There's no such thing as a 200,000 mile car!

[Hunter's 64]

I daily drive (to work and back 56 miles round trip ) a 2001 Ford Escape with 263,000 miles will drive it till the wheels fall off


Danny

[ICEMAN6166]

I just read an article (I can't remember where it was located), that was from the federal government

if the government is the source i simply refuse to believe it.

it should also be said that the vast majority of drivers have no desire to see the 200K mark, they will junk it long before.
also i wonder how far back in years the study went

[grump]

ALL RIGHT! My 1999 f150 has over 223,000 miles on it so I'm in the 4% category, if the body just wasn't rusting away. Still goes 3,000 miles before it uses a quart of oil.

[unibody madness]

I sold my 1985 Toyota Camry wagon with 236,000 miles and saw it for years later still running. Granted I kept up with all mechanical, but all the plastic was sun cooked and breaking.

[ICEMAN6166]

"So the chart below shows that 4.2% of Ford F-250 Super Duty trucks ]listed for sale have already driven more than 200,000 miles."

this is false data either way as :
1,it is only counting F250 super duty trucks listed for sale in the 4.2%
2. does not mention gas vs. diesel
3. does not explain listed for sale where and by who other than possibly dealers as i know they could not have contacted all the sellers on c\l etc and asked the miles

i suppose by using statistics skewed to my advantage i could prove or disprove lots of things

i personally have owned several vehicles over the 200K limit, none of which are mentioned in the charts.

my 64 rambler 50 years old has only 73K original miles. i have had it 2 years and it had 67K when i bought it.continuing at that rate it will be another 42+ years till i get to 200,000

[ezernut9mm]

probalby less than 4% reach that number because less than 4% of car owners actually have a working brain.

[charliemccraney]

The experiences of members here will probably be skewed as well, because we generally understand the importance of maintenance and taking care of issues when they arise. These contribute to the longevity. Many people don't seem to understand that which results in an early demise of the vehicle but that is not the vehicle's fault.

The article does leave out a lot of necessary info to be truly meaningful, such as do these vehicles have the original engines and drivetrains or have they been rebuilt or replaced. If the vehicle has over 200k miles and say that particular vehicle has a known issue which means it almost always needs a new transmission at the 150k mark and you find one at 140k, you haven't done your research (shame on you) and going just by the article, you might think "I'm practically guaranteed another 50k miles, trouble free," when in reality, you're about to have an expensive transmission job, perhaps that costs more than the vehicle is worth, maybe get stranded somewhere.
If the drivetrain has had major work, should it be included in the statistics, even if 200k+ is on the odometer? You can completely rebuild a car at 150k miles but if it is now a practically new car underneath and you drive it another 50k, did it really make it past 200k miles? I say no. I think it should only be considered if the only work it has had is routine maintenance, wear items, and recalls. If those are the requirements, then I have no doubts that it is only a small percentage.

It also leaves out the year model. For some it may not really matter but for example, the Honda Accord and Civic, and Toyota Camry, that can be a 30-40year old car now. Does the article apply to every year model for those?

To jump on the bandwagon,
I know someone with a Silverado 2500hd that is well over 200k now. The engine, trans, and rear end have been replaced or rebuilt but I do think that occurred well after the 200k mark.
I also know someone who had a Silverado 1500 with almost 300k miles with only a rear end rebuild that did occur after 200k. The only reason he no longer drives that truck is he totalled it.
My dad has owned several of the 90s Ford rangers and each one got over 200k, usually up towards 300k.

[The Big M]

If you're trying to convince us that used car salesman will downplay the bad aspects of a vehicle while overstating the good, you'll get no argument from me.

That being said, I bested the 200k mile mark with the original clutch in my last car. It's for sale if you're interested. I don't even mind if you lowball.

[Sinc]

I drive a 2000 Ford Ranger XLT with the 3.0 Liter engine. It has 220,000 miles on it and runs like a champ! I do standard maintenance on it about twice a year. Best vehicle I've every owned!

