People who keep vehicles for over 200K miles

[D7E]

Got a yard full of them..

99 F150 with 280'000
01 dodge ram with 230'000
01 tahoe with 210'000
92 chev 1/2 ton with 432'000
2000 ford focus with 210'000

When i see the problems my friends have with newer vehicles i an quite happy with the small amount of repairs we have to do , Funny thing is the old chev 1/2 ton has probably been the least trouble of them all even with 432'000 .

 

[Redneck in training]

Ford Tempo 1984 gave it to charity at 176000.
Buick Regal 3.8 1991 one valve lifter failed at 247000. Changed only all four discs one time and one plastic fitting on the cooling system. Got 100 for it at a junkyard.
Currently I drive Buick Regal 3.8 1992 237000 miles. Driver window doesn't work. Mice chewed up some wires so dash gauges and remote trunk release don't work. Otherwise I didn't fix anything as far as I remember.
Both Buicks have original exhaust (stainless steel)

I tend to buy cars with about 80K to 100K miles that have good report but are not popular. After warranty expires such cars drop their value to about 25 to 30% of purchasing price. Then I drive them until the wheels fall off or my wife buys new used car and I get her old used car.

 

[Chuck52]

Thought I'd bring this thread back for some questions about keeping a car going for the 200K:

Just had an oil change on my 2003 Impala, with 128K, and commented to the desk guy that I had just made a 1500 mile trip and averaged 32mpg. So, he asks when I had it tuned last, and my answer was "never". I bought the car as a "program" car, rental I suppose, with just under 20K in December 2003. I've had the radiator flushed, the brakes done, the tranny flushed and replaced tires twice, new battery, but I've never had the plugs or wires changed. So he says he'll have the mechanic look it over to see what it might need....Oh Yeah. Came back with a recommendation to do a complete tune up with new plugs and wires, injector cleaning, fuel filter, etc, and the brake fluid should be replaced. Also says the coolant has a "high pH" and should be replaced. The radiator was flushed at about 100K, and the brakes were replaced at about the same time, though I suppose the shop I had it in might not have flushed the lines....probably didn't. Those two bug me a bit. Anyway, what's the common wisdom? Would I get 32mpg and no problems if it really needed a tune up? What's with the pH thing? He told me it was over pH 8 and I could have problems related to that. It has DexCool in it, and I don't have any info on the "normal" pH for that stuff, but I'd think a lower, more acidic pH would be more likely to cause problems.

I actually figure I need new shocks more than anything else. The car rides OK, but it does seem to take a bit longer to recover from a bump than it used to.

Chuck

 

[bp fick]

With the high energy electronic ignition used today, 100K is pretty common without a tune up. Today, a tune up means cap, rotor (if installed) plugs, plug wires, fuel filter, air filter and injector clean.

YES!!! You are way more than due. Frankly, I do all these things myself, but you may wish to have a reputable, trustworthy garage do it for you. Those plugs can be a real pain to get out after 128K. They might be just about fused into the threads. The mechanic should do this, but anti-seize on the threads of the plugs is now SOP.

Your mileage won't jump higher, but believe me, you are way past time.

As for the ph of the radiator, a lot depends on how well it was flushed last time. I flush and fill every three years/40K. YMMV.

Brake fluid should be drained and re-filled with every major brake job, but a lot of guys don't bother. Fact is, this too is sooooo easy. Leave the bleeders open and gravity does the work. Again, replacing rusted brakes lines is no fun. Way cheaper to replace fluid according to the schedule, which is typically 75K, again YMMV.

Doing these things is part and parcel to getting to the Quarter Million Mark.

Struts aren't cheap either, but for a quality ride and safe breaking, I do mine at 90K. Usually, sway bar links and bushings are also tired at that point.

 

[Grateful11]

Ford Explorer '91 2WD with 234K miles, the most major repair is an intake
manifold gasket. We put a couple thousand miles a year on it now just
can't seem to turn loose of it, it's almost as old as our kids.

 

[sksmsllc]

My unscientific "break-even" point is when I've spent more money on fuel and oil/filter changes than the cost of the new vehicle. I've easily exceeded that on my '96 Dodge Ram 3/4 ton Cummins Diesel and over 370k miles. I bought a Honda Accord from my neighbor with over 325k miles and drove it long enough to put another 25k miles on it before giving it to my daughter and her husband for a daily commuter. It would still be going if my grandson hadn't rear-ended a lady while texting on his cellphone. AARGH! He's lucky to be alive and the Honda is now a total loss due to no fault of its own. The good news is he only did $500 damage to the Jeep's trailer hitch and rear bumper.

I keep my cars. Important to have good relationship with auto technician and change oil every 3000 miles. My 99 4x4 GMC Suburban has 196,000. My wife drives 2004 Honda Odyssey with 164,000 miles on it. My Tractor is worth more than both vehicles combined Blue Book value. My lawn mower is worth more than each individually. I guess I'm a sucker for equipment. I Always buy used. My dream truck is F-250 4x4 diesel. I do have a 1978 Vette that I've owned 21 years - removed original engine at 100k miles and hermetically sealed and crated for later. Put 1982 one tone Chevy small block 350 in its place custom blueprint and high performance aftermarket pistons roller rockers Dart heads hooker headers eddlebrock carb and intake - plan to put original engine back in car in 2018 when car turns 40.

