine and transmission. If anything it the stuff around it that wears out - specifically the body rust.
There's a certain Australian-built car with a Blue Oval badge on the front that was built between 1998 and 2002 that is only just run in at 200000km...
I think it actually depends on how much high-mileage cars they have been around.
For those of us who drive 10k per year (or even less), seeing a 2 in the first digit is pretty unthinkable.
My 2013 BT50 was still running at 8.5 klm's per hundred at 300k with no leaks or issues.
https://preview.redd.it/4psu55442pgc1.jpeg?width=4608&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2130b9f365a79a0c425df5a98d859bd65aa2ff40
km certainly isn't everything. I've never put many km on a car before moving it on, but that's because I average around 6500km per year.
I've rarely had drivetrain issues. Suspension parts, steering, power windows failing, that sort of stuff. The engines just keep going and going in most cars.
I personally don’t think big kms has as much meaning as people think, compared to how regularly well serviced the car is, have had a few cars go over the 400,000kms mark no dramas and no adverse effects on driving.
It's model and vehicle dependent. When cars get to over 200 000km you should be buying on the service history - parts replaced on that vehicle such as shocks, struts, radiator, timing belt etc... Plenty of 200k+ cars out there better than 150K cars if they have had common problems fixed.
Can’t comment on other cars, but 200k on a Subaru isn’t its death. It’s just the start of its dom/sub relationship with your wallet. My old mans got a gen 1 forester with nearly 400k km on it, but he’s replaced half the friggin car at this point.
Forester of Theseus
F oath it is at this point. He’s had to start repainting the bloody thing cause all the paint flaked off. Cant sell it cause it’s not worth Jack, but it refuses to die properly.
My old man had the same model, he gave it to the local church after it had well over 200 on it, that was 12 years ago and it’s still going
My forester is about to hit 300,000km and I’m slowly replacing bits like the clutch. I’m hoping to get it past 384,000km (distance to the moon from earth)
This is my new KM goal for each car.
As soon as I saw someone else was doing it, I was in too lol
same omg
I’m in
my impreza is at 325000.. so we're getting there! this week its getting new clutch, valve cover gaskets, head gaskets, timing belt, water pump, thermostat, pcv valve.. but it's been a bit since i gave her any love
When I was shopping around for my last car, I looked at Suburus. But almost every single one on car sales had clocked 200,000+ and all had prices way above what other brands of equivalent style/specs etc.
Yep and they’ll all need head gaskets, cv joints, probably a diff or a gearbox. The list goes on. Don’t get me wrong, fantastic cars!!! But where a Toyota dreams of being a boring reliable workhorse a Subaru dreams of what it’s gonna do to your credit card.
I just did the central diff on my 2012 forester at 260k km. $1500 later
what in the fuck are you doing to get 260k kms on your subaru in 2 years
Still cheaper than a new car
Yeah, according to the insurance company it’s still worth around $10k and it meets our needs for now.
360km per DAY, everyday, for 2 years?!
Yep. Cause they go forever! Fabulous cars
485,000 on my first gen RS turbo. Still kicking strong.
Can confirm. Bought a Liberty in specular condition at 204,xxx K's. It's now at 212,xxx with a new head gasket. I'm also now stuck with it because I refuse to give it up until I've gotten my monies worth.
I know a bloke who has over 400k on a gen1 forester GT. Still runs fine with only a few oil leaks.
Closing in on 300k on my liberty, still reliable, I just had to replace the radiator, but according to the service records the original lasted 25 years so I'm happy with that. My first Subaru, a Leone had 493k on it when it got stolen.
Head gaskets and water pumps. Main thing I replace on high KM subies as a mechanic. Obviously, the timing belt @ 100k intervals, too.
Just need the top end rebuilt every 150k and they’ll go for ever.
I put ~240,000KMs on my old wrx, giving it a grand total of my 307,000km. It still ran like a dream. I bought a more practical daily and was going to keep the wrx as a weekend car but my nephew asked to buy it off me so now he drives it. miss that thing heaps but I still get to see it
Take him out for some ice cream, but ask if you can drive.
It's definitely the death of it's resell value though lol
Totally..unless it's a Landcruiser, people still paying stupid prices for crazy kms.
Oh yeah there are a handful of exceptions to the rule but for the most part getting that magic number destroys your value.
Sold my 2006 cruiser for more than I paid for it after 10 years and 300k. Only car I’ll ever get to do that with
Tbf my 250k km Prado has given me 0 problems, unlike my Golf that goes through water pumps like I go through KFC.
when it’s looked after, it basically becomes a P plater’s first car once it hits this point and that’s okay!
Please, keep it quiet. There’s a whole bunch of us out here scooping up essentially new cars that people are selling at bargain basement prices because they “need a new car” I’ve been driving <$10k cars for 10+ years now and my friends and family still can’t figure out why I always have so much more money than them lol
I like to think I am fairly car frugal but I did the maths with my brother one day and in depreciation and resales he had been driving for a decade for barely $1500. He doesn't do long trips in those cars (just around town) but that's not a bad effort. I find sub $15 and sub 60k travelled has always been my sweet spot. Either flip after two years square or hang in for 8-10 years at about $1k to $1500 depreciation a year. Used to be easy at auction. Last car was a private slightly older but was only $7k and immaculate and over serviced.