[ICEMAN6166]

there are many factors in keeping vehicles from ultra high mileage

poor maintenance is of course one
some others are
rust
when i lived in the land of road salt and rust many vehicles never made it past 50,000 as they were too rusty to safely drive. sure they may have ran fine but
because of location they never had a chance
HOAs
many subdivisions have rules that do not allow vehicles past a certain age whether they are show cars or rustbuckets.
vanity
neighbor gets a new car and suddenly yours looks old, got to keep up with the Joneses (sorry Dan,no offense)
women
some women really like shiny new things and they can be very convincing

glad to say none of those affect me.

[*motor-mount*]

My dad had a gmc 3/4 ton diesle that had over200 thousand miles on it when he traded it in. And i had a little over a hundred thousand on my ford 3/4 diesle before i sold it. These little bitty cars they have now. They dont last long and they seem dissposable.

[DV65CustomCab]

I did not read the article, but since I see many vehicles every day in my line of work I can tell you a few things.

1) Pretty much any vehicle made now can go 200,000 miles easily with even moderate maintenance.

2) My customer base is generally people with not a lot of money, so they tend to buy high mileage cars. 150-200k is not uncommon, but they also do not spend money on maintenance, so the cars will probably be driven until they expire or get wrecked, which is usually before the 200k mark.

3) I've personally driven a vehicle with over 200k and regularly buy ones with north of 150k on them now. I (so far) have not experienced any catastrophic failures nor excessive fluid consumption. I try to buy only vehicles with one or two owners and service histories.

4) In shopping for used trucks recently, I saw dozens of F series trucks (not diesels) with well north of 200k miles. They were still going for decent money too, and research indicates they generally do not have catastrophic problems (engines, transmissions) before rust eventually takes them.

I think people who wind up with higher mileage vehicles tend to take little care of them which is why they fail to make it to the magic 200k mark. The 4% are likely owned by people who know that an engine needs it's oil changed regularly. Which is to say very few people in the population. If the public were more intelligent about taking care of their vehicles (and not so obsessed with having the latest and greatest every 2-4 years) there would be far more hitting 200 or 300 thousand miles. The machinery is quite capable of doing it.

[mercuryv8]

probalby less than 4% reach that number because less than 4% of car owners actually have a working brain.

LOL.... That sounds about right.

Nic

[ras4434]

I totally agree that there is no 200,000 mile truck. When my 66 became a donor for my 65 it only had 639,000 miles with only one "surgery" to fix a broken piston skirt. The cam and crank looked great. Lat I knew the 300 6cyl was still running up and down the interstate. That was 6 years ago. How much you want to bet its still running...........200,000 its about broken in.

[Alan Mclennan]

My 2004 Ford Transit van only has 129,000 Kilometres on it, at this rate I don`t think I`ll make the distance

[64 f100]

Worst I ever had was a 1970 Dodge superbee. Fun car to drive with the 383 Magnum motor. Real road car but at 50K was using oil at a quart every 500 miles. Built so light the doors sagged down and wouldn't close until I would grab the end of the door and pull the door back up . The car would fly out on the highway. I think top speed was pushing 150. When you see the white lines start looking like dots , it isn't time to be looking at the dash.

Rich

[ICEMAN6166]

When you see the white lines start looking like dots , it isn't time to be looking at the dash.

Now the fellas rid me for being behind
So I thought I'd let that Lincoln unwind
Took my foot of the gas and man alive
I shoved it on down into over drive

Wound it up to 110
My speedometer said I hit top end
My foot was glued like lead to the floor
And that's all there is, and there ain't no more

Now the boys all thought that I'd lost my sense
Those telephone poles were like a picket fence
They said "Slow down, I see spots!"
The lines on the road just looked like dots


read an article in the local paper yesterday about the shool district ready to buy some new cars as their suburbans were approaching 200K
pretty sure the maintenance was very regular on those.

[Hunter's 64]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVKxAJEJeqA

Nothing like the old HOT ROD LINCOLN



Danny

[DV65CustomCab]

Lost my job and the company car with it. For my commuter car I'll probably be buying a '87 BMW 3 series, 188k miles but the odo stopped working before the current owner bought it. Pennsylvania car and no rust through.

[Gottkts]

All the Hondas I have owned have had over 200000. Right now I have a crv that has been family owned since new in 98 and am at 310000