What constitutes a car lasting 200 or 300k miles?

[bbhero]

I believe that you are right. I have 213k miles on my Nissan Altima 3.5 two door coupe with zero serious work on my motor and transmission. Only changed spark plugs once. I am very pleased with my car to this point. And zero issues with any ancillary parts on the inside of the car. Perrtty good in my book

 

[PiperOne]

If you're asking what qualifies a car as "original" to accurately say it went xxx thousand miles....I'd say the engine and transmission should be original and the engine largely untouched. I consider auto trans re builds as (expensive) maintenance once you go past 400,000. I would also think the main body shell should be original as well.

Guess it depends really....the higher the miles, the more slack I would give as to what had been done. But, as an example, that Castrol video about the Volvo that was on here..I don't consider that legit...the engine had been apart before and had major components replaced.

 

[BrocLuno]

I sold a Volvo Turbo coupe (242t) that had 283K on with original engine, tranny and rear end. Had one clutch and one turbo. Just tired of the car and being Cali, it needed too much $$ to pass SMOG again. If it was registered in NV, it would have run on into the sunset ...

Had a '53 Hudson once that had over 200K before we had the modern oils we have now. Well built with high nickle block. GM Hydramatic. Those cars were pretty bullet proof too.

Wife has almost 190K on her Jag XJ6. Seems it'll keep running on into the sunset. Original motor and tranny, but did get a new rear end last year ... She says she might get this or that when it dies ... But it shows no signs of dying soon

 

[Ducked]

Originally Posted By: OneEyeJack
It's simple. As the owner of a 1984 Civic wagon with 440K+ miles, it takes only a few things to get over 250K miles.

Reliable vehicle
Good weather, parking inside is a bonus
Conservative driving style
Routine maintenance
Some basic knowledge about vehicles
A good mechanic for things you don't do
....you add the next one


Reading the original question

 

[CR94]

It's impossible to agree on a clear answer, so it's debatable how much of my Mazda's career counts. Besides normal wear stuff (shocks, mufflers, ball joints, CV joints, upholstery, alternator, etc.), the biggies were:

330K Clutch (due to oil, not wear)
350K Transmission bearings (dubious since new)
476K Head (due to erosion of coolant passages, not wear)
606K Retired because head or head gasket was leaking coolant again (among various lesser issues). Original oily engine parts such as timing chain, rings, bearings, crank, camshaft, rockers, etc. were still fine.

 

[ARB1977]

Luck

 

[OneEyeJack]

Originally Posted By: ls1mike
Originally Posted By: OneEyeJack
It's simple. As the owner of a 1984 Civic wagon with 440K+ miles, it takes only a few things to get over 250K miles.

Reliable vehicle
Good weather, parking inside is a bonus
Conservative driving style
Routine maintenance
Some basic knowledge about vehicles
A good mechanic for things you don't do
....you add the next one


And see here is where we disagree. Oneeye I love your post and you add a lot to this board but your pistons have been out of the block. You needed rings that is no small thing. That is not 440K miles on the original stuff.

My old S-10 blazer went 280,000 with nothing removed below the valve cover or intake for gasket work. Original 700R4 when I gave it to a friend who drove all the way to 380,000 at that point the transmission finally gave up.

To answer the question, engine has not been re-ringed, re-bearinged, no regrind on the cam. Gaskets, timing belts, water pumps stuff like that is ok. Suspension components are ok. I can let the transmission slide because some engines are just harder on them than others. You don't break stuff until you start making power.

I have no issue with people fixing stuff to get it to go 500k or longer, but you have to draw the line somewhere on what is original.


The engine made it to 400K with only routine maintenance before the oil control rings failed the Calif smog test, visible smoke on startup only, not slowing down or steady-state driving. Replacing the valve seals did not change the problem. If it were not for this smog test the engine would not have been touched. On tear down, everything was within new car spec's. I put new pistons in because they came with the shrink-wrapped NOS kit I purchased from a Honda dealer that priced it to get rid of it. Same with standard bearings that were installed. I polished the crank and touched up the cylinder bores. The camshaft and valves were all okay. I touched up the faces and seats and was careful not to widen the seats in the head. The point I'd like to make is that the engine is doing well and the repairs came to less than $500 including a battery, a radiator and some miscellaneous parts done in my driveway and at a friends shop if you consider my time worth nothing. It turns out synthetic oil is worth the expense if you keep a vehicle for a while.

