High mileage car what should i pay for it ?

Tebster · Post by **Tebster** » 21 May 2004, 14:02

Hi,
Have been offered a T plate 1999 Xantia 1.9td sx with 185000 miles, at the moment I do not know if it has full service history or not and am a bit unsure about buying a car with such mileage.
What would be a realistic price for it and what should I look out for when viewing the car ?

TomH · Post by **TomH** » 21 May 2004, 14:06

not a lot I reckon! Don't know exactly but I reckon that could be hard to shift so you could do a fair bit of bargaining!

Tebster · Post by **Tebster** » 21 May 2004, 14:12

What Car suggests a price of £1,697 with the mileage ajustment, the car in question is a few hundred quid below this, what do you all think ?

gjb02 · Post by **gjb02** » 21 May 2004, 14:27

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Tebster</i>

What Car suggests a price of £1,697 with the mileage ajustment, the car in question is a few hundred quid below this, what do you all think ?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Drive it, if it drives well, starts well, runs well, etc. Do your own MOT checks on it, or ask for a fresh ticket. My ZX TD engine is nearly on 185,000 and still going strong. Don't let the mileage put you off.
Alternatively, get an independent check done, it could save you grief in the long run. I don't know how much the AA or RAC charge for a check. They must warranty/guarantee the check in some way. If you buy a dud it's going to cost you big time. If they miss something and it should have been checked!!

edd001 · Post by **edd001** » 21 May 2004, 15:18

its down to you wether you want to pay that much but a few years ago i bought a mondeo td that was 3 years old and it had 150000 miles on it. i payed £3000 for it and ended up doing 100000 miles in it so in my eyes it was a good buy.

Brian Oblivion · Post by **Brian Oblivion** » 21 May 2004, 15:27

At that mileage I would be tempted to use the bangernomics method to work out a value.
http://bangernomics.tripod.com/bangval.htm
The miles done indicate that there could be cash needed/trouble ahead, new turbo, new spheres, suspension components, air-con?, electrics, wear and tear on interior, radiator/matrix renewal. However its often better to have a newish high miler than an old one because the miles are generally dual carriageway/motorway journeys which stresses the car less.
Have a look at the Scottish car auction price guide:
http://www.smag.co.uk/guide.aspx
heres a few examples....
CITROEN XANTIA 1.9TD SX - 1905CC 5dr H/Back Nov 1998 (S) Nov 2004 73,850 £2075
CITROEN XANTIA TURBO D SX - 1905CC 5dr Estate Feb 2000 (V) Feb 2005 71,017 £2500
CITROEN XANTIA TEMPTATION 2 TD - 1905CC 5dr Estate Apr 1998 (R) Apr 2004 56,110 £1375
CITROEN XANTIA TD SX -2.1 5dr Estate Aug 1997 (R) Aug 2004 107,226 £1000

Post by **RichardW** » 21 May 2004, 16:04

A car that has done 185,000 miles is, basically, a scrapper - don't get me wrong, it could well go another 100k, but it could just as well get 200 yds and breath its last. With 12 months ticket, and the current prices of Xantias, it's probably worth somewhere about £300 - £400 - little enough that if it gives in next week, you will shrug and buy another. You could buy a 8 year old 70k Xantia TD for less than a grand.

lhm_leak · Post by **lhm_leak** » 21 May 2004, 17:00

Hi Tebster,
I fully agree with RichardW on this one - it's seen better days and What Car's valuation is, to put it politely, excessive. They valued my own vehicle at well over £1K - that's an M plater with 194K on the clock! I reckon mine's worth maybe 2-300 quid now, maybe less. Big difference.
Of all the problems I've had with the car, the engine has never been one of them - the mileage seems pretty irrelevant to a well-serviced XUD9. No, it's all the other stuff that goes wrong at interplanetary mileages that kills these cars - particularly the hydraulics and electrical systems. They can be fixed, but usually at a price greater than the value of the vehicle. I've worked out that it's going to cost me about 500 quid to get my car through the next MOT, so it'll be making its way to the nearest scrappy sometime in the next couple of weeks[V] - unless someone makes me an offer, of course...[;)]
Don't let this happen to you - I'm fine, I've had my money's worth from my Xantia and it doesn't owe me anything (and I've got the readies to replace it anyway). It might seem tempting, with the car being a 99/T model, but unless you can get a substantial amount discounted and bring the price down well below a grand, walk away.
Stu.

Paxman Power · Post by **Paxman Power** » 21 May 2004, 19:46

So based on the information in this thread and irrespective of it's mileage, the guy currently selling the R-plate 1.9sd (yes - it's an sd!! - it has it on the doors), parked in Prestonpans station car park, for £2,250 is definitely having a laugh!

jeremy · Post by **jeremy** » 21 May 2004, 19:51

and he hasn't sold it either has he!
jeremy

bxbodger · Post by **bxbodger** » 21 May 2004, 20:25

As a comparison, a friend of mine has a megane diesel on a P plate with new M.O.T., and 125000 on the clock, up for sale; he wanted a grand for it, but was prepared to be haggled down; its a straight motor in good condition, and he had no takers at all for it!!!!
When I bought my BX it had 157000 miles on it, new MOT and 6 mths tax; it was 10 years old at the time and I paid £400.00.
The moral is, if buying,high mileage is a good bargaining point; If selling, however, its a nightmare!!!!!!

Tebster · Post by **Tebster** » 21 May 2004, 21:48

Hi all,
Really what everyone is saying was my gut feeling,think I will pass on this car, I already have a Xantia with 130k on it and its cost me a fortune recently.
Thank you to everyone who made me see sense,
Regards
paul

John F · Post by **John F** » 22 May 2004, 03:45

I think the value of a car is what it is worth to the owner; I understand that repairs may cost more than the "book" value but once they are done it will take a similar time to when they need relacing again. So you buy a "newer" vehicle of the same type and you go thro' the same cycle again. Thus you have the extra cost of the "newer" vehicle and then the repairs that are bound to come and this goes on "ad infinitum". Buy a car, look after it, you know that the repairs you have done (if done proprly) will last and the car is still worth something to you - even if the book value is zero. [:D]