At the risk of becoming boring, I'd like to repeat a question that was unanswered when it was part of an earlier thread.
I'm considering buying a used car that has only done 1200 miles in 16 months. How harmful to the mechanical parts would the long period(s) of idleness have been?
The car is good price, but I feel that the above issue is one on which I need guidance before I commit myself.
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L\'escargot by name, but not by nature.
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I have just disposed of a Kia Magentis V6 which had done about 2600 miles in about two and a half years, the first half year having been minimal mileage with a dealer. There were no problems except that the battery conked out once it was out of its two year warranty.
I took it for a lively run in the country to make sure it was handed over run in!
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My wife's car does about 1000 miles a year, and has done for the last 8 years with few ill effects.
I'd check ...
Bodywork, especially if its kept in a garage. If its stored outside check the doors aren't full of water (the water tends to get past the door seals and the lack of use stops it shaking out).
Tyres (especially the spare) for sidewall cracks. The tyre companies recommend replacing them after 5 years.
Rubber generally for perishing
Brakes - can easily be seized
Service history - a car needs fresh oil and (at least) an annual service, regardless of mileage.
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I have just bought a car that has been pretty much standing idle for the last 18 months and has probably done 200 miles in that time. You will probably need to get new disks & pads all round if things don't clean up with a bit of use and will find that a few silly things will seize eg bonnet releases etc. It depends on what sort of journeys those 1600 miles were. If they were a short weekend thrash then I'd expect the car to be even more troublesome than if it were the occasional gentle trip.
All the fluids will need changing. Change the cam belt as they suffer when not used. The rubber hoses and things will also need checking carefully as will the brake pipes. You might need a new battery if they have let it go flat between uses of the car.
If it has been under shelter rather than exposed then it should be less of a risk than if it had just been standing outside. Mine had green mould on it and I still haven't quite managed to get all of it off!
teabelly
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The rubber hoses and things will also need checking carefully as will the brake pipes. >>
Yesterday I was at a MoT station watching another car being tested that had been standing unused for six months. The tester said one thing that often happens is on the first emergency stop the brake pipes pop. Worth doing a few big stamps on the pedal me thinks rather than just heavy braking.
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My brother bought a Ford Mondeo that had only done 12,000 miles in 6 years.
Because it was over 5 years he had the cambelt changed shortly after purchase. The garage gave him the old parts back, which he then passed on to me.
The belt itself was like brand new, and it still even had the printing on it (Gates). The tensioner was also in new condition, but most worn were the "Pulleys" which appeared to have started to break up, so it's just as well everything was changed when it was.
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In 1985 as an impecunious student I bought a 1929 Riley 9 Monaco saloon for £60 with a genuine 45,000 miles on the clock with one owner. It neede 2 new tyres, a decoke and the bores were badly worn . I never fixed the bores: it did 500miles per pint of oil and baout 25mpg. The fabric body was original: I had to revarnish bits. The paintwork was awful: I stripped it down and painted it with Valspar. I replaced all the water hoses (waterpump? whassat? It was thermosyphon)
Apart from those ailments the brakes clutch and steering were fine and I ran it for a year and sold it for £120 plus an MG TA.
So very old cars with rod brakes last very well: if garaged.
SWMBO runs a Peugeot 106 (1993) with 42,000 genuine miels from new. It is used regularly and serviced annually. The engine gearbox and clutch are very good, but almost all the rubber items: CV joints/hoses/brake hoses/front disks /rear wheel cylinders/cambelt/auxiliary drive belt/ accelerator cable have been replaced.The tyres have been replaced three times- mainly cracking of sidewalls or scrubbing . The paintwork is nearly immaculate. One cormer of the windscreen about 2.5 cm long is turning white through delamination.
I would only buy a low mileage/usage car like that with evidence of regular maintence and replacement of all rubber parts. Especially top engine hoses and brake components.
madf
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You may find parts of my Capri restoration story useful:
tinyurl.com/6ttbv
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SWMBO's 306 1.8 SR Sedan did approximately fourteen thousand miles in the first eight years eight years from new, mostly during summer months, being laid up in the original elderly owner's garage when the weather became inclement. When we purchased it, it was in perfect mechanical fettle with no oil leaks and no sign of perished rubber, something I attribute to being garaged all the time it was not being driven.
Now at ten years of age, still garaged every night, and with my missus having put on an additional fifteen thousand miles in the last two years, it is still oil leak free (I corrected a small weep nothing to do with perishing seals or pipes), and drives as if it left the showroom yesterday.
I never knew that two and a half grand could buy so much reliable fun!
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I've certainly been given food for thought, for which I am grateful. However, I think I worded my post badly. The car is 16 months old and the odometer reading is 1200 miles ~ which I have no reason to believe is not genuine. I'm expecting to see rusted brake discs etc., but I'm more concerned about what unseen deterioration may have taken place in the engine and transmission etc. etc.
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L\'escargot by name, but not by nature.
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I don't see that there is much to be worried about here. Cars stand around for ages before they get registered, and this isn't seen or recorded.
I would check to make sure there are no obvious signs of corrosion, or of inappropriate storage. If you are really concerned, find a garage with an endoscope to look into the bores to make sure there is no corrosion in there.
The gearbox should be fine.
number_cruncher
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Bought wife's Clio 3 years ago with 4k on the clock, it was 3 years old at the time. Has been fine since, now done nearly 30k.
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