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Old 07-12-2011, 11:48 AM
 
Location: Baltimore
1,022 posts, read 2,535,780 times
Reputation: 1175

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Quote:
Originally Posted by jtur88 View Post
I really meant it when I said don't let anyone else drive your car. I believe a car that has been driven by only one driver has a much better chance of making high mileage, than one that has been driven by several drivers.

I believe a car, like a pair of shoes or a kitchen knife, subtly "learns" how to "live" if it is driven by the same person all the time. Everything you do to a car is a form of abuse, and the car learns to accept a tolerance of abuse within a certain range. If an event happens outside that tolerance range, it pushes the car beyond its accustomed limit, and that event reporesents a life-shortening abuse-peak.

Also, you yourself might be perfectly capable of learning to get 300K out of a car. But that doesn't mean that the other driver is also capable of doing so. Every minute that the car is under the control of a 120K driver, its lifetime is being pushed back toward 120K.
Well, my mom's old car ('97 Altima) turned into the hand-me-down car. My sister & I took pretty good care of it when we drove it in college; we replaced the axles, muffler, intake manifold gasket, plugs, filters, O2 sensor, disty cap/rotor, alternator, and oil at no more than 5k intervals.

My 19 year old brother drives it now and knows nothing about cars. It's got 235k on it with no real issues but he does not check the oil. One day we checked it and realized that there was a leak from the valve cover gasket, so I tried to show him how to replace the gasket and maybe he could learn something about cars in the process. Too bad he'd rather be on Facebook and playing with his phone. At least the engine still looked very clean when I had the VC off. With some care this car could easily go to 300k but my brother might fack that up.
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Old 07-12-2011, 04:51 PM
 
6,205 posts, read 7,419,953 times
Reputation: 3563
Quote:
Originally Posted by las vegas drunk View Post
This one is a useless article. Minimal common sense plus reading the owner's manual that comes with your car and everyone can write such article.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 00molavi View Post
It also has a lot to do with the type of miles you put on the car. Stop and go short distance driving won't probably render a surviving car for that many miles. Hence my wife's cars not going past 150K miles. In our case is the pile up of age and all the "small" things that end up scraping the car.
You buy a car to serve your needs, not vice versa.

Quote:
Originally Posted by wanneroo View Post
I have 151K on my Audi now and it's 10 years old. A lot of stuff is simply wearing out on it, requiring constant maintenance to the point there is always something that needs fixed. I addressed most of mechanical stuff recently, but it needs new speakers, paint touch up, door trim fixed, hood strut replaced.

I am getting to the point of how much more do I want to sink into it. Mostly it runs fine otherwise.

Hopefully I can keep it as a beater and buy something newer to run for business trips.
There is something most people don't realize. Time is a factor as well. Not only driven miles. Things wear out and break even with moderate use. Tires - crack with age. Other parts (knobs, fans, wipers, electric wires) corrode and fail with time. Engine sensors, catalytic converters, dash board lights and gauges...you name it. Maintaining a car "by the book" is seriously expensive. After 60-80K miles, you need to replace the timing belt. Very expensive. Flushing transmissions is also expensive. A common practice today is to replace rotors each time you change brake pads. It adds up to many $ (unless of course you do most work by yourself).
In America today labor costs are enormous. The shop charges the same amount for a 15 year old car with 200K miles as for a 3 year old with 30K miles. That is the reason why many prefer to buy new. You are covered for 3-5 years and with no hassle and low chances for things to go wrong.
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Old 07-12-2011, 05:04 PM
 
32,516 posts, read 36,985,292 times
Reputation: 32571
Quote:
Originally Posted by jtur88 View Post
1. Don't let your wife (or anybody else) drive it.
2. Don't let your kids ride in it.
3. Learn to listen to it, and drive by ear.
1. Yes, because DH moves the seat back and changes the settings on the radio and I'm simply a better driver than he is.

2. They can ride in it, but they can't eat in it.

3. You betcha.
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Old 07-13-2011, 12:58 PM
 
Location: Las Vegas, NV
5,779 posts, read 14,508,579 times
Reputation: 4019
Quote:
Originally Posted by las vegas drunk View Post
My 1991 Ford Escort just turned 150,000 miles. I guess it is half way through its life.

How To Get 300K Miles Out Of Your Car
My 2003 Nissan Altima turned 96,000 the other day, 35,000 on the motor, looks, and drives like new
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Old 07-13-2011, 07:04 PM
 
Location: Raleigh NC
3,644 posts, read 8,547,208 times
Reputation: 4505
1990 Jeep Cherokee 4.0

412,376.

Yeah.

Here's your answer:

Synthetic, synthetic, synthetic.
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Old 07-14-2011, 02:10 AM
 
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,548 posts, read 57,460,499 times
Reputation: 45902
300k is really not much. Of my 28 VW's (most bought for under $100), I only have a few that are under 300k miles. The one I just drove in the driveway shows 316,856 but speedo has been broken for many yrs.

Amsoil
5000 mile OIL FILTER ONLY changes, 20k or 1/yr between crankcase oil changes. Many are still on original tranny oil (I never even checked them, unless leaking). I have drove many home (50 - 100 miles with a big hole in the tranny case. Only One didn't like that much (ker-chunk )

I recently test drove a '96 Passat w/ 550k miles. still getting 52 mpg @ 70 mph w/ AC
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Old 07-14-2011, 03:19 AM
 
Location: SF Bay Area
14,317 posts, read 22,285,866 times
Reputation: 18436
Friend of mine works as a mechanic at Lexus. Says he regularly sees these vehicles pull in with over 300K miles on them.

Helps when you start with a quality product to begin with.
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Old 07-16-2011, 05:04 PM
 
Location: Huntersville/Charlotte, NC and Washington, DC
26,677 posts, read 41,509,172 times
Reputation: 41282
My 2001 Honda Accord is coming up on 120k, and she is still alive, needs a couple of things but otherwise she is fine and just paid off,
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Old 07-16-2011, 05:34 PM
 
8,402 posts, read 24,098,103 times
Reputation: 6822
Quote:
Originally Posted by wanneroo View Post
I have 151K on my Audi now and it's 10 years old. A lot of stuff is simply wearing out on it, requiring constant maintenance to the point there is always something that needs fixed. I addressed most of mechanical stuff recently, but it needs new speakers, paint touch up, door trim fixed, hood strut replaced.

I am getting to the point of how much more do I want to sink into it. Mostly it runs fine otherwise.

Hopefully I can keep it as a beater and buy something newer to run for business trips.
This sounds more realistic than most.

I can think of a dozen vehicles over the years that people said "runs like new" and were all well over 200K. Without exception, they were all POS's. Sure, they could get from point A to point B, but between all the things that didn't work, the ragged out suspensions, all the warning lights lit up, and savaged interiors, I wasn't comfortable being in them. Yes, there are exceptions, but when someone says they have a 300k car, I'm not expecting much.
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Old 07-16-2011, 05:38 PM
 
7,934 posts, read 8,543,311 times
Reputation: 5889
easy, keep fixing it when it breaks (assuming it's never totalled in a collision or something.)
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