 

[Kira]

Cars last longer today so the mileage point of this discussion is skewed upward.

I'm going with the number on the odometer because "stuff happens".

If my oiling system failed and trashed my engine and I repaired/replaced it and I got the car to 300K, 400K or 1,000,000 miles it'd still be "my high mileage car".

The milestones (200K, 400K etc.) therefore must be classed.

Group I: Magic cars which received no maintenance of any kind.
Group II: Cars which received scheduled maintenance.
Group III: Cars which underwent only suspension and rubber part maintenance (engine mounts, shocks/struts, brake hoses).
Group IV: Cars which underwent any dashboard repairs (gauges, AC controls, ashtray/cigarette lighter replacement)
Group V: Cars which had any gasket replaced
Group VI: Cars which had a auto trannie repaired/replaced....clutch job for manuals.
Group VII: Cars which had their engines opened up AND REPAIRED for any reason.
Group VIII: Cars which had engines REPLACED.

WILDCARD: If the sunroof/moonroof fails-your car is taken and crushed. You are then relegated to be the greeter (or work the cloak room) at the High Mileage Dinner.
Seating hierarchy at the "Dinner" is determined by how many light bulbs went out over the life of the car.

 

[kschachn]

From my experience it has a lot to do with the manufacturer. My BMW needed more maintenance to get it where it is today than my other three cars combined.

For my Asian cars 200,000 miles was nothing and 300,000 took some work. Nearing 400,000 in my Sienna is uncharted territory for me, I've never been this far out on any car I've ever owned. Preventative maintenance is key as others have mentioned, you'll have a lot of that to do but it will contribute to longevity.

 

[khittner]

I’ve been thinking for awhile that there ought to be car shows for high-mile driver cars and non-commercial trucks. Maybe beauty contest categories for nicely-kept interiors and rust-free bodies, particularly for Rust Belt entrants. Sponsorships by synthetic oil companies, RockAuto, Hagerty Insurance, Kelly Blue Book, Rent-A-Wreck, Krown Rustproofing etc. This discussion, however, goes to the potential technicalities of the judging process and entry categories.

 

[Michael_P]

Maintenance aside, a big factor to vehicle longevity is how you drive it. Set the parking brake always. No jack rabbit starts. Easy on the brakes. Coast to a stop. Ease up on the accelerator when it shifts if it is an automatic. Tow slow. Never turn the steering wheel unless the vehicle is rolling unless you have to. Never put the car in drive til the RPM's are below 1000. I could go on, but each vehicle has its nuances and quirks. For instance; If you own a DCT Focus, one way to make the clutch last way longer is to wait a second after releasing the brake before hitting the accelerator to extend clutch life. Get to know your vehicle. I know people who have made the most unreliable cars go 200,000+ miles trouble free while people who unknowingly torture their cars make the most reliable car fail early.

 

[emmett442]

^^^smh

 

[eyeofthetiger]

Originally Posted By: Michael_P
Maintenance aside, a big factor to vehicle longevity is how you drive it. Set the parking brake always. No jack rabbit starts. Easy on the brakes. Coast to a stop. Ease up on the accelerator when it shifts if it is an automatic. Tow slow. Never turn the steering wheel unless the vehicle is rolling unless you have to. Never put the car in drive til the RPM's are below 1000. I could go on, but each vehicle has its nuances and quirks. For instance; If you own a DCT Focus, one way to make the clutch last way longer is to wait a second after releasing the brake before hitting the accelerator to extend clutch life. Get to know your vehicle. I know people who have made the most unreliable cars go 200,000+ miles trouble free while people who unknowingly torture their cars make the most reliable car fail early.

Indeed. Common sense is so often uncommon.