 

[Egon]

My dream truck is F-250 4x4 diesel.

Dog gone jinman, I thought you was driving the "Dream Truck":thumbsup:

 

[dcyrilc]

Dog gone jinman, I thought you was driving the "Dream Truck":thumbsup:

Wasn't it soundguy who just bought the "Dream Truck"?

 

[arrow]

Thought I'd bring this thread back for some questions about keeping a car going for the 200K:

Just had an oil change on my 2003 Impala, with 128K, and commented to the desk guy that I had just made a 1500 mile trip and averaged 32mpg. So, he asks when I had it tuned last, and my answer was "never". I bought the car as a "program" car, rental I suppose, with just under 20K in December 2003. I've had the radiator flushed, the brakes done, the tranny flushed and replaced tires twice, new battery, but I've never had the plugs or wires changed. So he says he'll have the mechanic look it over to see what it might need....Oh Yeah. Came back with a recommendation to do a complete tune up with new plugs and wires, injector cleaning, fuel filter, etc, and the brake fluid should be replaced. Also says the coolant has a "high pH" and should be replaced. The radiator was flushed at about 100K, and the brakes were replaced at about the same time, though I suppose the shop I had it in might not have flushed the lines....probably didn't. Those two bug me a bit. Anyway, what's the common wisdom? Would I get 32mpg and no problems if it really needed a tune up? What's with the pH thing? He told me it was over pH 8 and I could have problems related to that. It has Dex Cool in it, and I don't have any info on the "normal" pH for that stuff, but I'd think a lower, more acidic pH would be more likely to cause problems.

I actually figure I need new shocks more than anything else. The car rides OK, but it does seem to take a bit longer to recover from a bump than it used to.

Chuck

Chuck, at this point in time, it might be wise to change out the plugs and wires only as a preventative measure. Things may be working fine now but you could start to have problems from porous wires 6 months from now. Coolants need to be replaced on 2 levels. One of course is to keep up the glycol content for areas getting to freezing or below and secondly to keep up with corrosion protection which coats the metals in the radiator. A PH over 7 is good which demonstrates this part as a con game. The main reason for recommending changing the green type coolant every two years is not for the upkeep against freezing as much as it is for corrosion. Acidic content is the present day "mantra" for coolant replacement. This happens only over time. If your engine had say only 40,000 miles on it, I'd be suspect if a mechanic came back and told me my engine coolant was acidic. Also, if you just had your coolant replaced and it is acidic, (which yours is not) I'd next would want to ask "what's wrong with my engine that the coolant is building up acid so fast" The irony of this "acid indicator" is that most of modern day "green" coolants that are phosphorous based, needing to be made with phosphoric acid. These kind of coolants are acidic as a precursor. Dex -cool ( a 5 year extended type AF) is an organic acid technology anti freeze (OAT) and is superior to the "green type" anti freeze. Another tid bit of useless info is that coolants soak up 1/3 of the energy produced by an engine. A tune up now that would include plugs, wires, filters and you'll be good to go for another 100,000. Standard brake fluid change out would be due to water content as brake fluid tends to absorb this. Silicone brake fluid would always be a better choice. I would bring it to another shop however as these guys seem a bit cagey

 

[Pops15]

Current rides:
2000 F250 5.4 109K. I suspect it will easily reach 200K.
1998 Lincoln Continental. 4.6dohc....not sure as it's our "spare" car, but it's approaching 200K. Great engine. Not impressed with the rest of it. First and hopefully last FWD car for me.
1995 Merc Grand Marquis. Bought it with 19800 miles last July. Now has 29K. Barring anything unforseen we'll put 200K on it.

Past rides:
1989 Lincoln Town car. 5.0 Had 201K on it when we retired it. Very nice car! Reliable too. Other than regular maintenance items all I ever did was replace the alternator.
1989 F250SC.460 Can't remember the miles but it was approaching 200K...or was that 300k?
1984 F250. 351 HO (4 barrel). Only had around 130K when the engine blew.....but I ran the snot out of it.
1984 Grand Marquis. Best car I ever owned. 5.0 Bought it with 81K on it. Sold it with 243K. Only non-regular maint. was a water pump.
1987 Grand Marquis (rare 2 door). 5.0 Bought with 43K, sold it when the trans went out at 167K.
1986 F350 6.9 diesel. Died just under 301K.
Several cars and trucks prior to those but don't remember the details.
Never owned a new car or truck. As you can see I'm a Ford guy. Mechanically great cars and trucks for the most part. Electric and electronic stuff will nickel and dime you though. Road crews use lots of salt here. Our cars and trucks are usually rusted out long before they're worn out.