How many miles on your cars?

[flyer]

182,000 and counting on my 2003 Cavalier. I never thought it would make it that far.

 

[EppyGA]

2004 Jeep Liberty. 108k
2007 Chevy HHR. 87k
1974 Warrior 4500 hrs

 

[wsuffa]

I hear the DC government has a couple of Navigator L's for sale. Low mileage, only used a couple of months for City Council chairman.

 

[N801BH]

78 E -150 work van..... 300,000 +
88 F -150 playtoy, turbo'd, water injected, 12 PSI boost .... 375,000+
06 Tundra, daily driver,,,, just turned 100,000 and running like a top.

Ben' the big kid' Haas.

 

[weilke]

I hear the DC government has a couple of Navigator L's for sale. Low mileage, only used a couple of months for City Council chairman.

...and if you are ever so lucky, you find some wads of cash that may have fallen out of a shoebox during a transfer.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

2003 Ford Explorer- 83000
2008 Nissan 11500

 

[TMetzinger]

I've seen that story. To me, that's just cool. But it's actually not unusual. There are a number of Dodge Rams with the Cummins Turbo Diesel that have clocked over 2 million. When the first one turned 1 million, they bought it back to have on display. They started popping up like weeds - it's a durable engine. You're more likely to have the truck fall apart around it.

My 82 corolla had 750,000 on it when it finally succumbed to body rust. Someone took the engine and put it in another Corolla.

 

[Ted]

If the oil smoke occurs shortly mostly after startup and is minimal after that it's likely valve guide seals. A big puff of smoke when you go from hard acceleration (about the only valid reason to own a 3000GT VR4) to closed throttle indicates a problem with the turbos. If the smoke is pretty much constant it's the rings.

I never see smoke while driving. It's primarily the after-start oil smell, and if it idles for a while when hot it'll make it more pronounced. It acts like it could be either. I wanted an excuse to do the turbos, and I'll have enough stuff apart during the upgrade that I might as well do the valve seals. If the rings are bad, then I'll just buy a 3.5L block and make it a 3500GT.

It may not handle as well as its counterpart or other options, but it's the cheapest to buy, and the only one with all wheel drive (which is a nice advantage for me). Plus, I just love the way they drive.

 

[Maxmosbey]

Here is just a quick example I pulled off ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Chev...319071QQptZUSQ5fCarsQ5fTrucks#ht_30939wt_1167

I would guess the sticker price of this one is $60K. Shocking when a truck cost as much as a Mercedes.

I take it that you plan to pull something big?

 

[flyersfan31]

101k on the 04 Sienna
67k on the 03 530i
3.8k on the 09 Wrangler

 

[Shipoke]

Well i have 2 Vehicles 1 Avalanche has 132786, the other one Toyota celica has 200896. both run GOOD. Dave G.

 

[Trapper John]

I hear the DC government has a couple of Navigator L's for sale. Low mileage, only used a couple of months for City Council chairman.

Probably were purchased in anticipation of bringing OBL to the courthouse, hence the low mileage...

 

[gprellwitz]

2000 Mercedes ML430 186K
2001 Acura CL-S 229K
Garage kept.
Bought new.

(We sold our first car, a Saturn, at 150K to a firend, and last I heard a couple years ago it was still going strong after 200K miles.)

 

[Trapper John]

2001 Acura CL-S 229K
Garage kept.
Bought new.

That's encouraging. Mine's an '03 with about 100k less. I really like it, but I'm really having a hard time resisting the siren song of a 2011 Mustang GT with the Coyote V-8. And the new Subaru WRX.

 

[denverpilot]

2000 Jeep Cherokee 180,000 when gifted to family.

Wife's 2004 VW TDI Jetta Wagon bought new, 110,000 now I think. She drove for work as a home care nurse when we bought it. Needed dependable wheels. It has been anything but, with $13,000 in warranty repairs, including a blown transmission at 60,000.

