How old is an old car

[AstralTraveller]

Hi All,

I have a question for you great fonts of knowledge. I find myself in an unusual situation - buying a second hand car. I have little idea how many kms to expect from a small car and so what lifetime a particular car may give.

You see in 1984 I bought a HJ47 Landcruiser 'troopie' and kept it until 2009 when I upgraded to a '78 series troopie. That car has 315k on it but that is not 'old' for such a vehicle (I know of several that are >600k and one that is nearing a million.) So my knowledge of passenger vehicles is sadly out of date. Looking at adds hasn't helped much as there seems to be a great variance in the relationship between year model, kms and $.

We've been using the mother-in-laws hand-me-down as a second car (mainly to ferry the old dear shopping and to the doctors) but it has been rear ended and I fear it is terminal. Hence the need to shop around for a small car that will do us as a run-about for the next decade. We're looking at a hatch with a square enough rear end to be able to stand a walker or wheelchair - hers at the moment but who knows - and comfortable access. (eg my sister's Mazda 3 had to have the back seats down to carry mum's wheelchair) Models that look like possibilities include Jazz, Corolla, Swift and i30.

I'd welcome helpful comments.

[iborg]

Hi
I would suggest using a distance of 20km's per year for an average car.



Bear in mind that some engines specify major work at certain intervals. My better half bought a new car rather than fork out several thousand dollars for internal engine work that was due to be done. A timing chain I think.


For access into the vehicle, and for putting the wheelchair in the back, consider a small to medium SUV.


They tend to be a bit higher off the ground, and I think have higher rooflines, possibly allowing a wheel chair to stand up in the back.


Good luck


Philip

[glend]

Many timing chains are considered vehicle life time components, and should not have to be changed. Timing belts however, are considered as perishable components, as rubber polymers degrade over time, not just distance. A five year old vehicle, with only 40,000kms could well require a timing belt replacement based on age. Timing belts usually have distance replacement intervals of between 60,000 and 100,000kms..
A timing belt replacement can be an expensive service, but not near as expensive as letting it break.
I will not buy any more timing belt vehicles, my present vehicle has a life-time timing chain.

Sadly, despite the stories going around about 500,000km Troopies, no vehicles are made that way today.

[redbeard]

Hi David,

Ask all the people you come in contact with if they have a car for sale. The best cars seem to come by word of mouth.

Absolutely avoid used car sales yards.

A very good second hand car can have a mileage of between 30,000 and 70,000kms on the clock. Over 90,000 is starting to age. But, I know of cars that defy this and can still be good for 300,000kms.

Get an inspection before purchase.

If you are mechanically able great, but if not, take someone with you when you go to see a car who is.

All the best,
Cheers
Damien.

[Tandum]

David, there's a feeding frenzy going on in the bike/car market right now that just won't quit. There are not enough new cars to satisfy demand so people are paying new car prices + for ex demo cars which feeds into the 2nd hand market pushing prices up. Not a good time to be looking for a preloved reliable car especially SUV type vehicles as people want them to get outta Dodge so to speak. Very early VW Tiguan's which should be worth 8500 are selling for 12000 and in rather poor condition. Unless you know what your doing, avoid it till the factories start delivering again. Once the vaccine kicks in Globally it'll come good.

[The_bluester]

I was thinking the same thing, we just sold my Navara ute for about $5K more than we would have got six months ago and plan to go in to a new car, but for the moment the lack is not killing us so we might hold off until the supply chains recover and they actually have new cars to sell, then we might get a reasonable discount.

As for "Age" where a car is getting old, most cars should be good for a couple of hundred thousand KM relatively trouble free if they have been serviced properly. The fleet manager at work turns cars over at 150,000KM as down time is money and he reckons that is where issues typically start to creep in.

[AstralTraveller]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts.

Yes, major foreseeable maintenance is something will need to check up on. (A mate once had a sports car and at 70,000km it was due for a head gasket :eyepop:) I should also check for known issues. When I bought the troopie I inspected it myself because I know those vehicles and what to look for but I think I'll leave inspecting a modern car to an expert.

I did hear about the worldwide shortage of microprocessors causing a shortage of new cars but hadn't joined the dots to my situation. Yes, I have been surprised at the price of cars atm. If I had a choice I wouldn't be in the market but the timing is beyond our control. I'd also love to avoid a used car yard but finding the right car privately might take longer than I can afford.

Thanks again for your time.