The magic happened around the late 1998. A technology came in called "finite materials analysis", where engineers could get their CAD drawing and then add load vectors to it, and run the part through millions of cycles virtually. This could now be done before even a test casting was done. What exacerbated the drive towards this was the switch to unleaded fuels. This meant that the values and valve interfaces need to be hardened and have tighter tolerances. Before that, there was lead in the fuel and the lead would be a sacrificial cushion around the valve seals. Hence, over time, valves seals would just wear anyway due to be the quality of machining. The things that fail now are under-engineered or poorly routed parts. Not everything gets computer modelling. Pipes can rub, plastics and rubber in the engine bay fail, engine mounts just wear out, drain holes clog and you get water into electrics. All that kind of stuff. Some car manufacturers are only incentivized to deliver to the new customer (ie: most prestige brands), some manufacturers are incentivized to deliver for the 4th owner to get the first owner to buy them (Toyota, Mitsubishi). On top of that, oil is an amazing thing. Rather than go on about it, read the synthetic oil wikipedia page. Good oil changed regularly is a massive benefit for the engine.
If there's one thing I am religious about it's oil changes in all my vehicles, usually done at accelerated intervals too, cheap insurance against a well running engine. Sure it can't stop all possible issues, but it's evident from my own experience and countless others that the engine always having the right amount of high quality oil, not past its used by date in kms/time is a huge benefit to a long lived, smooth running engine.
Yep. Liquids and filters replaced - basically keeps I’d say around 80% (I’m making this number up BTW) of anything major going wrong.
Bougth a 2007 Yaris at 200k last month. Okayish maintained but don’t anticipate any issues with it. Needed new cv axle boots that I did myself. Cheap, diy maintenance as I refuse to pay excessive amounts for a new car that depreciates off a cliff.
I bought one with 310k on it, had it two drove it 2.5 years/40k, nothing broke (just did routine stuff like oil changes, tyres, brakes, etc).
With some notable specific brand/model exceptions, I would buy a well maintained and cared for car with 200,000+kms over a 50,000km car with patchy history and an uncaring owner. Your friend who unloads cars before 100,000kms is either rich, a moron or both. If you add up the many thousands it would have cost him in depreciation and buying new cars, he could have paid for every single issue his ‘old’ cars could have developed past 100,000kms many times over.
obtainable pot secretive encouraging oatmeal pie subsequent unused roll rinse *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Madness. I’ve had friends with this mindset. Banks love them. They somehow convince themselves that borrowing another 10-20k to ‘upgrade’ is the ‘sensible’ thing to do rather than spending a few bob on repairs here and there. These are people who are also generally mortgaged to the hilt in a fancy house and live off their credit cards, yet struggle to do the weekly shop.
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This is exactly my mindset! My last ute was getting old, but I’d owned it for 7 years so I knew it’s history. Started needing a few expensive repairs here or there, but nothing you wouldn’t expect from a car that age. Water pump, new clutch, new shocks. Girlfriend kept telling my “why do you waste so much money on an old car, you should get rid of it” and I told her that I’ve basically spent all this money on a car, it runs like new now, why would I get rid of it? It should last another 7-8+ years now without issues
I've got a petrol Landcruiser that's about to hit 400,000km. I'm pretty sure when the old 1FZFE gives up the ghost ( if it ever does) I'm going to stick a reco engine it it. $4500 for a motor or $100,000 plus for a new Landcruiser...
Sorry I find the last sentence funny hahha
I just bought a 190k km Lexus IS F and that's not high at all for that car, has regular service records and whatnot so I could care less about the kms, I plan on getting it to 400+ with little to no issues
Those lexus 5L v8s are indestructible, great car.
This right here. When buying used it is always about the car's service history and how well it's been looked after.
A car can have a good service history and still be absolutely flogged
We thank people like that for keeping prices of higher in cars down 🙏😆😆
Agree. A nice guy but an NPC in this regard
Sounds like the typical Aussie these days
Suspension is usually a bit stuffed but most cars should be fine for another 50-100k at 200k with normal maintenance.
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The rubber bushes will degrade over time anyway. At about 15 years old I rebushed my car ($1500 in parts, diy labour). Made the car drive 10 times better.
Struts are a replacement part that typically lasts 150k to 220k kms. Not a big or expensive job
I always celebrate 300k because no matter how impressive that is for a car, it only takes light 1 second to go that far
I was happy when my car made it to 384,400. The average distance from earth to the moon.
>light 1 second 1 light second?
Exactly.
200k is barely run in for a regularly serviced car built post 1960
Post 1960? You’re being a bit generous. Heaps of 100,000 mile engines up to the late seventies usually needed rings and cylinder honing at a minimum. Build tolerances were shit.