Prior to that she had a 1995 Honda Civic that was great but after she was hit six times in seven years, at something like 175,000 it was totaled. Sold it cheap to a cop friend on salvage and he repaired it and still drives it to work today as his "beater".

2004 GMC Yukon bought Feb last year with 64,000 now at 90,529.

Access to 2001 Suburban HD "load hauler", 1991 Miata Limited Edition, and 1984 USAF TV/Microwave 4WD HD van with 40' pneumatic mast, and a homebuilt 4X8 junk trailer through dad.

He stores some of the toys at my house from time to time, since I have garage space for three vehicles, as does he, and we loan vehicles anytime, since they're just tools for different jobs. Unknown miles on all of the above, but they're all high except for the Miata which is a fair-weather convertible cruiser!

 

[wsuffa]

Probably were purchased in anticipation of bringing OBL to the courthouse, hence the low mileage...

Oh, no, it's even better than that.... Read it and weep

 

[Ted]

He stores some of the toys at my house from time to time, since I have garage space for three vehicles, as does he, and we loan vehicles anytime, since they're just tools for different jobs. Unknown miles on all of the above, but they're all high except for the Miata which is a fair-weather convertible cruiser!

My garage has become a toy box. Aside from the VR4, there are 5 motorcycles that live there, only one of which is mine. The nice part is that means I can ride any of them... at least when they're working. Right now only 3 out of the 5 are rideable.

 

[AdamZ]

2008 Honda Pilot 35K
2001 Mazda Millenimum 95K purchased with about 40-45K used to replace my 1993 Nissan Pathfinder which I'd sill be driving today if it wasn't infected with massive rust. I could watch the road go by by looking down under the back seat. The early 90s pathfinders had real corrosion problems

 

[Ted]

2001 Mazda Millenimum 95K purchased with about 40-45K used to replace my 1993 Nissan Pathfinder which I'd sill be driving today if it wasn't infected with massive rust. I could watch the road go by by looking down under the back seat. The early 90s pathfinders had real corrosion problems

The early/mid 90s were when the Japanese finally figured out how to make cars that didn't rust out badly. The engines were great, but the bodies would come apart first.

My 1993 VR4 is rust-free (thank you, Texas). A friend of mine in college had one that spent its life in Chicago. The first time I crawled under that car, I was amazed at how rusty it was. Which reminds me, I should probably wash the undercarriage on mine and spray some undercoating on it...

 

[el con]

2000 Jeep Cherokee 180,000 when gifted to family.

Wife's 2004 VW TDI Jetta Wagon bought new, 110,000 now I think. She drove for work as a home care nurse when we bought it. Needed dependable wheels. It has been anything but, with $13,000 in warranty repairs, including a blown transmission at 60,000.

Prior to that she had a 1995 Honda Civic that was great but after she was hit six times in seven years, at something like 175,000 it was totaled. Sold it cheap to a cop friend on salvage and he repaired it and still drives it to work today as his "beater".

2004 GMC Yukon bought Feb last year with 64,000 now at 90,529.

Access to 2001 Suburban HD "load hauler", 1991 Miata Limited Edition, and 1984 USAF TV/Microwave 4WD HD van with 40' pneumatic mast, and a homebuilt 4X8 junk trailer through dad.

He stores some of the toys at my house from time to time, since I have garage space for three vehicles, as does he, and we loan vehicles anytime, since they're just tools for different jobs. Unknown miles on all of the above, but they're all high except for the Miata which is a fair-weather convertible cruiser!

On a different subject, I noticed your 182 Robertson STOL listed as your plane, I have a friend looking to do something like that, how do you like it, any details I can pass along?

 

[steingar]

Lets see, my little MR2 has between 50 and 60 thousand, which isn't much considering it's 10 years old. Mrs. Steingar's Fit (we call it the TARDIS) hasn't got much, but we bought it recently to take advantage of the tax break (and to rid ourselves of the relatively ancient Toyota Tercel that was starting to burn noticeable amounts of oil).

