When are a cars kilometres too high?

Looking to purchase a second hand vehicle? Found the perfect one, but it’s done 100,000km’s.. Maybe 200,000km’s.. Maybe even +300,000km’s. Maybe you’re already the owner of this vehicle and you’re worried it might blow up any day now and leave you with a broken car that’s not worth anything more than scrap.

In my opinion, based on the thousands of vehicles I’ve worked on over my career so far. Odometer readings don’t matter. However, please let me elaborate.

The problem with that little number on the dashboard is the sheer lack of information it tells you, yet many base a vehicles worth almost entirely on what it says. All this number is telling you, is a calculation of how far the vehicle has travelled based on a reading of how many times the wheels have completed a rotation.
You may argue that if a vehicle has travelled further, it must be more used and more worn out than one with less kilometres. I would disagree.

Here’s what the odometer doesn’t measure;

• Time spent with the engine idling. (Parked on the side of the road, at a set of lights, in the driveway, in traffic).
  Why is this important? Idling is just about the most damaging thing an engine does during normal operation. Lower engine temperatures often mean that fuel is not fully combusted, which can cause damage to spark plugs, carbonisation of valves, glazing of cylinder walls. Lower oil pressure and flow cause excessive stress on camshaft journals and engine components in the top end, leading to premature wear. (I could keep going on the damage idling can cause, but I might save that for a future blog!)

• Frequency of maintenance.
  I’ve seen vehicles come in to my workshop with 60,000km on the clock without even having their first service & oil change. Once a brand new car, now a ticking time bomb waiting for an engine failure.

• How they’ve been driven.
  Lead foot? Riding gutters? Accident damage?

• Conditions they’ve been driven in.
  Has it spent it’s life on a beach without the salt ever being washed off?
  Did they drive it through flood waters?
  Was the vehicle used in the mines, or an ex cop car, what about an ex taxi or uber?

• Quality of parts and fluids used during maintenance.
  Were they the recommended brand name oils for the vehicle, or did Joe Blow have a mates uncles best-mates cousin who used to run his old oil through a pair of stockings to get the dirty bits out?

• Quality of repair work done.
  Has it been worked on by a reputable mechanic?

All of these factors need to come into account, before relying on an odometer reading to make a big decision for you. The more history you know about the vehicle, the more informed decision you can make.

I’d like to finish with one real-world example;
You’re looking at buying a second hand Toyota LandCruiser. You found two that you like both are the exact same price, model & year.
Vehicle A)
-320,000km on the clock. Full service history. Owner lives +50km from town and commutes to work every day.
Vehicle B)
-80,000km on the clock. Owned by a major mining company with their own in-house maintenance program.

On the surface, Vehicle B looks like the better buy. But consider this.
Owner A needs his car every day for work. It is his life. The vehicle has likely spent most of its time travelling at higher speeds with good airflow for the cooling system, good oil flow and pressure, ideal combustion temperatures. Doing what a car is designed to do. Driving. You know it’s been maintained and have records of who has done it according to the logbook. You can check the reputation of these places with a quick google search.
Vehicle B has possibly spent the majority of its life underground or on a mine site. Locked in low range, running 24hrs a day, 7 days a week. Salty, humid, dirty, wet environments accelerate rust and corrosion like you wouldn’t believe. Downtime is money. Breakdowns are fixed as quick as possible to get the vehicle back on site, often not using the most compassionate of methods towards the vehicle. If something not necessary for the every-day use of the vehicle (such as an inner mudguard or panel) is in the way of removing a turbo, it may result in being cut or bent out of the way to save time. The next owner isn’t on the mind of the company running the vehicle as a workhorse.

I’ve seen cars under 50,000km I wouldn’t own in a million years. I’ve seen well maintained cars tick over 1,000,000km. It’s not about the number, but how it’s been treated. And, unfortunately - sometimes a bit of luck.

Drive safe, and happy motoring!