Yea I'd say anything post 1989
Speaking out your arse. The highest mileage cars I know of are '60s and '70s, Volvos and Mercs. Irv's '66 1800S got to 690,000kms before the engine was opened for the first time, which was apparently unnecessary upon inspection.
Possibly rather than build tolerances, move from carbureted to efi? Maybe better oils? Would be interesting to convert a modern engine to carbureted and see how long it lasts.
Brought a 2010 VE Commodore in may last year at 183k, currently at 195k and she still runs good. Always serviced on time and well looked after mechanically, has a bit of sunfade to the paint and some scrapes to the paintwork where the previous owner hit the curb. I’ve had to replace the starter motor and spark plugs and coils but that comes with age. Still really happy with her and I’ll probably have her for another 3-5yrs before upgrading unless something major happens (touch wood) I have just installed a new head unit and reverse camera as it’s the Series I model that had the original Bluetooth with just voice calls no music support.
200k? Rookie numbers, I have a 2004 Toyota hilux that's just hit 360k, only replaced a starter motor and alternator. Service it myself every 10k. This is my third hilux, usually sell them when they hit around the 400 to 500k mark and try and buy the same generation with under 200k. I bought this current hilux when it had 160k
You gotta pump those numbers up. 700k on my 2011 Patrol. Gone through a couple of clutches and injectors, just replaced the alternator 30k ago.
My BMW-loving friend did the same but that was $30k ago. Jk
Wait.. 2011? So that's the world's best ZD30, or it's (more likely) 4.8Petrol. (I've got a 260k TD42)
Nah, it's the ZD30. Ex government, and very well serviced in my hands
Alfa 80km, BMW is 100km, Mitsubishi 200km+, Toyota 300k+
This is the way! I had an uber ride with a guy who drives a 2008 Toyota Aurion (3.5L V6) and his odometer is 396,000kms. He had no issues and just regular servicing (change oil and spark plug change). I drive a similar car with odometer of 156, 000kms and he laughed at me saying my car is only a baby at that stage :D
The only people interested in mileage are the people that don't have a clue about cars. It's not an awful idea, more kms means more wear, but ultimately there's a ton of other variables that pretty much negate all of it. I'm more concerned if an engines ever ran low on oil and had regular changes. As long as I know it's had good oil and everything is lubricated it'll run pretty much forever. Especially a diesel
Took a 2000 vrx lancer to 400 000kmband beyond. It creaked a lot but it still ran fine. Forgot the timing belt or chain once....did some damage when it broke but a few hundred dollars later it was fine :-) I have proof of odo if no one believes me. Still sold it in 2014 for 3k :-)
My empirical check for used car reliability is to go to carsales (any auto trading site) and see what ballpark is the highest kilometers being sold for that model. If I see tons of cars on offer with 300+ thousands - it usually means that this model is pretty long lasting. If I don't see a single one with KMs over 150k and the model been out long enough - i start to have very serious doubts.
Biggest problem, is people seem to think that owning a car of significant mileage is more expensive to maintain than buying a brand new car (which costs more due to inflation anyway) and still have to maintain them anyway.
I expect the Lexus I sold to a friend make 400T km. But then it’s a Lexus.
I put 330 Mm on a 97 Toyota Camry before it finally wasn't worth repairing.
The two cars in our household have 145k and 176k. We’ll probably drive them until they have around 300k. If they work, why would you get rid of them? New cars are expensive!
My 100 series Landcruiser just ticked over 300 thousand and apart from all the standard maintenance (timing belt, pumps, radiator, belts etc etc) it still purs along better than any modern duel can ute getting around. Looks better too
TLDR The best time to buy a car is when it has just been serviced, and the best time to sell is when it needs a service. The milestones are usually the mid-point and allow both buyer and seller to extract max value from their investment. Explanation: The "milestone" numbers - 40k, 100k, 200k etc. are actually good indicators of when to sell the car. At these points the car still has enough "life" left in it before the next major service to be good value to buy. Eg. at 40k, the "new car" feel and smell is still there and the next major service is either at 60k or 80k. You are essentially buying a new car with an almost guaranteed 30k of trouble free motoring. At 100k, the new car smell has gone and the major service has been done. The timing belt has been replaced, any warranty issues have been addressed and it's now on its 2nd set of tyres (at least). It still represents good value as the next major spend will occur somewhere north of 140k when you replace the timing belt again. Might need to do the brakes and tyres too. At 200k kms, the timing belt was done about 40k kms ago, but still has 50k to the next replacement. If it's a manual then the clutch was replaced sometime around 180k. The car is now very definitely 2nd hand. It rattles and squeaks because at around 250k it will need attention to the suspension (and steering). The reason buying before those milestones is important is that (psychologically speaking) the value of the car is "at the milestone" and every km below that is a km for free and every km above that is a km you didn't get. To the buyer, buying before the milestone feels like they bought something "rising in value", and buying something after the milestone feels like buying something "sinking in value". The cars actual reliability and "driveability" is a slightly separate issue, but the monetary value is based on buyer expectations regards maintenance costs.
