Would it be asking for trouble to buy a used car that has done 200,000km or more, even if it seems in quite good condition? KBH
If that is the number on the car’s odometer, it equates to motoring right around the world...five times! So even if it has been sympathetically used and diligently maintained and kept clean and shiny (or well restored), it is rightly categorised as “old” and “high-mileage”.
Those two factors usually bring its market price down, considerably, unless it is distinctive and popular enough to qualify as a “classic”, in which case its price goes up.
Because driving styles, treatment and conditions – and vehicles themselves – vary so much, age and mileage alone cannot be a specific benchmark. Some cars with twice that mileage are still in good operational order; others at only half that distance are wrecks.
Both of those extremes are exceptions to the general rule. But there are statistical global “averages” in a far greater proportion that establish the so-called “economic design life” of most cars at 15 years (equating to another “norm” of between 200,000 and 250,000kms).
Although they do not necessarily “die”, and an increasing number of faults can still be fixed at and beyond those benchmarks, the increasing probability of progressive failures makes them “uneconomic to maintain in a roadworthy condition”.
The evidence of that (as always “on average”) is so compelling that in some countries there are policy, legal and financial deterrents - like very expensive and technically draconian “inspection” protocols for old cars (in Japan, these are imposed at the age of eight years) that most owners trade-in and buy new.
Precisely that is the fount of our unlimited supply of mitumba imports. The level of “roadworthiness” required or desired varies greatly from place to place (and owner to owner).
What the buyer of an old and/or high mileage car needs to recognise is that it will be worn; every part of it, not just the engine.
Regular service parts might have been renewed (more than once), but life-long components are a long way from new and the possibility of failure is increasing... exponentially.
But as Kenyans know better than most, old cars can keep going for a very, very long time and can be kept going even longer by tolerating breakdowns and paying for fixes (as long as the parts, at that stage, are purchased in Yuan).
In judging whether that is “asking for trouble”, perhaps the most important pre-purchase check is the vehicle’s “provenance”. Who has previously owned and used it? Where? For what general purposes? And how can you be sure that the answers to those questions are correct? You should always judge the vendor as thoroughly as you judge the vehicle.
The older the car and the higher the mileage, the more thorough the routine check and test should be. The services of a reputable expert in seeing (or hearing or feeling) the signs of not-yet-but-incipient failure are recommended.
Ironically, perhaps, faults that already exist (there are bound to be some) and are readily spotted do not necessarily disqualify purchase; they can help leverage a discount.
It is the state of the bits that are still working that warrant closer attention. Followed by the universal question: if this car is so perfect, why are you selling it now? And assessing the answer from a sceptical perspective.
I recently purchased a vehicle that had already done more than 300,000 km (for less than 10 percent of the price of a new one) and knew exactly what I was getting.
I have recently started to consider selling another car that has also done more than 300,000 km and is still in good working order (I would happily use it for another round-the-world trip – its ninth!) in every respect.
So why sell? Because it is still sound and sure, still worth something, but likely to be approaching a state of higher maintenance costs or lower performance and, most importantly...less reliability. If I wait until it starts to crumble, it will be worth almost nothing, and cost even more to restore.
You will probably never get that answer from a dealer, but if ever you do you can believe it.
When considering the cost differences between buying newer or restoring older, don’t forget to think about the resale value of the two options in a few years.
The sell-buy pattern of your motoring life is not about one deal; it is a continuous cycle with the consequences of one deal impacting the next. That’s where old-for-old can bite you.
A car with 200,000kms can have lots of good life left. But then what?
As the sayings go, caveat emptor (let the buyer beware), and “you pay your money, and you make your choice”. Yours!
