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Car Forum / Driving, Maintenance, Tuning / Maintenance and Repair / August 2005Issues With Extremely Low Milage Used Cars
I have run across a '94 car with only 7000 actual miles. It is a widows car that only drives a very short distance to the store and back. I would guesse it is city miles. This is actual mileage (we know the widow). The average usage is ~13 miles a week. I am not sure what kind of maintenace has been done on the car (oil changes, radiator etc.) If it runs well (smooth, no smoke etc) should I be concerned? I can probably look in the oil fill for evidence of sludge. What should I be concerned about? Anyone with real life experence with extremely low mileage cars? Would this car warrant a premium over say another low mileage car of the same year with say 60K miles. Thanks Mike What should I be concerned about? ~~~~~~~~~ Someone else buys it before you. nospampls2...@yahoo.com wrote: > What should I be concerned about? > ~~~~~~~~~ > Someone else buys it before you. I would put it in for an oil change fairly soon and I would consider draining the gas tank to check for accumulated water (condensation) but I doubt it would need it. > I have run across a '94 car with only 7000 actual miles. It is a widows > car that only drives a very short distance to the store and back. I [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > Would this car warrant a premium over say another low mileage car of > the same year with say 60K miles. 7,000 miles is extremely low...wow! I would assume only minimal maintenance was done absent any information to the contrary. Since the engine rarely got a chance to warm up it may have a good amount of sludging in the engine and may smoke on startup from cold. Check it's operation and verify that it has passed a reasonably recent emissions and safety test. Also check the operation of the automatic transmision and power steering, especially from cold. The car is getting old enough that things like vacuum operated heater controls and the like may not operate properly so check the operation of all accessories too. I would not get overly excited about extremely low milage, although, like the car with 60k, it should command some sort of premium over a car with 175,000 miles. > I have run across a '94 car with only 7000 actual miles. It is a widows > car that only drives a very short distance to the store and back. I > would guesse it is city miles. This is actual mileage (we know the > widow). The average usage is ~13 miles a week. I am not sure what kind > of maintenace has been done on the car (oil changes, radiator etc.) I generally buy 10 year old used "granny cars" with very low mileage myself. You can drive the car for a couple of years and then sell it for what you paid for it (after all it will still be a nice low mileage car) and buy yourself a new one. A couple of things I have learned after five cars bought like this: When you start driving the car on a regular basis things are going to break. Figure that the car is going to need 1k in repairs in short order. After this point everything will be fine for quite a while Replace the tires immediately. They rot from the inside out sometimes and not worth risking your safety over an old used tire. Have the cooling system flushed and replace the belts and hoses. Have the break fluid flushed as it accumulates water just the same whether the car is drive or not. Your gas tank is probably fine. I wouldn't really worry about it unless it starts to give you problems. Steve B. > > I have run across a '94 car with only 7000 actual miles. It is a widows > > car that only drives a very short distance to the store and back. I [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > Your gas tank is probably fine. I wouldn't really worry about it > unless it starts to give you problems. That's the way to buy good transportation cheaply - congratulations. My sister-in-law did that with a Caddy. Got a 10 year old top of the line model with every imaginable option from an old guy who toodled back and forth to the golf course a couple of times a week and that was about it. I think it had something like 25,000 miles on it. low miles arrgg i would drive it for a week and watch it start leaking everwhere a car needs to be driven to keep the seals wet in your case it was not know they will crack and leak good luck >I have run across a '94 car with only 7000 actual miles. It is a widows >car that only drives a very short distance to the store and back. I >would guesse it is city miles. This is actual mileage (we know the >widow). The average usage is ~13 miles a week. I am not sure what kind >of maintenace has been done on the car (oil changes, radiator etc.) >If it runs well (smooth, no smoke etc) should I be concerned? I can >probably look in the oil fill for evidence of sludge. >What should I be concerned about? >Anyone with real life experence with extremely low mileage cars? No real life experience, but I would say you are on the right track by paying attention to sludge accumulation given the driving history. Since it was not in extended storage, there is not much else to worry about. Note that rubber deteriorates with age, so hoses, belts, seals, bushings etc may be an issue regardless of mileage. Check underneath for rust. Gas tank, body, etc. -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ William R Watt National Capital FreeNet Ottawa's free community network homepage: www.ncf.ca/~ag384/top.htm warning: non-FreeNet email must have "notspam" in subject or it's returned > I have run across a '94 car with only 7000 actual miles. It is a widows > car that only drives a very short distance to the store and back. I [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > > Mike All of the above suggestions are priceless. Hope this adds a bit to your confidence. BUY THE CAR--and it deserves a premium price. Drive it a distance of 20-30 highway miles to get it plenty hot, & change oil & filter while it's still hot. No $ wasted in doing this twice within say a week. Do inspect belts & hoses & tires closely & replace as needed. According to tire specialists I've talked to, tires that are that old can be dangerously near dry-rot condition with non-noticeable cracking esp. on the sidewalls just outside the sealing surfaces, regardless of tread depth. Do not be shocked if you have to replace a couple of electrical parts, like alternator/starter, within a year or less. Same goes for exhaust system. Still much cheaper than car payments! I've had a lot of experience buying/selling low mileage cars. Due to their demand, I've never kept one for myself very long; but in our rural area, I kept tabs on the highly-satisfied buyers. Were I to come out of retirement, I'd go back seeking out low mileage cars to buy/sell, for both income and enjoyment. HTH & good luck as you enjoy your *new* car!. s Cars age like people. Some take it very well and others are leaking from every orifice. I'd love to have such a low mileage find. I would look for signs of serious rust underneath and this might take some looking. If it runs OK and doesn't smoke, then go for it. On price, a cream puff only warrants a small premium. Don't get caught up into thinking this is a new car until it proves itself. > Cars age like people. Some take it very well and others are leaking > from every orifice. I'd love to have such a low mileage find. I would > look for signs of serious rust underneath and this might take some > looking. If it runs OK and doesn't smoke, then go for it. > On price, a cream puff only warrants a small premium. Don't get caught > up into thinking this is a new car until it proves itself. ...more good advice...s > Cars age like people. Some... ... are leaking > from every orifice. *Hey"! Cuttitout! >What should I be concerned about? Well, my, and my late FIL's, experience ofcars in similar condition is that, becuse the car will probably never have reached its designed working temperature, it will have been put away with a cold exhaust which would have been full of condensation which in a short time will corrode through the exhaust muffler(s). Another possible fault is a battery which has not been charged-discharged as it was designed to be. But I'd buy it like a shot! Good luck! |
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