Mileage - How high is too high to buy?

Sorry for the rhyming thread title, but this is a question that I'm hoping the group here can answer.

I'm still looking around for my next TDI, haven't found the right combination of low price (the biggest issue) and model / year yet. What I have found is a couple possibilities in an ALH automatic that are almost at a quarter-million miles.

250,000 miles... Is that too high for anyone? Would you buy into a vehicle with that kind of number on the clock? Obviously I would be asking and inspecting about the intake / timing belt / drive it and see if it is smooth and quiet. I'm not as concerned about the transmission, I have already decided that I will deal with that myself if it needs one (or when), using a boneyard transmission.

But would you do it with that kind of mileage under the wheels?

250,000 miles wouldn't turn me off from a good car IF the interior and body were in good condition, no rust (that's a BIG one) and good service history. I would steer clear of an automatic with that mileage unless you absolutely plan on a swap or replacement transmission. It might have a little more life left in it, but chances aren't very good.

Suspension components are another issue. Our Mk4 needs about $1000 in suspension work because everything is due for replacement.

Mine had 350K miles on it when I bought it, now 395K. Engine is in great shape, car is solid. It feels like it will go forever. So 250K is not necessarily very many miles depending on how well it has been maintained.

Those miles only scare people when the cars are typical for having lots of issues leading up to it like oil burning, tranny's slipping, interior falling apart, rust holes in the body work. Seeing as these aren't much of an issue if it runs and drives OK and you are satisfied with the interior and body then get it. You may have to do some catch-up maintenance at that point like a timing belt that the seller was delaying or shocks, etc but it can keep going for as long as you want. The engines have had over 500K without rebuilding anything more then injectors and cam, cylinders/bottom end is still good past this and so is the manual tranny if you aren't doing burnouts all day and getting wheel hope or ran low on oil. If it was a gas auto tranny different story. The rings in the engine of a gas only last around 250-250 before you start to loose a lot of compression and start burning oil and most are ran on a timing chain that is starting to get to failure point at that time and the cost of replacing the chain is the same as a whole engine in some cases and most autos just don't last past 250K miles.

depends man i would probably not get it but there is enough people here with 400k plus miles id want to see service records or i would not get it for sure

I'd definitely avoid an automatic, but... we bought our Golf with 242329 miles on it... only use it as a 2nd car, but it's up to 323050 now...

As for the timing belt system... unless you can verify that it's been properly and completely replaced in the recent past, just do it on principle... at that mileage, the suspension will need a bit of work, also...

Good luck,

Yuri

Service records would be nice... I doubt I can trust any if they are produced, this is being sold by a small independent dealership.

Rust will be a big concern I have, and probably one of the only things that will really put me off of something with that kind of mileage. I'm not even that worried about the interior, I pulled most of the interior of my Jetta apart at one time or another, and I have more than a few boneyard options to call on if I need / want something for the interior, especially since any MkIV will bolt right in. A friend replaced the entire interior of his Jeep Liberty CRD for $200, and I did something similar on a Grand Cherokee for $150

The dealership claims (For all the trust I put in that) that the vehicle runs and drives great, that you would never know it had that kind of mileage. I know that is possible with the proper care, as that is what my Jetta did with 150k - fairly screamed down the road after having the injection pump rebuilt for a few hundred. I wouldn't be adverse to doing that again either if I had to.

I should mention - I own a Jeep Liberty CRD right now, and have learned a LOT about small diesels that I didn't know when I owned my Jetta. I'm looking to get a TDI now as a highway vehicle, and keep the CRD as a work vehicle for towing. Also, I have found that it really benefits me to have a spare vehicle around with this CRD.

VeeDubTDI said:

250,000 miles wouldn't turn me off from a good car IF the interior and body were in good condition, no rust (that's a BIG one) and good service history.

Click to expand...

Seconded.
My 02 Jetta is in that category with 265k, very nice interior (glove box hinge broken, lighter socket retention sketchy) and a equally good condition exterior (although some panels are not original and the replacements have been repainted to match).
It was well down on engine power but showed no mechanical faults so I suspected a minor issue was to blame there. I took a chance because the price was right. I spent far longer than I expected finding that minor issue, but I'm quite happy with the car now.

p.s.: It's time I re-ordered my signature and put the A4 ahead of the B5.5

My car has something like 328,000 miles on it. No maintenance records other than what I note in my fuel consumption spreadsheet. I change the timing belt with the big kit every 100,000 miles. Change the air and fuel filter sometimes which is not the proper interval. I noticed that I have left the filters in way too long before. Still easy on oil consumption. I have not added any oil yet on this change with 8,000 miles and it is down a quarter inch or so. Oil changes every 10,000 miles with proper Mobil synthetic oil for diesels. I have freshened up the suspension replacing worn bushings once and new shocks. Some folks would say I abuse the engine not changing the air and fuel filters enough and I could not argue with them. Car runs great though.

With a solid body and an engine that has not been abused, the diesel VW cars can keep going for years. That said I sold my 84 GTI with over 300,000 miles on it. The engine I had swapped for something bigger but the old engine had a lot of miles and very little cylinder wear. If you change your oil regularly using quality oil, it can make a huge difference.

Back to the question. I am not going to pay $5,000 for a gas 2000 Jetta with 300,000 miles but Kelly Blue Book on one with 70,000 miles is up that high. You need to inspect as others mentioned a suspension refresh done properly could be heading towards $1,000 in parts. Obviously to me a bad engine could be thousands of dollars in repairs so price is adjusted to factor in risk. My last purchase was a 7 year old truck with 130,000 miles that I got for half of original sales price and about a third of current new model. No parts spent yet after a year but I do need new horn button for $140. Used can save a lot.