250k mile C5

weety · Post by **weety** » 12 May 2005, 01:35

my old dad always told me to buy the car not the registration plate....over four grand for a 250000 mile car i know its only a couple of years old but that has to be about two grand to much

fastandfurryous · Post by **fastandfurryous** » 12 May 2005, 03:35

I suspect the price will drop over the next few months... I doubt anyone is going to pay that for it, even knowing that modern engines can take starship mileage.

vanny · Post by **vanny** » 12 May 2005, 03:47

hows that? is there any proof that modern engines can take any greater or lesser mileage? I mean just about every XUD diesel has reached over the 100k mark, which say a lot about reliability (i'll make a comment here about fords only counting to 100k!), and there are numerous reports of older XUD engines getting over a million miles, but has there been enything similar for the HDi engines? I know they have been about for quite a while now but this is the first i've heard of super milleage HDi! If it is the case that they are as or more reliable than the XUD then i might very well consider swapping!

Kowalski · Post by **Kowalski** » 12 May 2005, 03:52

The HDI runs a lower compression ratio than the XUD TD, so it'll most likely be longer lasting for the same horsepower.

fastandfurryous · Post by **fastandfurryous** » 12 May 2005, 04:12

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Kowalski

The HDI runs a lower compression ratio than the XUD TD, so it'll most likely be longer lasting for the same horsepower.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
I don't think the compression ratio of an engine has a great deal to do with how long it is likely to last, or how fast it wears. One noticeable point on that is that the old ford 1.8TD engine ran an 18:1 ratio, which is lower than XUD or HDi, and it's quite known for being completely worn out by about 150k, even with good maintenance.
I would guess that in all likelyhood the HDi engine will be no more or less able to rack up the miles than an XUD, after all, the bottom end of these engines is very very similar indeed.

reblack68 · Post by **reblack68** » 12 May 2005, 11:55

I wouldn't buy a car at that mileage unless it was extremely cheap. I had enough trouble selling my Escort at a very average 140k on a 9 year old car.
The engine on a car like that C5 could be the least of your problems, depending what it's been used for. A taxi is capable of being utterly clapped out even at that age, I've seen a Peugeot 505 taxi go from new to scrap in 5 years and their toughness is legendary.

Kowalski · Post by **Kowalski** » 12 May 2005, 15:08

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by fastandfurryous
I don't think the compression ratio of an engine has a great deal to do with how long it is likely to last, or how fast it wears. <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
I'd agree that compression ratio isn't the only thing that decides the life of an engine. Comparing like with like, the HDI and the XUD share the same crankshaft and they're basically the same design of block, but the compression ratio has come down from about 23:1 to 18:1. That greatly reduces the compression pressures but the XUD is pretty long lasting anyway so it probably won't make a lot of difference to it. On something that is a more highly strung it would make a more of a difference.
I have a friend who had a Fiesta with the diesel engine in it, and it was still going strong at 230k miles when the cambelt snapped, my friend isn't known for servicing his cars particularly well (or at all) and he had the car from 80k miles, hence the cambelt snapping.

oilyspanner · Post by **oilyspanner** » 16 May 2005, 18:36

I was taught that most wear in an engine occurs in the first few seconds after a cold start, therefore a repmobile or courier vehicle that does mega daily miles may get less wear than a commuter with two cold starts per day, I once fitted a short motor to a car with ten thousand on it, its daily commute was about two miles, the choke must have been permanently out and the thing was totally clapped out, my mate who was a courier put 270k in three years on a skoda diesel which started and drove like a new car. I am not overly put off by miles, I buy the car, not the plate/alloy wheels.
Stewart

rbruce1314 · Post by **rbruce1314** » 17 May 2005, 21:24

Are we going for the record here? a couple of years ago I saw a Fiesta van at auction with 75k on it. Nothing unusual here except it was 3 MONTHS old!

vanny · Post by **vanny** » 17 May 2005, 22:30

hmmm, 75k and three months old, so thats only 2150 hrs old, so it would have to be driven at an average speed of 34.7 mph CONTINUOUSLY, or in a slightly more realistic view lets assume it drives for 12 hrs a day, then thats an average speed of 70mph. Why do i get the strange feeling that the engine was never broken in and it must have been absolutley dead by the time it sold!
It would have also needed an oil change every 96 hours or once a week! painfull!

Kowalski · Post by **Kowalski** » 18 May 2005, 02:21

Courier vans could just about do that sort of milege, or perhaps Royal Mail. You'd need shift drivers to do it, otherwise some poor soul 84 hour weeks (or breaking the speed limit).

rbruce1314 · Post by **rbruce1314** » 18 May 2005, 21:22

according to the auction blurb it had been owned by a national newspaper and driven from London to Edinburgh and back every day/night (7 days a week)