Buying a car because of the mileage.

[lance1a]

Which is what I have just done. I get it later this week hopefully. A 1992 E36 320i manual Coupe in Shwarz. Oh...the mileage.....






430 000 miles (yes....only 70 000 to get to half a million) and no engine rebuild and still on the same clutch.

Being monitored by BMW R&D as even they thought it was impossible.

Can't wait....

[Ant]

in the high Vs low debate, I'll take the starship miles everytime provided its all pukka and serviced correctly.

Low miles = short trips= worn out everything IMHO

[Kos]

Not impossible as there is the famous mobil 1 car that did one million miles, a bulk Of it in a controlled environment . I base buying a car on a combination of things but gut instinct and feeling being the most important. You can spot and feel a wrongun a mile off

That mileage is impressive, but any engine that has been maintained properly will do the mileage, and low mileage ones can as good, barrys one is an example of this.

[harry_p]

i bought my e36 despite the high miles, because i personally know the previous two owners and how they drove and looked after it. it's now done just over 177,000 miles, and gets used properly every day, but gets maintained properly too. i do tend to at people who suggest they will self combust the moment they reach 100k

150k of motorway crusing is far less stressfull on the drivetrain that 50k of traffic jam crawling.

[Andyboy]

430 000 miles (yes....only 70 000 to get to half a million) and no engine rebuild and still on the same clutch.

Being monitored by BMW R&D as even they thought it was impossible.

Can't wait....

For an old iron block non vanos M50, not impossible at all. For an E92 320i, most unlikely. I've seen 313'000 on a 323i Auto Coupe with the original Nikasil block and gearbox. Mine has just shy of 300k and also has the factory clutch. Long distance usage and correct maintenance means this old stuff could last indefinitely.

[e30-EVN]

Bloody hell , that sort of millage is impressive! Mines on 125,000 so I guess with regular servicing ect she could last forever, prob out last most e30's on the road lol

[adit]

Not impossible as there is the famous mobil 1 car that did one million miles

i've seen this a few times now. nice Cardinal Red interior too:

the million-miler:



so what are your plans with the E36 then Rob?

[lance1a]

I'd like to get it to the half million, but would like to see what I can conjure up with BMW as some sort of promotional deal/sponsorship. Perhaps a long trip to see in the half million mile mark or something like that. I want to use it as an advertising tool also to show my customers that 'old' cars are every bit as viable as modern ones, if not , more so. I don't think E36's are ever going to be as popular as E30's except perhaps in Coupe or Cabriolet form, but I can still see this car being valuable in various aspects, be that marketing or whatever. I never get to keep any of the stuff I buy so this way I am pretty commited to keeping the car. I will do a few upgrades to it....colour code the sills and bumpers, fit clear indicators on the front...that sort of thing (but only to OEM standard) and sort out whtever issues it may have. But drive it. actually have a permanent car....something I can stick my own sound system in and keep for myself.

[adit]

good luck with that then.
BTW: i've got all the E36 "M" bits (clear inds/sides, skirts, spoilers, bumpers, leather bits, etc. etc. if you need anything mate)

[lance1a]

Cool Adi....might be in touch bud....but there are a craphouse full of E36's in Smiths at the moment.

[bss325i]

I would keep it exactly as it was built if you going for some sort or corporate BMW angle with it.

430000 is very impressive!

My Mrs has a jan '98 built E36 323i saloon which has done 182k still on the original nikasil engine. Its quiet, doesnt smoke, still goes well, goes through emission testing every year and only uses a little oil (well within BMW specifications and much less then most of the newer BMW/MINI engines)

Still on the original clutch!

I have an April '00 built E46 328Ci coupe which has done 224k on the original engine box and diff. The has never been any leaks from the engine or diff and the selector shaft seal on the box is only just starting to leak.

As with the E36 it goes well, no smoke or rattles and uses even less oil than the E36, in fact it only used half a litre in 4000 miles! Its still golden brown in colour.

It had a clutch, at 215k

Theses pair of turds interest me as they are both a kind of rolling experiment into seeing how long these turds car last when looked after PROPERLY!

[gooner1]

As a matter of interest, what is considered to be a "short journey"?

Every time i take my Cab out i try and put at least 40 miles on the clock and have
never turned the ignition off until it has reached operating temperature at least.
Even if that means driving out of my way for a bit, is that sufficent?

