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Old 10-22-2013, 06:29 PM
 
Location: MO->MI->CA->TX->MA
7,032 posts, read 14,483,506 times
Reputation: 5580

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My intuition says that the car that's driven many miles for long trips and relatively little stop and go traffic will be in worse shape over the long run than the car that's driven little but for mostly short trips.

Let's use 2 cars as an example:

Car A: Driven 5000 miles a year, mostly short trips of around 5 miles at a time, 100% local and stop and go traffic.

Car B: Driven 20,000 miles a year, mostly long trips of around 20+ miles at a time, 70% highway, 30% local and stop and go.

Assume all other miscellaneous variable are equal: both cars are the same make/model bought new at year 0, both cars follow the recommended maintenance schedule, both drivers are equally aggressive, both use the exact same gas, both are in the exact same city and climate, etc. (If I didn't mention the variable, assume it's the same for both cars.)

Given all of this, would Car A be in better shape after 5 years than Car B? Despite the notion that short trips "destroy" a car, I'd think Car A will be in better shape due to its low miles. But it'll be in vastly worse shape than a car that's attained its 25,000 miles through mostly long trips.

What's the conclusion?
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Old 10-22-2013, 06:32 PM
 
8,777 posts, read 19,863,242 times
Reputation: 5291
Quote:
Originally Posted by ragnarkar View Post
My intuition says that the car that's driven many miles for long trips and relatively little stop and go traffic will be in worse shape over the long run than the car that's driven little but for mostly short trips.

Let's use 2 cars as an example:

Car A: Driven 5000 miles a year, mostly short trips of around 5 miles at a time, 100% local and stop and go traffic.

Car B: Driven 20,000 miles a year, mostly long trips of around 20+ miles at a time, 70% highway, 30% local and stop and go.

Assume all other miscellaneous variable are equal: both cars are the same make/model bought new at year 0, both cars follow the recommended maintenance schedule, both drivers are equally aggressive, both use the exact same gas, both are in the exact same city and climate, etc. (If I didn't mention the variable, assume it's the same for both cars.)

Given all of this, would Car A be in better shape after 5 years than Car B? Despite the notion that short trips "destroy" a car, I'd think Car A will be in better shape due to its low miles. But it'll be in vastly worse shape than a car that's attained its 25,000 miles through mostly long trips.

What's the conclusion?
Car B with 25000 miles? Or 100000 miles? Please clarify.
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Old 10-22-2013, 06:35 PM
 
Location: MO->MI->CA->TX->MA
7,032 posts, read 14,483,506 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stratford, ct. Resident View Post
car b with 25000 miles? Or 100000 miles? Please clarify.
5*20000 = 100,000
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Old 10-22-2013, 06:38 PM
 
8,777 posts, read 19,863,242 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ragnarkar View Post
5*20000 = 100,000
Yes, i know how to multiply.


Reread this again:
Quote:
Originally Posted by ragnarkar View Post
But it'll be in vastly worse shape than a car that's attained its 25,000 miles through mostly long trips.
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Old 10-22-2013, 06:39 PM
 
Location: Annandale, VA
5,094 posts, read 5,174,352 times
Reputation: 4233
Quote:
Originally Posted by ragnarkar View Post
My intuition says that the car that's driven many miles for long trips and relatively little stop and go traffic will be in worse shape over the long run than the car that's driven little but for mostly short trips.

Let's use 2 cars as an example:

Car A: Driven 5000 miles a year, mostly short trips of around 5 miles at a time, 100% local and stop and go traffic.

Car B: Driven 20,000 miles a year, mostly long trips of around 20+ miles at a time, 70% highway, 30% local and stop and go.

Assume all other miscellaneous variable are equal: both cars are the same make/model bought new at year 0, both cars follow the recommended maintenance schedule, both drivers are equally aggressive, both use the exact same gas, both are in the exact same city and climate, etc. (If I didn't mention the variable, assume it's the same for both cars.)

Given all of this, would Car A be in better shape after 5 years than Car B? Despite the notion that short trips "destroy" a car, I'd think Car A will be in better shape due to its low miles. But it'll be in vastly worse shape than a car that's attained its 25,000 miles through mostly long trips.

What's the conclusion?

Car A is in the worst condition. It may not have driven as many miles, but the engine was still running and the transmission has done more work. I think cars should have hour meters on their engines similar to airplanes to get the real "mileage" of the motor.
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Old 10-22-2013, 06:42 PM
 
8,777 posts, read 19,863,242 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Spaten_Drinker View Post
Car A is in the worst condition. It may not have driven as many miles, but the engine was still running and the transmission has done more work. I think cars should have hour meters on their engines similar to airplanes to get the real "mileage" of the motor.
You would be incorrect, if the OP is saying that Car A has 25K and Car B has 100K.
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Old 10-22-2013, 06:42 PM
 
3,244 posts, read 6,300,862 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Stratford, Ct. Resident View Post
Car B with 25000 miles? Or 100000 miles? Please clarify.
I think he means car A will have 25,000 miles after 5 years and car B will have 100,000 miles after 5 years. If car B had 30% of its driving through local trips that means 30,000 in local mileage and an extra 70,000 in highway miles. Car A will be in better shape.
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Old 10-22-2013, 06:44 PM
 
8,777 posts, read 19,863,242 times
Reputation: 5291
Quote:
Originally Posted by capoeira View Post
I think he means car A will have 25,000 miles after 5 years and car B will have 100,000 miles after 5 years. If car B had 30% of its driving through local trips that means 30,000 in local mileage and an extra 70,000 in highway miles. Car A will be in better shape.
Yes. Gold star for you.
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Old 10-22-2013, 06:59 PM
 
15,799 posts, read 20,504,199 times
Reputation: 20974
I think it depends.

I'll take a car that cruises at 75mph for 100,000 miles with little wear on brakes, shocks, tires, etc than one that drive 25k through city traffic idling for hours on end wearing the transmission, brakes and shocks on potholes and such accelerating and braking hard all the meanwhile.

There is really no blanket statement to cover which is better. Do you want a car that has 100k of regular, detailed maintainence, or a car with 50k miles on 1 oil change?
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Old 10-23-2013, 03:30 AM
 
Location: Florida
3,398 posts, read 6,082,768 times
Reputation: 10282
Quote:
Originally Posted by BostonMike7 View Post
I think it depends.

I'll take a car that cruises at 75mph for 100,000 miles with little wear on brakes, shocks, tires, etc than one that drive 25k through city traffic idling for hours on end wearing the transmission, brakes and shocks on potholes and such accelerating and braking hard all the meanwhile.

There is really no blanket statement to cover which is better. Do you want a car that has 100k of regular, detailed maintainence, or a car with 50k miles on 1 oil change?
I tend to agree with this.

I mean, what tires you out more, a steady jog or suicide sprints?
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