The Honda 954rr death machine racing motorcycle only has about 5K miles on it in several years. Damn thing is too uncomfortable to ride that long. The Goldwing came with about 83K, and has gotten about 2K more between repairs.

The devil is in the details. If you have mechanical ability, desire, work space, tools and time heavily used vehicles make sound financial sense. this Makes good sense for Ted, who is single, owns his own place, and desings engines for a living (or some such). My mechanical ability wasn't that great when I did this stuff all the time, now it is far worse, and I have neither the space nor the time. Hence I go with new or lightly used vehicles, get what I want, use them intelligently, and keep them forever. I have yet to keep a vehicle less than a decade. The little convertible will stick around until I can no longer find parts for it.

 

[colomtnflyer]

I'm at 255K on my '96 Toyota 4Runner, and it's hardly broken in! Absolutely perfect condition, and about to drive it to Alaska in 4 weeks! (Condition may change after that drive....lol)

My last vehicle was a Toyota Tercel 4WD Wagon, and it had 238K on it when I finally didn't need it anymore.

 

[Ted]

The Honda 954rr death machine racing motorcycle only has about 5K miles on it in several years. Damn thing is too uncomfortable to ride that long. The Goldwing came with about 83K, and has gotten about 2K more between repairs.

I haven't ridden your 954, and I'm sure it's remarkably uncomfortable.

The interesting thing with motorcycle ergonomics is how they seem to vary so wildly from person to person. My RC51, which has been claimed as a horribly uncomfortable motorcycle from everyone I talk to, is surprisingly comfortable for me. I'm not sure why, because it defies all logic. However I rode it 6 hours and several hundred miles in one day, and wasn't half as sore as I thought I'd be. I've since added a gel seat and a throttle lock to it to make my un-cushioned rear happier.

Today I rode the KZ1000P in to work. Short ride, only about 17 miles. My lower back isn't thrilled with it. I was going to ride the RC51, but the repairs I thought I had completed apparently need some more work. It's nice to have functional steering.

The devil is in the details. If you have mechanical ability, desire, work space, tools and time heavily used vehicles make sound financial sense. this Makes good sense for Ted, who is single, owns his own place, and desings engines for a living (or some such). My mechanical ability wasn't that great when I did this stuff all the time, now it is far worse, and I have neither the space nor the time. Hence I go with new or lightly used vehicles, get what I want, use them intelligently, and keep them forever. I have yet to keep a vehicle less than a decade. The little convertible will stick around until I can no longer find parts for it.

Exactly correct.

 

[Steve Foley]

1987 Jeep Wrangler (bought new in 1986) - 151,000 miles
1999 Toyota Corolla (Driven by oldest son) - 170,000 miles
2000 Dodge Caraven (Driven by youngest son) - 180,000 miles
2003 VW Jetta (Driven by middle son) - 197,000 miles

Wife's car - 2003 Toyota Corolla - 101,000 miles

 

[steingar]

I haven't ridden your 954, and I'm sure it's remarkably uncomfortable.

Has to be, to keep me off that rolling bit of testosterone.

The interesting thing with motorcycle ergonomics is how they seem to vary so wildly from person to person. My RC51, which has been claimed as a horribly uncomfortable motorcycle from everyone I talk to, is surprisingly comfortable for me. I'm not sure why, because it defies all logic. However I rode it 6 hours and several hundred miles in one day, and wasn't half as sore as I thought I'd be. I've since added a gel seat and a throttle lock to it to make my un-cushioned rear happier.

The RC51 is an utterly legendary motorcycle. You would probably find the 954 comfortable as well. You have a much longer torso and longer arms than I, so less weight winds up on your hands and wrists. Mine fall asleep after about 20 minutes. Yours probably wouldn't. You might try fitting a Seargent or Corbin seat to it. I don't care who you are, the Honda seats are planks.

Today I rode the KZ1000P in to work. Short ride, only about 17 miles. My lower back isn't thrilled with it. I was going to ride the RC51, but the repairs I thought I had completed apparently need some more work. It's nice to have functional steering.