[lance1a]

I would have thought so. As long as it gives the motor enough time to operate at optimum for a decent period. My wife works 40 miles away, about 30 of which is motorway, her car still drives like new. In SA we did a test on Opel when I worked for them. We ran a fleet of cars in a circuit around the country covering 480 000 kms and then tested the engines at the plant. all compressions and tolerances were within spec and only routine servicing had been carried out. I drove one of the cars (an Opel Monza GSi) and it drove like a brand new car.

[maggspower]

My first e30, a black quatroporte chromie 325i. I bought it with 280000 on the clock, I wasn't going to but after a test drive I couldn't find a thing wrong with it (apart from some rot obviously ). It was the chaps company car which he then bought off the company when they came to sell it. He drove it all around Europe with his job, and whenever the service lights came on he looked in the book and drove it to the nearest dealer for a service.

I finally retired it on well over 300000 as the chassis rot was terminal. I took the engine apart, the honing marks where still present in the bores, there was zero oil sludge throughout and i reused the perfect pistons for a 2.7. The only thing of any note was that two of the valve tops had mushroomed slightly.

Oil changes FTW

430000 is very impressive though.

Good luck with the 1/2 million

[Simon13]

makes me kind wish i'd kept my old 325i touring going which went to the scrappy after 242,000 on the clocks.

[The_Diddler]

makes me kind wish i'd kept my old 325i touring going which went to the scrappy after 242,000 on the clocks.

There was something about that car that made me like it .....................

[bss325i]

makes me kind wish i'd kept my old 325i touring going which went to the scrappy after 242,000 on the clocks.

There was something about that car that made me like it .....................

The builder van spec interior?

[Finto_316]

reinds me of lad i knew, bought a 1998 toyota corolla modified 500,000 miles on it,something like 5,000 euro and backfired it about 100 times a day:P still never gave up on him:P

[Andyboy]

Highest leg I've ever seen was a W124 Merc 200D Taxi in Germany with a million miles. It was totally and utterly f*cked from end to end but it still ran, albeit very noisily. It had been parked up and was being used for spares, but respect for the turd. Plenty around with 5-600'000 still going though.

[ivqii]

http://www.volvoclub.org.uk/miles.shtml

Dunno how much validity can be attached though

[darkchild]

Highest leg I've ever seen was a W124 Merc 200D Taxi in Germany with a million miles. It was totally and utterly f*cked from end to end but it still ran, albeit very noisily. It had been parked up and was being used for spares, but respect for the turd. Plenty around with 5-600'000 still going though.

Taxis nearly always seem to have mental mileage. I once had an ex-taxi Peugeot 405 diesel in a very hideous and period shade of gold that had 434,000 miles when I moved it on.

[pnd]

many cars can be kept going with assiduous maintenance schedules, the question is is it worth it in terms of cost? These days putting 250+k on a six cylinder is a horrendous prospect in fuel costs alone. Perhaps all this high mileage stuff is largely a thing of the past we are now regrettably in the age of the disposable car.

[david106]

Another example is vans I've driven mercedes sprinters with 8ok that have been on multidrop and they were shagged and driven same van with 3 times the miles but all motorway and drove like new .
I always buy newer high mileage stuff over older low mileage

[TheHeap]

A friend of ours had an Audi 80 with just short of half a million on the clock and when he showed it to Audi (as he was buying a new A4) they told him if he makes the half a million before he purchases the A4 they'll service it for FREE and make a nice offer on the trade in along with a small feature in their magazine. He was well chuffed about it.

I might try and find the reg no. to see if it's still motoring.

[Simon13]

http://www.volvoclub.org.uk/miles.shtml

Dunno how much validity can be attached though

its true i have an old classic car mag from 2002 ish with that volvo amazon in it with that milege on it! it had only had 1 bottom end rebuild in that time

[e30topless]

amazing how the old stock can reach Mileage like this, testament to quality engineering and decent servicing,

sadly it seems too many new cars are disposable ? this is one of the reasons I drive old shitters !

and talking of magazines, I read an old Tbmw yesterday with you in it Si ! your old sport and felix's pina

[The_Diddler]

The daily skoda had its first Mot yesterday, at 90,000 miles

4 advisories on suspension bushes, front and back, will need replacing at next service............

[retroboyo]

Heres the 1,000,000 mile E30

[youtube][/youtube]

Ive seen some others, there was a W124 300D that still ran fine and there was a Saab. There was a W123 and the owner started driving it on long trips everyday when he realized he was getting close to 1 million. All were still on their original engines. As the Saab owner said - Oil changes are critical