It’s one of those funny things – down as much to personal preference as to anything else. Mileage. The big number of the dash that tells you just how far a car has travelled in it’s life.
What I mean by personal preference is just what the level of mileage is acceptable to you. For some, a car has to be moved on when 30,000 miles has been hit. For others, that’s not a level of even being worn in. Me? I always thought that when my car got to 100,000 miles that would be it. But, it’s almost there and no new problems have crept up on my four wheeled friend.
Some engines will take higher mileages much easier than others. A large V8 motor will be extremely difficult to stress, unless it’s in a high state of tune and you’re burning rubber everywhere you go. On the other hand, thrashing a 1.0 litre city car up and down a motorway will lower the life of the engine.
If you want a car that’ll give you high miles and remain reliable, look at what your local taxi drivers buy. New Ford Focuses, Skodas and VW Passats. Quite often in the diesel form for solid build quality as well as economy.
To me, I think I’ve decided that the number on the dash is less important than the capability and the costs that the motor is incurring on a regular basis. So where does this leave me? Well, I’ve got some other stuff to buy… But that 100,000 mile mark is almost on me. Maybe I’ll just use this as an excuse to buy another car!
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