I fit on naked street bikes far better, since I wind up leaning forward just a touch. Windblast makes the riding position neutral. I shouldn't really have the race bike, but its a hard thing to give up.

 

[Ted]

The RC51 is an utterly legendary motorcycle. You would probably find the 954 comfortable as well. You have a much longer torso and longer arms than I, so less weight winds up on your hands and wrists. Mine fall asleep after about 20 minutes. Yours probably wouldn't. You might try fitting a Seargent or Corbin seat to it. I don't care who you are, the Honda seats are planks.

The gel seat has been a cheaper alternative that seems to work well, but I need to do some more riding first. The ergos are definitely interesting - most sportbikes I find very uncomfortable all over, but the RC51 not so. I suppose the tall skinny part works well for once.

I fit on naked street bikes far better, since I wind up leaning forward just a touch. Windblast makes the riding position neutral. I shouldn't really have the race bike, but its a hard thing to give up.

The naked bike or sport-touring (such as the FJR1300) both work extremely comfortably for me. The RC51 has similar wind balance to the naked bikes like you said, which works well.

 

[Dean]

2006 Jeep Grand Cherokee has 115K and has been flawless. Oil Changes every 5000K miles and on the third set of tires and original brakes.
2010 Dodge Charger Police Package, 13K.

 

[kmead]

1950 Imperial - not sure
1957 Chevrolet wagon - Not sure
1964 Imperial 45,000
1968 Mustang 275,000 (2nd owner)
2001 Ford F150 235,000
2004 Camay 140.000
2009 Corrola 60,000
2010 F250 10,000

I may have forgot some.

Kevin

 

[wsuffa]

I parted with the '97 Pathfinder today. Great car - 133K and still running strong, no rust. No need to keep it - with the new pickup & a Civic there was no point in continuing to insure it and pay property tax on it (Virginia. Sigh).

 

[RickH]

Just sold my '95 Jeep Wrangler with 116k on it.
Wife's 2003 Jaguar X-type has about 62K, my 2006 Dakota about 53k.

 

[gismo]

I never see smoke while driving. It's primarily the after-start oil smell, and if it idles for a while when hot it'll make it more pronounced. It acts like it could be either. I wanted an excuse to do the turbos, and I'll have enough stuff apart during the upgrade that I might as well do the valve seals. If the rings are bad, then I'll just buy a 3.5L block and make it a 3500GT.

IME, oil smell, especially just after starting is more likely a leak (e.g. valve cover gasket) than anything else but if it is coming out the tailpipe it's probably valve guide seals. They are probably plastic and have lost their seal at some point when the engine got a bit overheated.

It may not handle as well as its counterpart or other options, but it's the cheapest to buy, and the only one with all wheel drive (which is a nice advantage for me). Plus, I just love the way they drive.

I almost bought one a long time ago when they'd been out a couple years. First, I was all set to buy a used one but the "pre-buy" turned up all sorts of horrible problems (car had been totaled and cobbled back together). Then I started shopping around for a new one but before I actually did the deal I got to drive one on a track and found out that it really doesn't like fast corners, especially banked ones. It was a fun car for turning fossil fuel into acceleration though and I still like the way they look but my Audi S4 has it beat five ways from Sunday IMO. I was also turned off by the fact that (at least around here) a lot of "chicks" buy them for the looks only (although most went for the GT.

FWIW, I also owned a Galant VR4 with the same gimmicy 4 wheel steering and didn't like the way that handled either (it was my wife's car).

 

[Arbiter419]

Reading over this thread is kind of a relief for me...I bought my first car, a 1998 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP in December with 147k miles on it...it just turned 150k and the only squawks I've come up with are it was dripping a couple drops of oil every now and then...oil pan gasket and I think it'll need a new starter at some point...and in the last 3 days, there's been a squeaking noise coming from the front right while driving over little bumps.

Anybody dealt with the GTPs?