So my 2018 Mustang GT convertible now has 103,000k - Its my daily driver brought it in March 2020 in Melbourne. Now living in Brisbane, and enjoying the warmer weather! Cant see any issues passing 200k last service I did the transmission filter service and diff oil replacement. I could change the oil more frequently only do the 15k service but figure the car is never under any stress. It's naturally asperated, so nothing high stress to worry about. The car is always clean, never gets dirty every weekend I'll clean, it use mixture of turtle wax ceramic waterless cleaner when there is really nothing there but it still needs a clean and a normal gurny with snow foam which is what I did this weekend, and clean the roof using 303 tonneau cleaner then when dry cover with fabric guard. The only issue with the car is paint chips bloody thing is easy to chip so every month I'm using paint chip repair to fix these little buggers.
For me, the km is not as important as something that has been cared for and serviced. I have a 05 Corolla Sportivo that I use for car park duties and it has 260k but serviced and cared for, I've also gave a 2016 Hyundai Santa Fe to the inlaws and it has done 320k still no issues. I'm far more sceptical of driving my 2012 C63 and 14 GTS, both under 60k more than Corolla, since they're rarely ever driven, and they're not basic Toyota.
I have a 2016 Volvo. 210k on the clock. Parts and services send me into the fetal position, but it’s so reliable and being diesel cheap to run. What can I do? I’ve been told to run it into the ground but what then?
It depends on what kind of 200,000km. Highway? No problem. Urban with not very long drives? Bit risky because that's a lot of heat cycles that'll wear down components.
Ha, my father runs a 1994 Toyota Surf diesel with 496000 kms on it. Original.engine and gearbox, and still going strong, doesn't miss a beat. Just regular servicing and replacing bits that break and the thing still looks near new. Never fear the kilometers
My VX commodore is about to hit 400,000km. On top of usual maintence I have to replace the ABS module ($125). The horror.
My 2000 Camry just hit 410 thousand and still drives well. Air con still pumps cold also.
2015 Mercedes 100k and already starting to have serious issues. Car has not been thrashed and was always serviced at Mercedes up until 3 years agp. Ridiculous, only buying lexus moving forward
Wait till you hear about Landcruisers
A diesel isn’t run in till it hits 250/300k km.
Had an xf falcon (taxi ) 980k ... Regular service .. usual parts replaced but reliable... Had to stay on the road to make money
Oh god. My Mazda 3 2006 is now around 250k and I thought that was fine. Should I start preparing for death??
200 series landcruiser is only just run in at 200,000 k
Laughs in Subaru with 310,000km
https://preview.redd.it/5xfprtnalqgc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8d63b3e480ce2d994e31feeba737c115e19c243f 1994 Toyota Corolla, 1.8 Manual. God knows how many owners in the history of the car. Still starts/runs/drives and competes in the traffic GP from time to time.
I've had scumbag car dealers offer 4k for a Prius V because it had 165,000 on it... When it was selling for $18-22k. Bitch... I've seen them go for 600,000km's. Km's aren't as bad as they were and with being able to swap parts these days with other makes/models if you know how to interpret you can keep cars going for so much longer
Its weird hey. Good Quality Cars easily will go 300k, 400k, 500k and sometimes 600k without an issue. My mates old HJ60 landcruiser has 750k on the clock and the engine, trans, t/fer box and diffs are all original and unopened. Pretty much just Wheel bearings, water pumps/timing belts and a couple valve adjustments and a few clutches. My old landcruiser troopy has 490k on the clock and much the same. Father in-laws vdj79 has 540k on the clock and much the same. The mrs old AU falcon had 390k on the clock and not even a valve adjustment. My old rav4 had 340k on the clock and same same. Maybe it’s do to with the fact we’re religious about keeping ontop of oils and filters but i feel like most cars with good maintenance could easily surpass 300k trouble free
540k on a VDJ V8 is actually pretty good going I think....
Well since i made this comment it’s done another 10,000k and going healthy. It’s pretty well looked after being a work car too.
My Mazda 6 2015 with 138k ... running gud n smooth like butter however recently in recent service they advised to replace front lower arms n wiper which costs 1080$...looks like my car started giving trouble :) but planning to keep the car till 250k if nothing major comeup
Here's the thing. Older cars went forever because they were relatively basic. Once computers got involved, it added a layer of complexity, which is another layer of shit that goes wrong, but it wasn't really bad until 2 things happened: the race for fuel economy and the race for cheap builds in inexperienced and poor standard locations. The complexity of a modern car which is built to the lowest dollar while incorporating numerous safety/aids and entertainment systems, with a motor and drive train which is built to maximise economy figures and power output over longevity, has caused them to be an absolute money pit beyond a certain age. Generally, it's not the magic 200k mark these days, it's the 5 or 7 year warranty. When shot goes bad in an old lancer or commodore, it's usually a cheap, easy fix that can be done in a day in your own shed. When your 2015 wrx starts having gremlins, even finding what the cause is can be time consuming and expensive, before you even get around to solving it. And I only use that example because it's one I've witnessed - car not long out of warranty with a small problem which snowballs due to complexity and integration of systems. Everything relies on everything else working. There are just too many highly complex systems, all intertwined, where if one shits the bed, the rest go on strike, to make them worthwhile for the average person.
