Buying A High Mileage Bmw
Most professional mechanics will tell you that 12,000 miles per year is an accurate estimate for a car that has not been overdriven and considered to have high mileage. Therefore, a vehicle driven for 10 years, would have an acceptable mileage of 120,000 miles.
buying a high mileage bmw
To see if a car's mileage is within a reasonable range, simply multiply 24,000 by the car's age and see if the mileage reading on the odometer is higher or lower than that. You can also just divide the car's odometer reading by its age to get the average reading.
While some people are sticklers for low mileage on a used car, it doesn't mean that you should write off every decent-looking car with high mileage. Back in the day, old school odometers would "roll over" or go back to 000 miles/ kilometers once they reached a certain threshold (99,999 miles). This is probably how folks came up with the 160,000 km number, as it roughly converts to just under 100,000 miles.
In this case, high mileage might actually be an indicator of less wear and tear! If a car was used extensively for long cross-country driving, the engine and braking system might actually be in better shape than a city car.
Buying a used car means considering both deferred and upcoming maintenance. Deferred maintenance refers to any upkeep and repairs that should have been done, but were ignored by the previous owner. Upcoming maintenance, on the other hand, refers to all the common issues that arise in cars that register mileages around 160,000 km and over.
Again, to reiterate, as technology becomes more advanced, car manufacturers can come up with better materials and reduce the amount of wear and tear newer cars receive over time. So even if a new car has raked in a lot of kilometers in a short amount of time, you can expect it to still be in better condition than some of the older cars on the lot. More on buying a new vs. used car here.
Driving on worn-out tires is a huge risk, especially when it's raining or snowing. You can end up hydroplaning, lose control of your brakes, and become more susceptible to tire blow-outs. Worn out tires can also lose air pressure more quickly, resulting in a reduction of control in steering and braking. If you're looking at a high-mileage car, always check the tires to ensure that they aren't worn out. If you can, just buy brand new tires. Better to be safe than sorry!
When leasing a vehicle, you have a mileage limit that you can't exceed. If you do go over this limit, you have to pay extra fees. Instead of paying extra fees, you can choose a high mileage lease to accommodate your needs.
On the flip side, buying a newer car with higher miles holds its own challenges. Newer cars, being newer, have had fewer opportunities for mistreatment, abandonment, or neglect. They can often be in much better shape to the naked eye, but that shiny coat of paint and clean interior may be hiding issues.
Everyone's definition of a high-mileage car probably differs. To a BMW owner, what's considered high-mileage could be a hundred-thousand miles, a Porsche owner, maybe that's sixty-thousand miles, and a Volvo owner, that could be two hundred-thousand plus. But should these "high-mileage" numbers deter you from making the purchase of your dreams?
I remember shortly after I purchased my 1998 Volvo S70 around 2014, everyone asked me the age old questions about it including: "How many miles do you have on it?" Without hesitation, I would tell them that "it has 208,000 on it." It always seems that at that point everyone had to put in their two cents about buying a car with high-mileage and some horror stories about their last car with high miles. My S70...now with 233,000 miles on it, has been a wonderful daily driver and even road-tripper too. However, I will humbly admit that there are certain instances when purchasing a vehicle with higher mileage may not be in one's best interest.
Based on that equation, a car with 200,000-miles is about 13 years old and a car with 300,000-miles is about 20 years old. Taking this into consideration should help you understand that if the owner drove the average annual mileage then, if the car was maintained as it should, it reaching 200,000-300,000-miles is certainly possible. After all a car is meant to be driven!
Is it common to hear stories of the model car your're looking for having insanely high-mileage? Or is it the opposite, where you hear that those cars only last a limited amount of miles? Volvo's "white block" cars are known for their reliability even with high-mileage. That's why I did not hesitate looking at one with 200k on it. They have a proven record amongst owners for reliability. It's usually more than luck that brings the car into the 200k+ mileage range, and in the case of the P80 Volvos, I think it's due to great engineering. The same can be said for many other vehicles as well. Forums are a great place to read about owner's experiences with the vehicle you're considering with higher miles.
Its important to understand that vehicles are made up of many different "wear & tear" items. Meaning, there are components on your vehicle which must be replaced at certain intervals throughout the life of your car. Wear items include things like tires, brakes, clutch, drive belts and windshield wipers. Chances are, these wear items have been replaced a few times in this high-mileage car's life, or are at the point where they are ready for replacement.
Wear items are things that would need to be taken care of on any car that you buy regardless of its age and mileage so you shouldn't dismiss a high-mileage car just because its going to need a set of spark plugs or brake pads/rotors. In many cases, more costly services such as a timing belt replacement may have been done more recently on a car with higher miles. My S70 had its timing belt done at 180k miles which meant it was something I didn't have to worry about for another 50,000-miles or so. On the contrary, another S70 I looked at had 140k on it and the timing belt had last been done at 75,000-miles meaning it was a costly service I was looking to do very soon had I purchased that model. Be sure to ask the owner about the last time things such as brakes and tires were replaced, and be sure to do visual inspections on these items. With suspension components, take the car for a drive and put it through its paces over a few bumps. Listen for any odd noises/rattles and excessive play in the steering.
Ideally, if I was purchasing a high-mileage car, I would like it to have one to two owners who can provide service documentation for the car since the day it was purchased. Consistency in a car's ownership means that the car has usually received the same: quality and grade of fuel, type of oil used, dealership for service, and washings/cleanings. Of course, upon you purchasing the car, you may decide to change all of this, but at least if there's an issue after doing so you knew what the base was beforehand.
While this is sometimes far from the reality, it's always an idea to ask the current owner what they have done and if they know a thing or two about the owner before them (if applicable). Though my S70 has had four owners including me now, I know the previous owner had it for six years and purchased it from a highly regarded Volvo specialty place in my area.
Think about the primary use of the vehicle that you're considering. If its going to be a gas-saving $1000 beater that you just want to go to work in some days while you keep your precocious low-mileage S60R in the garage, then I wouldn't at all be concerned about the mileage. Should something significant go wrong, chances are you'll be close to home and you have another vehicle to spare.
A lot of this advice can be applied to used car purchases in general, but must certainly be stressed when looking at a car with higher miles. Chances are a bad PCV system at 50k may not have had enough time to cause other issues such as a blown RMS or head gasket as if it was left unchecked until 200k.
For me owning a car with high-mileage provides a sense of pride! The faces of disbelief when people look at my odometer and realize my car is in better condition than theirs with half the miles is priceless.
A question that is asked often is how many miles is too much on a used car? It is true that the age of the engine can be measured by how many miles are on the car but it is also true that if a car is taken care of the engine can last well into the 200,000-mile range. To decide whether or not a used car has too many miles you will need to also assess the age of the car. For example, if you want to buy a 2019 car but it already has 100,000 miles on it then most likely it has been driven hard to accumulate that many miles in a short amount of time. Even though it is a relatively new car, the engine has a lot of use on it already and the average miles per year is high.
If the BMW has about 60,000 miles or less, the dealership will likely buy it back. If it has closer to 80,000 miles, they may still purchase it. However, because this is considered high mileage for a BMW, they will pay less for it. It is unlikely that the dealership will buy back any cars with more than 80,000 miles on it.
A basic BMW will last about 150,000 miles and then some. However, as BMW improves the reliability of their vehicles with mechanical advancements, some can last up to 200,000 or even 250,000 miles. If you plan on buying a used BMW try to find one closer to 100,000 miles as this will give you the most life left. 041b061a72