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  #1  
Old 11-12-2013, 07:28 PM
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Miles

I was just pondering about how owning these cars has totally changed my view on how many miles a car has on it. Before these Benz I would not in
a million years have purchased a "high miles" vehicle, with say over 50,000 miles on it. Absolute pregudice. I would cringe when my friends would bring me car to look at for them and it had 65,000 miles on it. Now I have a TD with 145,000 and an SD with 250,000 plus and think nothing of it at all. I read here of someone getting a car with 197,000 on it and seeing it was a great deal. Anyone else feel changed so much in their opinion that way?

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Old 11-12-2013, 07:30 PM
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Yes! I used to be impressed when a car hit 150k. Now, I remain unimpressed until at least 400+k.
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Old 11-12-2013, 08:10 PM
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I find the older generations have a problem with high mileage. Most of the time I see it being 100,000 and then they want to get rid of their car. Then if their children are ignorant they will believe as their parents do.

My car before an MB was an 01 Mercury Sable. I bought it for $500 with about 90,000 miles on it. I didn't think much of the mileage because I got it for $500 and it was in MINT condition. I put over 60,000 miles on it and sold it for $2,100. The only thing that really needed replacement while I had it was the A/C which I had done at a price of somewhere around $1,000. I wish I would have known then what I know now. I rebuilt the A/C in my 240 for less than that by myself.

My 240D has 335,000 miles on it. It runs fine but it is always in the back of my mind that it is up there, I am more conceded about the automatic transmission. When I went to the BenzFest in PA I won the high mileage award, when I tell people that they laugh like it is HIGH!

I have no idea how many miles are on my 190DT. It came with two odos. One shows 160411. It must have stopped working so they replaced it with a used one which shows around 300,000 if I recall. So I am guessing it is somewhere between the two. I wish I could know, but I have accepted that there is no way of knowing. I am less concerned with the mileage here and more concerned about the aluminum head and the automatic transmission.

Ehh its just a number.
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Old 11-12-2013, 10:43 PM
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ichris93 correct

You are correct about the older generation. I am one. As I think back I sure
did get my early idea that any car that had over 50k on it was half worn out
from my dad. He traded in his cars about every 2-3 years iirc. I don't remember him ever working on any of those cars in any way. He always ribbed me for bringing home "junk" cars to fix up.
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Old 11-13-2013, 02:31 AM
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Us old guys do change. At one time a little over a hundred K was a harbinger of serious issues. Cars do far better today.

I still like lower milage cars though when I can get my hands on them. There is an old saying. You can not put the miles back in.

Today trying to stay clear of cars with known big issues overall from the manufacturer is another thing as well. Some cars brands are still pretty problematic compared to others.
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  #6  
Old 11-13-2013, 03:10 AM
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Not only do I remember when this was all fields...


...but I also remember when people used to gather around a car and marvel that it had managed to go past 100,000 miles.

Technology in some parts of the vehicle has moved on. The part that used to die first was the heart of the car - the engine. That was and is an expensive part to fix so the rest of the car would be junked. These days (excluding crash damage) rust and worn out running gear are more likely to be the real killers of a car.
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  #7  
Old 11-13-2013, 06:55 AM
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My first car (old Chrysler) had 114,000 miles when I got it, and I managed to kill it in another 9,000 or so. Then I got an old Mercury that had either 100,000 or 200,000 on it. Looking back and considering the condition of the interior, it was probably 100,000. I got about a year and a half out of it. Then came a '63 Dodge Dart that I bought with 60-some thousand that had had the engine pulled out to repower another car. I plopped a big V-8 in it and had a blast until I joined the Navy and decided to get something "new" and "reliable". I wound up getting a smoking deal on a 15 year old Lincoln Town Car with 96,000. I proceeded to keep it for five years and 60,000 miles before the diesel bug bit and I picked up my 300D with 293,509 miles. It's taken some work to get it to the current 328 thousand and change. The real eye opener was when I spent a bit over a year working in a junkyard. FWD domestic junk usually came to us around 160,000 miles. Hondas and Toyotas were usually more around 240,000. Crown Victorias and Subarus were routinely over 300,000. Some of the high ones I remember were a Camry with 355,000 that looked good but had a massive fuel leak, and an older Honda with something like 375,000.

I'll agree that condition is much more important than mileage. I've seen cars totally trashed in 100,000 miles. I've seen others still going strong well past 300,000. Over 400,000 seems to be a rarity. I've driven a commercial truck with over 800,000 miles on it, but for passenger cars I haven't seen that in person, though I know it happens sometimes.

Edit: From experience in the junkyard, don't buy a Mitsubishi passenger car. They still crap out in 100,000 or less. Almost anything else should be good for 150% of that at the least, more if you maintain it well.
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  #8  
Old 11-13-2013, 08:00 AM
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"Well maintained" meaning that as things break, they are replaced correctly. So everything thing that has been replaced has 0 miles on it. The front end on my e320 is flawless because I replaced it, so the front end is brand new. The transmission will be brand new when it goes in. The engine and frame are the only things that seems to matter as far as mileage goes. Change the oil, keep the rust off the frame. Frame should last forever, engine should last only slightly less forever as it has moving parts.