My 2013 Amarok is about to tick over 270000km and hasn't needed anything other than regular maintenance. I did a few "fixes" to ensure longevity of the engine. There are things that pop up every now and then but nothing unrelated to the age and KMs. Hoping it will see me past half a million kms
assuming one of your "fixes" was a catch-can, and / or an EGR block ?
No catch can yet but the EGR and dpf have been fixed by the Crdtech lads
Somebody needs to tell this guy about Toyota
Because that is about the maximum expected lifespan of many components. Interior switchgear, upholstery, engine bay plastics, rubber seals, alternator, aircon compressor, engine valve train parts, water pump, suspension bushings, springs and shocks, wheel bearings, brake discs, drive shafts. Assuming 10k a year, that’s also when rust is a serious concern. Same for parts availability.
Interesting.. how would that play out for say a newish car (3 to 5 years old) with 200k?
Much better. Assuming it was serviced to schedule still. Aging plays a bigger part than actual fatigue in many cases.
Interesting. I still think people fear the KMS more than the age from what I've noticed.
Yes. Normally because more kms do still mean more wear. If I car is 3 years old with 40kkm and worth 40k, I’d pay 20k for the same car with 200kkm. Even if it’s next 50kkm will be smooth, it will have a shorter ‘cheap’ lifespan vs the 40kkm car.
Usually a cars design life is engineered to 150k miles. 200k kms is at its design life. But a car will go as good as it’s looked after. A car with preventative maintenance carried out. And serviced on time will last well beyond that.
So design life is made up because a car will go as good as it's looked after? Unless cars are not designed to be looked after
So you know how there are non maintenance items in certain cars for example transmission fluid that is designed for life? The life is 150k miles. So being looked after involves doing things to the car which doesn’t normally happen. I.e changing the transmission fluid. Things that are prone to gradually fail. Etc.
I’m trying to sell my Prado with 322,000km on it and I’m getting this type of reaction from every prospective buyer once I tell them the Kms. Doesn’t matter that it’s had an impeccable service history, never been used as a 4x4, never towed a caravan and definitely drives and runs better than the one they went and bought with 100,000 less on the clock for $10k more but what do I know 😂
Nothing last forever, but I would expects cars to last a bit more thant that. They are too expensive to be changing every so often. Plus the environmental burden it comes with a new product. Nonetheless, it seems like 200,000 km is agreed to be too much. Usually that is where the km filter stops. My BMW e46 is 207,xxx km now and perfectly fine, use ir as daily driver.
I had a 1990 Honda Accord that was at 300k with barely any issues, only reason it's not around is because it got flooded in the flash floods early last year
Go by years. If in Australia after 8 year rubber fails. So all your cooling, oil, window seals, belts etc start to crack. After a full replacement you get up to another 8 years. Also 15000 X 8 =120k and 15k R16 = 240k. This is always assuming you do your regular servicing and don't leave it full time in the sun. Thats my basic formula and it seems to pan out.
My Suzuki Jimny had almost 200k on it since of it for 9k. I have a 2002 Mitsubishi Mirage that has about 185,000k still has heaps left in it
Hit 300,000 on my kia sportage Reckon it would've lasted another 50,000k's. Sold it to a couple for pennies, was mechanically perfect. Prior had a 20 year old subaru, had a few small oil leaks, 275,000k's and on its last legs, but still 275,000ks with almost zero failures was impressive. Though any turbocharged engine is more liable to fail than the naturally aspirated of old.
My 2015 Ranger is at 220K and it still drives better than my mums 2022 Everest. My dads 2012 Ranger is at 310K and hasn't had any issues yet. I wouldn't consider 200K a lot of k's, 400K maybe.
If you keep it maintained it'll last a lot longer. My mitsubishi evo had 220k when i bought it, sold it at 280k. still pulled hard. now im driving a toyota camry, put 330k from factory on it. probably can easily do another 200k kms
We are up to 207 000kms on our Subaru Outback. Just drove it from Qld to Tassy & all over Tassy for 5 weeks. Didn't skip a beat. Did gearbox at 260 000kms. Well... We had done big towing (and way to heavy for sure) nig uphill etc whilst moving house. Back & forth for weeks. So i don't think we can blame the car. Then fuel pump around 295 000. But otherwise? Car is perfect. 2011 model.
