We all know that they tend to be two schools of thought within motoring. One group of people tend to like buying their vehicle new, or nearly new, and then they get rid of the car before it starts to cost any cash (I?m thinking of a friend who is getting rid of his Leon Cupra at 60k because he doesn?t want an unreliable car). The other group prefer to buy old and cheap, and get the maximum use out of the car for minimum money. Bangeromics is the term I think.

As far as I can see, for low mileage drivers these are probably the two sensible options available to them. It?s a sliding scale, and the choice will largely be made on preference, budget, and depends on whether the car needing regular attention and not being 100% reliable is acceptable to you.

However, as long as my assumptions and logic hold, then I'm not sure this is true for the high mileage motorist. I'm assuming:

· Corrosion and other age related problems will not be accelerated by high mileage use
· Electrical systems have a lifetime measured in years and not miles
· It is possible to replace mechanical systems, up to and including entire engine and transmission systems, in order to keep the car running properly

If the above are true, I think there is some widespread wooly thinking on the economics behind changing a high mileage newish car.

For example, my car is a common rail diesel, and therefore many people have advised me against trying to run it to very high mileages. They warn that it will need new fuel pumps, for example, by 150,000 miles, at a possible cost of £1000. This is just one cost that I will likely incur. I can also imagine needing new suspension, drive shafts, possibly gearbox, possibly even the engine.

Even if all the above does need replacing, which might come to £5,000, I will hit that mileage in about four years. As long as my three assumptions above are actually correct though, by spending that £5,000, I could end up with a completely sound car. Especially if the engine etc had been changed, I would have something approaching a new car for less than a quarter of the cost.

Is this flawed logic? Am I living in cloud cuckoo land?

There's always talk of old cars being uneconomic to repair because the cost of the repair exceeds their book value. I just wonder that, on a car that's been well looked after, whether this misses the true cost of changing. In the example above, my friend could have the cam belt changed and other minor problems fixed on his Cupra for £1000. Even if he spend another £500 having it chipped up to 225 bhp, he would still only have spent 10% of what he will spend changing the car. To me that makes changing a car he admits he loves financial madness, although he doesn't see it that way. (By the way, I know it?s entirely legitimate to just want a change, I?m only questioning the financial side of this).

What do people think?

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I have an M Reg 1995 Yamaha YZF 750 which has started to overheat recently. On a long run with relatively few stops the problem does not present itself with the temperature indicating around 70 degrees. If however I have to go through town or ride slowly, the temperature increases to around 95 degrees (indicated) before the bike appears to boil all the water from the expansion tank through its overboard drain pipe. I have checked the operation of the thermostat in boiling water and it does open fully, the fan does not come on when the overheating occurs but the manual does state that its operating temperature is 105 degrees plus/minus 3 degrees (the fans do operate when the connectors are shorted). Does anyone have experience of this problem with a YZF 750 or perhaps have any ideas on components I could check? Thanks. Read more

I had an advisory last year on the Volvo's front discs, to the effect that they were getting thin.

Now they have lasted 235K miles and I've only done about 2K since last year, the car having been SORN'd since May so the thin-ness should hardly have increased (or should that be decreased?) so I took a chance and put it through again, however this year it was a fail.

I'm not grumbling, it's a fair cop, the tester is actually *very* fair with my vehicles, it is just a snag with the computerised system, there is no chance of him forgetting last year's advisories and re-issuing them.

Unfortunately this year's advisory is a steering rack inner ball joint so, unless this bit is available separately, next year will be the end of the road.

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I'm in the market for a second-hand large, robust MPV for the family and I can't find a decent low mileage Previa for sensible money...so...looking at the latest "Which" car guide I notice that the Seat Alhambra is described as "worth considering". Looking at past years' copies of the Which guide I notice that the Alhambra consistently comes out ahead of both the Sharan and Galaxy in terms of customer satisfaction. Why is this? I thought they were all the same vehicle off the same production line just with a different badge and trim? Can anyone explain why the Alhambra should be so much more favoured to Which readers? I only ask because it looks like second hand Galaxy and Sharans are relatively common...


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Having had my vectra 1,8 for 4 years know and having giving me little problems,until now. I was wondering if anyone could help me?

The car does not idle properly and tries to stall somtimes, then idles too high sometimes. The engine mangement light comes on then goes off when it feels like it.

Today when i stopped and let the car idle,it idled fine until i put the air con on, then it idled fast. When i turned the air con off again it went back to normal?????

This week i have cleaned the carb,by removing the air filter and spraying carb cleaner in it.

I have changed the exhaust valve,still no change...........................Any ideas?

Car Details
1999 (v reg)
1.8i ego tech petrol engine
Engine No 20J93872
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