The super don will most likely need a head gasket soon. She's worth it to me
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77' 300D, "Cartman" SOLD @ 150K (didn't know what I had)
83' 300SD, "The Superdon" 325k+ @ 28mpg
95 E320 wagon, "Millennium Falcon" 231k+ @ 24 Mpg
95 E300D, "Sherley" 308k @ 33.69 Mpg, currently anticipating a head
99 Suzuki Intruder "Trudy" @ 45 mpg

Last edited by thayer; 11-13-2013 at 09:27 AM.
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Old 11-13-2013, 11:59 AM
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All my life I've had High mileage vehicles. it started in 79 when my dad started doing service on vehicles with varing miles on them in the shop. I remember all the Gm Diesels we drove and worked on the black oil, and all the broken head bolts... and a customer brought in his honda with 400K on the odo... for a "tune up" that included pulling the head, and replacing the valves, and giving it an opinion on what else to do. cylinders were still square, and the cross hatches were fully evident, the main and rod bearings were still in spec for a new motor... the valves were burned, and the seals and guides needing repair. but that was it. he'd been changing his oil and filter at every 2000 miles period.
I was shocked. after seeing all the VAPORIZED VW motors I'd worked on, the massively worn out Chevy and dodge motors at 60K or so... the 400K honda blew my mind.
I remember asking my dad how come honda used a forged crank, and all the chevys etc used cast... his answer was chevy could make a cast work for the car... honda could not...
anyway, that honda changed the way I thought about cars, and all my personal vehicles have exceeded 200K (even my suburban at over 290K and it needs only a head gasket)
I just purchased a 201 turbo diesel with over 500K on the odo... it drove fine, and looked solid. I bought it.
I've put over 4K on it so far and I'm not worried about it for the next 200K...
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  #10  
Old 11-13-2013, 12:15 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NoSparkNeeded View Post
I was just pondering about how owning these cars has totally changed my view on how many miles a car has on it. Before these Benz I would not in
a million years have purchased a "high miles" vehicle, with say over 50,000 miles on it. Absolute pregudice. I would cringe when my friends would bring me car to look at for them and it had 65,000 miles on it. Now I have a TD with 145,000 and an SD with 250,000 plus and think nothing of it at all. I read here of someone getting a car with 197,000 on it and seeing it was a great deal. Anyone else feel changed so much in their opinion that way?

Im still prejudiced if its anything other than an ancient MB diesel.

150k would be my max for any gas car unless I really knew the engine, (ill do 200k on a 4.3 chevy though), but the skys the limit for an old diesel.

A few months ago I bought a 300TD with 320k on it. Its having a timing chain put on now, and the mechanic reports zero chain stretch, zero play, and everything perfectly in time still. amazing to me.

Im dailying a 365k 240 that I trust to drive anywhere. Ive gotten spoiled by these smoky old jalopies
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Old 11-13-2013, 01:04 PM
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Computerized engine management has done wonders for keeping engines from dying prematurely. What used to be a miracle is now commonplace and expected. First trade in for most cars today is around 120k miles and they'll go for many more miles unless abuse or rust takes them out of service. But the old MB diesels seem more impressive because they were manufactured at a time when cars were not expected to achieve this kind of mileage. They stand out in our minds because there are fewer examples from the same vintage to compare with.

I can make a nice list of vehicles / engines that I've had that make 200k miles, and until a couple of years ago I wouldn't have touched a Benz. The tops on my list is one of these:


I've had multiple versions of these and I've never disposed of one with less than 200k miles. The highest mileage I achieved before rust out was 294,000. I currently have a '94 from Virginia that's got 250k and zero rust so the potential's there, but we only drive it a little bit each summer so chances are slim that it will get to the milemarker.
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Old 11-13-2013, 01:20 PM
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My 06 WRX has 173k on it and still looks as good as it did with 120k on it

I have no issue hopping in it and driving it from NJ to Arkansas and back. Some times it's more about age than mileage.
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  #13  
Old 11-13-2013, 07:38 PM
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Higher miles has never bothered me. 100k on a modern vehicle, even a domestic, is nothing. Miles on the odometer is only a snapshot - how the vehicle was cared for and the current condition of the vehicle is much more important.

Caveat: The above only applies to manual transmission vehicles. I have a phobia of automatic transmissions. I wouldn't even consider an automatic transmission vehicle with more than 100k miles, and any vehicle I bought would be purchased with the expectation that I would have to replace the transmission at around the 150k mark. Any time the transmission lives past 150k to be purely borrowed time. A auto trans vehicle with more than 150k would have to either have a recent receipt for a transmission rebuild from a reputable shop, or the price would have to be VERY significantly reduced, to cover a rebuild in short order.

Edit: Kind of funny, the only transmission I've had fail on me was a manual. It was loaned to a friend for a couple months, they didn't keep up on the fluids, was driven for several thousand miles with insufficient fluid.
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Old 11-13-2013, 08:09 PM
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Computerized engine management has done wonders for keeping engines from dying prematurely.

Very good point, and don't overlook the benefit of modern oils.
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Old 11-13-2013, 08:15 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by OM617YOTA View Post
Higher miles has never bothered me. 100k on a modern vehicle, even a domestic, is nothing. Miles on the odometer is only a snapshot - how the vehicle was cared for and the current condition of the vehicle is much more important.

Caveat: The above only applies to manual transmission vehicles. I have a phobia of automatic transmissions. I wouldn't even consider an automatic transmission vehicle with more than 100k miles, and any vehicle I bought would be purchased with the expectation that I would have to replace the transmission at around the 150k mark. Any time the transmission lives past 150k to be purely borrowed time. A auto trans vehicle with more than 150k would have to either have a recent receipt for a transmission rebuild from a reputable shop, or the price would have to be VERY significantly reduced, to cover a rebuild in short order.

Edit: Kind of funny, the only transmission I've had fail on me was a manual. It was loaned to a friend for a couple months, they didn't keep up on the fluids, was driven for several thousand miles with insufficient fluid.
Take a look at this:500,000 miles in 07 cab & chassis

It's also been hooked up to a fifth wheel trailer for its whole life.

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