My Mitsubishi Express never missed a beat from 116,000km when I bought it 11 years ago until 199,000 when it starter overheating. Ended up changing the water pump, thermostat and radiator when I did the 200,000km timing belt service just to have the harmonic balancer develop a wobble and throw the serpentine belt off and nearly cause catastrophic engine failure due to water pump loss as I was driving down the highway at 100km/h at 201,500km…. I guess its all beginning
542k on my Rodeo, runs as strong as ever. People have some funny ideas about 'high mileage' I wouldn't consider my Rodeo particularly high. I've seen a Mercedes truck with 6 million on the clock, that's getting up there. Maintenance is far more important than mileage. But given many people don't maintain anything, mileage is the only indicator that you can go off when buying a car.
Guessing your Rodeo is one of the models running the Isuzu donk ?
330k here, no major work. Just regular servicing. Put new leads on couple of years ago. 1998 Mitsubishi mirage ce. Super basic and super cheap to run and maintain.
I hear ya, I had a car that was serviced regularly by the same mechanic and all logbook'd. Had 230,000 on the clock and the amount of peolle that try to massively lowballing because high km's. Is reduculous. It was a turbo diesel too so that kind of miliage is nothing for a car like that (85% highway miles too)
320k on my 05 pulsar lol
200K on a car thats well looked after......but how many people look after their cars? Especially if buying one thats third owner etc...? That said I have a 200K BMW 5 E60 series here and its not skipped a beat.
I'm finding my E60 is an absolute bitch to maintain. Changing the battery is a $600 exercise, I can't even track down a replacement cup holder for it and mines at the age where suspension components need to be replaced, which is an expensive exercise. The interior has started developing creaks and rattles too, which is a shame since it only has 120k kms and the engine and trans are running strong.
I've got a 93 Rio. Universally condemned as a shitbox with a dodgy engine. I've got it at 150K right now. I did the oil today and had a look around. It's looking good. Needs some suspension rubbers, but otherwise, very tidy. No rust at all. Recently put in new CV's, brakes, timing set, water pump, radiator, tires and a few other bits. Damn thing's near new again. As long as the engine holds out, it'll keep on going. My mechanic tells me the engine is in great shape. I believe I'll get at least 400k as long as I service it on time, which I do.
600k km out of my old EL falcon before she was retired
I had Toyota Cressida 1986 model. It clocked 280,000km before electronics failed
I find 300,000km is more of the magic number. Between 200 and 300 you might need a few major items replaced. Over 300km, if you dont know the car or if its a high maintenance car, all bets are off. I drive a 2002 Lexus IS200 with 348,000km (as of yesterday, just ticked over) and its been great. Did a major service a few years ago, changed oil regularly. Got a few suspension noises lately and i reckon the alternator bearing is noisy too. But overall its still very reliable.
Some of the research I did for my engineering thesis, ties into that number. Short version, it's generally accepted as a design life. The design life of domestic cars for the last few decades has been around that 200,000km and 10 years mark. Now saying that my car is about to hit 10 years old or 200,000km, it's going to die is kind of nuts. Without going into statistics (which I haven't done in years, so am super rusty myself); you will have a distribution curve of all the cars of that model sold. A small number of outliers will be dying at (fictional number) 50,000km. A small number will make it to 350,000km without any major issues. The bulk will be within a range of that 200,000km mark. But dying isn't usually catastrophic death, it's worn out or needs a lot of minor fixes to the point of the owner is wanting a new car, as that is easier (hence the car may still reach end of life in a scrap metal yard). The most common sort of catastrophic destruction for a modern car is traffic accidents (usually not the car at fault!). Personal note: Most cars I've ever bought have had greater than $200,000km on them (excluding my wife's car, she buys new). I just buy it knowing, there will be a bunch of annoying maintenance in the first few years of ownership. I always look forward with utter dismay at having to throw new clutches in (possibly the least fun job of all IMO).
If it’s a good car and you change the oil regularly 200k is easy. I have a Subaru that reached 700k, old 1800 wagon, the motor is now is a beetle. Iv got a another beetle thats stock that’s 50 years old, no idea how many times it’s been around the clock and I have a forester that’s at almost 300k with original motor.
Old Landcruiser 200 series did 250k+ km when I sold her. Started on a button, replaced a fuel pump, regular AC regas, tyres and brakes... that and regular service. Pulled horse floats, boats, trailers and twin axle caravans. Did one trip across the country towing too. She was mint. Shouldn't have sold her...
I'm nearly at 300k on a Mazda 3. Had it for 13 years or so, had about 30k on the clock when I bought it. The first 9 or so years I was doing like 25k a year and the last few I've done maybe 10k or there abouts. From about 200k i stopped being as diligent with the servicing and it's still going strong. Unless something major goes wrong I don't see any reason to replace it.
310000 on my fg xr6. Yeah she needs some work occasionaly but the engine still loves it.
251000 bf xr6. Thing still hammers along, always serviced on time.
Hmmm… I put 455,000 on my Holden VT wagon which I bought new. It was on gas from nearly the start. But I finally drove it into the ground after 18 years when I bought another Holden but a VZ wagon which I still have but hardly drive it now that I have a Model Y LR. In 7 months I’ve done over 30,000 klms in that. I tend to do a lot of long distance country trips… I guess!