 

[CJones]

Reading over this thread is kind of a relief for me...I bought my first car, a 1998 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP in December with 147k miles on it...it just turned 150k and the only squawks I've come up with are it was dripping a couple drops of oil every now and then...oil pan gasket and I think it'll need a new starter at some point...and in the last 3 days, there's been a squeaking noise coming from the front right while driving over little bumps.

Anybody dealt with the GTPs?

If that has the 4.3 engine, the body will fall apart before the engine every gives up.

 

[GMascelli]

2003 C240 Benz - 55,000
2003 ML320 Benz - 118,000

 

[Arbiter419]

If that has the 4.3 engine, the body will fall apart before the engine every gives up.

3.8l V6/M90 supercharger...this one

 

[CJones]

3.8l V6/M90 supercharger...this one

Acck.. Yeah.. The 3.8 was what I was thinking about, not 4.3.

3800 is a great engine - not sure what the supercharger will do to it.

 

[azure]

2001 Saturn L-series wagon: over 254k and counting...

Yes, I definitely resemble Ron's remark.

 

[Ted]

IME, oil smell, especially just after starting is more likely a leak (e.g. valve cover gasket) than anything else but if it is coming out the tailpipe it's probably valve guide seals. They are probably plastic and have lost their seal at some point when the engine got a bit overheated.

Possible. Additionally, they just aren't very good seals, and give up after 145k. Ford had similar problems with the 4.6 made those years. They got better with time.

I almost bought one a long time ago when they'd been out a couple years. First, I was all set to buy a used one but the "pre-buy" turned up all sorts of horrible problems (car had been totaled and cobbled back together). Then I started shopping around for a new one but before I actually did the deal I got to drive one on a track and found out that it really doesn't like fast corners, especially banked ones. It was a fun car for turning fossil fuel into acceleration though and I still like the way they look but my Audi S4 has it beat five ways from Sunday IMO. I was also turned off by the fact that (at least around here) a lot of "chicks" buy them for the looks only (although most went for the GT.

FWIW, I also owned a Galant VR4 with the same gimmicy 4 wheel steering and didn't like the way that handled either (it was my wife's car).

It's definitely different. You're right that it's not an all-out sports cars, and I can be pretty easily beat in corners by one. But, much like with aircraft, that also wasn't its goal in life. Like the many Jaguar XJ-Ss I used to drive, it's a Grand Touring car. It's fast, stable at high speed, and loves long, sweeping corners. I've always enjoyed that style of car, but I'm in a small minority that does.

It also didn't hurt that it was cheap to buy, despite being in very nice condition.

 

[Ted]

Reading over this thread is kind of a relief for me...I bought my first car, a 1998 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP in December with 147k miles on it...it just turned 150k and the only squawks I've come up with are it was dripping a couple drops of oil every now and then...oil pan gasket and I think it'll need a new starter at some point...and in the last 3 days, there's been a squeaking noise coming from the front right while driving over little bumps.

Anybody dealt with the GTPs?

The supercharger will go out before anything else, most likely. The engine itself is pretty bulletproof. The 4T60-E transmission is alright, keep the fluid changed on it.

A former roommate's step-mom had one. At 296k it caught fire and died (electrical issue), but was otherwise running well on the original drivetrain.

 

[catmandu]

3.8l V6/M90 supercharger

Forums are your friend, not just here. Search for the car and / or the engine or whatever you need help with and just add the word 'forum' and start reading!

I did just that for a Buick LeSabre with that same 3.8 owned by my brother-in-law: A slow loss of coolant leading to a large loss of coolant is not necessarily a head gasket, like the local mechanic wanted to charge him $1800 for. It might mean the intake manifold has melted around the EGR port. Most replacement manifolds ($100 and pretty easy to DIY) have a re-designed EGR port that are necked down to reduce heat transfer to the manifold, avoiding future meltdown.

(I did not know kits contained the redesign, so his car has a nice new stainless port i made on the lathe prior to the kit coming in. Overkill, but fun to play on the lathe! )