Out of Curiosity.....Have You Run Your Car Over 300,000 Miles?

[slimndown]

I have a 97 Nissan Sentra which I had bought with only 60,000 miles on it back in 2000 for around 9K (plus interest). I have calculated that it will hit 200,000 miles in September of '06. I've taken such good care of it, although being hard on it at the same time, that I'm pretty sure it will last to 250,000 which will be just under 3 years from now. If I could keep it until 300,000 miles, I could save up enough to buy another car with low mileage and burn that one up 300,000.

My dad usually buys cars at around 180K miles and will usually get them to run to about 400K or so...these cars are usually Datsuns or BMW's.

Anyone ever kept a car that long? What kind of car was it? How long will you keep your current one? What do you look for in a car? And how much are you willing to spend on repairs before you just get another car?!?!?????

[MotherOfGizmo]

Re: Out of Curiosity.....Have You Run Your Car Over 300,000 Miles?

I don't know, my odometer broke over a year and 1/2 ago.

I don't remember how many miles I had on it when I sold it, but I drove my Honda CRXsi for over 18 years so probably.

[Perry]

Re: Out of Curiosity.....Have You Run Your Car Over 300,000 Miles?

Mine has 267,000! 1987 BMW 528. I call her Sherman - after the tank.

[jimmie 48]

Re: Out of Curiosity.....Have You Run Your Car Over 300,000 Miles?

my little truck is a nissan.
1985 with an odometer reading of 135,000 and it broke, like mogs, about 5 years ago.

the worst problem we had with it was the transmission (automatic) went out. i lost reverse.

[slimndown]

Re: Out of Curiosity.....Have You Run Your Car Over 300,000 Miles?

Perry - have you had it forever? We've never had a bad BMW. Not too expensive to fix like the Volvo, but Volvo's usually stay pretty tight and die about the same mileage BMW's do.

Jimmie- Gotta love tranny issues, but hopefully the fix wasn't too expensive. Did you buy it used?

MOG - Yes, the untarnished reputation of Honda's. Did you ever have to fix anything major? What was the deciding factor in getting another vehicle?

[Perry]

Re: Out of Curiosity.....Have You Run Your Car Over 300,000 Miles?

I can work on this car - easily. I bought it with 225,000. I know the original owner. Trained one daughter to drive on it and it survived with quite a few dents! Ready to train the next one!

[jimmie 48]

Re: Out of Curiosity.....Have You Run Your Car Over 300,000 Miles?

slim, we bought our truck new.
the tranmission cost us $1,800. to fix. that is a bunch but it's cheaper than a new vehicle.

[allierw26]

Re: Out of Curiosity.....Have You Run Your Car Over 300,000 Miles?

I know someone that had a little 88 Civic that lasted over 300,000...it never died, his son totalled it. My grandmother drove her Accord to well over 200,000 before selling. My hubby's GMC Sonoma had a tranny that was going out...we traded it in on a new vehicle. I can handle timing belts, water pumps, brakes, routine stuff...but once I start spending roughly about the same as a car payment, I'd rather have a new car. I wouldn't pay to have a new tranny put in a car, nor an engine.

[slimndown]

Re: Out of Curiosity.....Have You Run Your Car Over 300,000 Miles?

Hmmmmm......yeah, I hear ya on that one. Although it depends on the car. For example. I would replace the engine in a BMW or Volvo I had as most engines only cost $800 BRAND NEW. That is, of course, that the body and all else is in fairly excellent condition. I would likely never replace an entire tranny, though. A good engine usually needs to be replaced when someone has been neglectful to it. A tranny is usually reflective of the manufacturer and would likely repeat any mishaps if replaced with a new one that is the same model (as opposed to repaired). However, I would probably change my mind if I just bought the stinkin' car for a few thousand dollars....

[jimmie 48]

Re: Out of Curiosity.....Have You Run Your Car Over 300,000 Miles?

allie,
i've done both.
transmissions in standards and automatics.
engines in both.

our cost was cut most of the time because jack did the work. the last bout with the nissan was something we opted to pay for. jack was too busy.

the $1800 cost was easier than car payments. that was 4 years ago. costwise it was by far the better decision for us.

[Heidi3]

Re: Out of Curiosity.....Have You Run Your Car Over 300,000 Miles?

no if it is too dirty I have it traded it in
now my husband has a Dodge van that is well over 300,000 and says it still has some good years left...I say he can never expect me to get into it....one of the seats is pretty much held down with duct tape and tye wraps I think!

[Santa Claus]

Re: Out of Curiosity.....Have You Run Your Car Over 300,000 Miles?

My sleigh currently has 5,889,099,022,999,345,326 miles on the clock. Its been a bit of a goer over the years, it soon needs to be booked in for its 6,000,000,00,000,000,000 mile service, but I've never really had any major problems with it.

[Jackie Blue]

Re: Out of Curiosity.....Have You Run Your Car Over 300,000 Miles?

Both of the 240 Volvos I owned had over 300,000 miles on them before they wore out. Now that Ford owns the company and they no longer make the DL, we've switched to Nissan. My dad had a Volvo 122-S for years and years that had well over 200,000 miles when he sold it to someone who lovingly restored it.

[slimndown]

Re: Out of Curiosity.....Have You Run Your Car Over 300,000 Miles?

jimmie - You're definitely right on the tranny vs. car payments. I suppose I would change my mind on that issue if I had a car worth doing the work on and taking into consideration whether I could afford an upgrade.

Heidi - Do you trade in cars just because you want a change? We have detail shops when we think our cars are 'too dirty'.....I'm totally with you on the van - at least going anywhere in it that isn't close to home. Unfortunately, those vans are best taken on trips and if my hubby tried to get me in there, it would be like trying to put a cat in a bathtub.

Santa - You don't exist. That is proven by the mileage you say you have on your sleigh. Any sleigh would have crumbled underneath the fat guy with tons of presents some time during his very first delivery in it.

Jackie Blue - A Volvo die? Never! I can understand your aversion to Volvo's once Ford took over, but from my understanding they haven't changed much if Volvo's basic engine or tranny design and still holds the reputation of having some of the most innovative safety designs currently - next to BMW that is. With Ford, it seems to depend on the car whether it lasts long. Too soon to tell about the Focus but we had an Escort that scared us at 120,000 miles. Mustangs tend to last at least to 200K and I've seen some of their luxury models last up to then, also. Now their trucks last really well with few repairs as long as you stick with the manual tranny. Their automatics always have to be repaired or replaced at some point - especially in the trucks.

[Santa Claus]

Re: Out of Curiosity.....Have You Run Your Car Over 300,000 Miles?

Santa - You don't exist. That is proven by the mileage you say you have on your sleigh. Any sleigh would have crumbled underneath the fat guy with tons of presents some time during his very first delivery in it.

I dont believe it! A non believer in our midst????

My sleigh is a magic sleigh! It can do almost anything you want it to!