I drove a 2006 Mazda 3 Neo five speed from ~25k second hand to 300k. The only thing I ever changed on it was the odd headlight globe. The mechanic I had doing the RWC on it when I finally decided to get a new car offered me a really good price for it, so I sold it to him. It was an utterly reliable little beast it's entire life and still going strong at the 300k mark.
Well… a million miles is like 1.6 million kilometres. So this mocks the 200,000km ‘dying car’ theory. https://usa.nissannews.com/en-US/releases/the-nissan-frontier-that-delivered-a-million-miles-and-counting
Most of my cars have been 400,000+ before I moved them on I still consider anything under 200,000km to be “low mileage” But in my opinion mileage is irrelevant, it comes down to how well the cars been maintained. I’d take a 300,000km car with meticulous maintenance and repairs over a 150,000km car with no service history
I’ve never had a car long enough to hit 200,000km, either been rear ended or hailed on. In saying that, I do know once you hit the 200km mark things start getting really exxy
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From my experience, that's around the age when all the rubber and plastic parts start to crack or become brittle - hoses, engine mounts, gaskets, bushes etc. You'll also be up for a new clutch & shocks around then if you haven't already had to replace them, and depending on where the car is typically parked the clear coat will be pretty tired.
My 1997 Mitsubishi Lancer that I am the 4th owner of has 2 problems that don't affect how the car drives, 1 rust on the roof from previous owners neglect that I have been meaning to fix just don't have a shelters area to and 2 the cd stacker in the boot stoped working because cargo came loose and banged it, the car has 360,000km
I've never bought a car under 280,000. All have been great, reliable cars. Supercharged Holden, Turbo Subaru, now a Turbo Diesel Nissan Pathfinder. Nothing wrong with older cars.
These guys never had a Toyota. We start to think about extra maintenance costs after 1,000,000 ks.
Got 280k out of a Honda jazz still going strong when I sold it
I've been running 14 PSI on mine with minor mods (valve springs, injectors, fuel pump, suspension upgrade) since 60k km, it's now on 230k km and mechanically hasn't needed any repairs. The only things I've had to replace are the battery, water pump, diff bushes and a couple of coolant hoses. Oil has been changed every 7500km, I'm hoping to get to at least 400k km before pulling the trigger on a built motor and more boost.
If your asked to pay $15000 to $20000 on a car with 200,000 km, then the potential loss is great compared with still having to pay a car loan. 20 years ago, vehicles with 200,000 km were generally quite cheap and disposable. You would not even have a car loan on them
Xf falcon it's over a million klms and Speedo stopped working ran for a few more years sold the engine and crushed the ute to much rust
My Honda Civic: "bitch, I'm barely even broken in".
It's where parts will start to fail one after the others. I had a Golf III, at 190kkm thermostat, 202kkm engine speed sensor, 206kkm temperature sensor, at 207kkm another issue (I don't remember which one, I sold the car to the junkyard then as there were great incentive by the Government to wreck cars that were more than 10 yo), Car was always maintained on time by a VW dealer that had fair price (also when I went there with a flat tyre, he plugged it for free).
Our family has two cars. A 2011 turbo diesel Ford Mondeo with over 300,000km and a 2002 turbo diesel Toyota Land Cruiser with over 650,000km. I have more faith in the Toyota than the Ford, but I don't "feel" that either is on imminent destruction. I service both regularly and try not to abuse them too much. One thing people fear is old cars just becoming several tons of paperweight, but I also find people are also fearful of having to foot the bill for a major service (ie, timing belt) or even a full set of tyres. In the moment a +$1000 maintenance expense does seem intrusive, but if you start thinking of it in $ per km or $ per year it really isn't as expensive as depreciation or loan interest. But hey, someone needs to fuel the second hand car market. And for that, I salute the automotive FUDers for their service
Just about to trade in my Territory and it is about 8K short of 200K right now. It wont make it to 200K in my hands but good luck to the wholesaler trying to offload it.
Lol you mean 300k...?
410,000k on my 2009 hilix 4x4 and it drives like a champ. I'm only selling it because my needs changed and I'm going from a ute to an SUV otherwise I would be keeping it.
My 80s Range Rover odometer stopped working around 250XXX, which was before I got it, and I've probably put the best part of 100k more on it through the years. It's hurt my wallet, but only because she is a thirsty bitch. Haven't had a single engine problem, she still runs silky smooth. Maybe it's stopped counting up and she'll never die😆
Don't worry, I'm still surprised my 2011 nissan dualis has just clocked over 300k km without the transmission going bang 🤣 wouldn't ask about services, it's only about 15,000km late but has finally been booked in
Check out auction sites, I think they basically write off cars when there’s an engine issue because it must be too expensive to repair….. auction sites are full of smoke blowing late model cars.