 

[PimTac]

Originally Posted By: Michael_P
Maintenance aside, a big factor to vehicle longevity is how you drive it. Set the parking brake always. No jack rabbit starts. Easy on the brakes. Coast to a stop. Ease up on the accelerator when it shifts if it is an automatic. Tow slow. Never turn the steering wheel unless the vehicle is rolling unless you have to. Never put the car in drive til the RPM's are below 1000. I could go on, but each vehicle has its nuances and quirks. For instance; If you own a DCT Focus, one way to make the clutch last way longer is to wait a second after releasing the brake before hitting the accelerator to extend clutch life. Get to know your vehicle. I know people who have made the most unreliable cars go 200,000+ miles trouble free while people who unknowingly torture their cars make the most reliable car fail early.





Dittos.

 

[OneEyeJack]

The point I was trying to make was that my routine maintenance worked well. My choice of oil has almost always been criticized but I had the chance to look inside and see that it works well.

I also learned that Honda's recommendation for using engine oil in those cars for a manual transmission is not for anyone keeping their car long term. Engine oil in a manual transmission shears down even the Mobil 1 5w-30 and I lost the bearings to excessive noise at 200K. I replaced the bearings and seals and switched to Red Line MTL and at 440K+ there is no noise and no signs of trouble.

I just bought a 2006 Scion xB with 131K miles and when changing fluids I switched to Red Line MT90 for the manual transmission. I'm also using the same Red Line 0w-30 that everyone tells me is no good for a DD. Some common knowledge is less than useful.

I just drove the xB from East San Diego to Phoenix area and back in the same day (10 hours of driving time) for some medical stuff and got 37 mpg winding the snot out of that little 1NX-FE 1.5L engine. It's a great little engine. At first, I was worried about winding the engine so much but not anymore.

 

[eyeofthetiger]

I refuse to believe that the oversized toaster on wheels got 37 MPG highway, unless it was doing only about 55 MPH. The xB is good at many things, but slipping through the air at high speeds is not one of them.

 

[Graham Piccinini]

Originally Posted By: eyeofthetiger
I refuse to believe that the oversized toaster on wheels got 37 MPG highway, unless it was doing only about 55 MPH. The xB is good at many things, but slipping through the air at high speeds is not one of them.

I have a 2nd generation xB that is bigger and less fuel efficient, and I get 30-31mpg at 70mph with my 2.4L engine. A first generation xB with the 1.5L engine CAN do 37mpg. Also that same exact 1.5L engine powers the Yaris. Since Yaris is more aerodynamic - it gets 40mpg+. I have seen many reports of as much as 45mpg in the Yaris. So yes, there is an MPG penalty for the xB, but not enough to put it below 35mpg mark.

 

[littleant]

Originally Posted By: Donald
Live south of rust belt is the most important. Most engines will go 200k with decent maint. To get the transmission to 200k you have to start with a decent transmission and then maintain it with synthetic ATF.
+1 on everything Donald said. In Vermont RUST is the number killer.

 

[MichaelRS]

Thank you all for your replies to my OP.
I wasn't really sure how to ask the question so I realize that caused a little confusion.
It was not so much how do you get a car to 300 or whatever thousand miles (of course regular maintenance and TLC plays a large part in that), but how much or what kind of repair work is done before you can say the car did not last that long.

But as some of you have pointed out, that it is indeed very hard to define what one means by that. I think major engine work, again however you to find that, and trans work would disqualify a car, unless one says, Well this or thatmajor system lasted, but this other one didn't.

Anyway, there was a lot of good information and insight here and I really appreciate everyone's thoughts and experience.

 

[Malo83]

Original owner of an 83 Chevy Silverado with the stock 305 with 230K miles, engine is all original never opened up or disassembled with the exception of replacing the starter,waterpump and rebuilding the Qjet, 700R4 tranny has been rebuilt, original rearend and still running the original powersteering pump and hoses, all emissions intact and she has never failed a smog check, still do 3K oil changes with dino oil and filter, would say i got my moneys worth.