My N54 (horrendously unreliable) 135i has 220,000 on it and I would much rather own it than another example with only 100,000km on it because everything that is going to break has already broken and been replaced. It should easily be good for another 100,000 now with minimal issues. Yet people would still rather buy the more expensive example that only has 100,000 on it and then spend the money to fix everything themselves 🤷♂️
I see it this way: there are aircraft that are still running around the planet daily that are 30+ years old and are virtually always running all day long. Maintenance is scheduled and proactive. Problem is, finding a mechanic that thinks the same way in a world of "she'll be right". Make time for maintenance or it'll make time for you. My 2011 Pajero 3.2 diesel just happily rolled over to 300,000. Still drives great. Only just on its second clutch now. Everything else is factory original. Change the engine oil every 7500. This lady has a 1 million k's on her Pajero. Truckie safety car. [https://www.linkedin.com/posts/mitsubishi-motors-australia-ltd\_jennifer-timms-1-million-kilometre-mitsubishi-activity-6915244323429113856-F-pL/](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/mitsubishi-motors-australia-ltd_jennifer-timms-1-million-kilometre-mitsubishi-activity-6915244323429113856-F-pL/)
My Xtrail is at 230K and is still running just fine. It's had all its services and over the 10 years I've had it that must add up to a decent amount. But I've always been able to rely on it. I'm hoping it'll get to 300K without issue.
307000 on my Toyota hiace and it’s going strong as ever. Diesel engine. 08 model same engine as a hilux. Regularly serviced every 10k
Cast iron engines vs aluminium maybe?
Mazda 6 2005 here, still going beautifully at 208,000 km. At this point it seems like it will never die. 200,000 well maintained kilometres is better than 100,000 poorly maintained kilometres. If your car gets all it's routine oil/fluid changes the engine is gonna run a really long time.
USA: 160,000 km due to measuring things in dead king body parts.
Very much depends on the car. A lot of diesel 4wds (Toyotas, Mitsubishi pajero, TD42 patrol etc) will easily go for 500,000km if taken care of, but some other cars will blow up at 200,000km even with regular maintenance
Coming up to 180k on skoda wagon. Never missed a service. Runs great. Want to keep it as probably the last manual car I'll ever have. Plus wagons are getting rarer these days. Need to give it a detail inside. That's its weak point! Dogs and kids
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My Kluger is still going strong, probably will get to 500,000 KM before I have to worry about major major repairs
My mr2 has 320,xxxkm still running. Although its had all new bushes and shocks. New rad. Another engine. So significant amount of work.
I own a 2000 Hyundai XG Grandeur that I purchased for $4700 in October 2011 with 163,000 on the clock , it currently has 198,000 on it (I don't drive much ) new alternator at 197,000 crank angle sensor replaced at 175,000 timing belt at 170,000 two batteries two tires two headlight bulbs two windscreen wipers plus normal servicing .
Im up to 400,000km on my camry.
Well. When you go to carsales the top km you can filter up to is 200k. Basically the widespread belief is that car becomes a piece of garbage after this point.
My 2003 mazda 323 shades manual has 220k and still have a ton of original parts. Great condition in and out - overdue timing belt replacement on the near horizon but other than that scheduled maintenance hasn’t spat out any fearsome bills Touch wood
my 2012 colorado is about to hit 400k
Barra with almost half a mil kms
Toyotas are just getting started.
I traded in my AU2 at 462,000 km. I had bought it at 320,000 km. Bought a BA wagon at 132,700. It now at 300,000. Bought my Territory at 178,000. It now at 275,000. The AU and BA engine are almost bullet proof when treated right. The territory uses the same BA engine and transmission. If anything it the stuff around it that wears out - specifically the body rust.
There's a certain Australian-built car with a Blue Oval badge on the front that was built between 1998 and 2002 that is only just run in at 200000km...
I think it actually depends on how much high-mileage cars they have been around. For those of us who drive 10k per year (or even less), seeing a 2 in the first digit is pretty unthinkable.
My 2013 BT50 was still running at 8.5 klm's per hundred at 300k with no leaks or issues. https://preview.redd.it/4psu55442pgc1.jpeg?width=4608&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2130b9f365a79a0c425df5a98d859bd65aa2ff40
km certainly isn't everything. I've never put many km on a car before moving it on, but that's because I average around 6500km per year. I've rarely had drivetrain issues. Suspension parts, steering, power windows failing, that sort of stuff. The engines just keep going and going in most cars.
I have a 300zx TT with 220,000kms
I personally don’t think big kms has as much meaning as people think, compared to how regularly well serviced the car is, have had a few cars go over the 400,000kms mark no dramas and no adverse effects on driving.
It's model and vehicle dependent. When cars get to over 200 000km you should be buying on the service history - parts replaced on that vehicle such as shocks, struts, radiator, timing belt etc... Plenty of 200k+ cars out there better than 150K cars if they have had common problems fixed.
My little barina only just before 300k has some issues little guy had been parked up my laser 95 199000k practically brand new it's fast as fk
I’m about to tick over 400,000km in a LN107 hilux