What is high mileage to you guys?

[Cmoney135i]

I bought my car with 60k & I'm already at 81k. Toying with the idea of buying a lower mileage n54 if I can find one(Keeping mine would give me peace of mind knowing all maintenance has been taken car of) , but mine also has all the options and the specific color combo I was looking for.

[Gray_Panther]

A guy on here got his 128i up to 197k and it sounded like it was holding strong. He posted every maintenance item he performed and the cost of owning a bmw for 160k miles (bought used at ~30k miles).

I forget his username but it will come to me later.
Truly an inspiration.

[Juggernaut135i]

I was so sad when I hit 80k. But then my friend reminded me cars are meant to be driven, especially cars we love driving. So now I drive without a care. They'll drive forever if we take care of them. So listen to people who know what they're talking about. Your baby will love you the more you drive it

[dsocold]

dude 80k is nothing for a bmw.. put it like this i would rather take your car with 80k miles thats been well maintained then a car with 40k miles that hasnt. Its really all about the maintenance. I have 130k on the clock with a new motor by bmw cpo at 50k so i have about 80k on my motor and it runs very strong(especially when you know the motors entire history). I wouldnt worry about it much unless you want to keep the value higher thats another story. but like the guy above me said i stopped worrying about miles, i look at it like this i want to drive it and enjoy it as much as i can!.

[Dat Aus]

I personally wouldn't buy one with over 130,000 km but that's solely because I do more mileage than average and I generally keep my cars for a long time. I consider "high mileage" to be anything over 200,000 km (124,000 miles) but it's really not because, if maintained, almost all engines will last well beyond that before needing any major work.

Mileage is just a number on the dash. Yes, it does affect resale value; but not driving your car to keep the miles off it for resale is like not banging your girlfriend to keep her tight for the next guy.

[JIM1inWisconsin]

Well put together BMW will do 200,000 miles in a walk. Last one I sold had 330,000 on the clock.

[Juggernaut135i]

Originally Posted by dsocold

dude 80k is nothing for a bmw.. put it like this i would rather take your car with 80k miles thats been well maintained then a car with 40k miles that hasnt. Its really all about the maintenance. I have 130k on the clock with a new motor by bmw cpo at 50k so i have about 80k on my motor and it runs very strong(especially when you know the motors entire history). I wouldnt worry about it much unless you want to keep the value higher thats another story. but like the guy above me said i stopped worrying about miles, i look at it like this i want to drive it and enjoy it as much as i can!.

EXACTLY!!! I only use 93. I took my car to AA in August and they asked me what kind of gas I've been using. I said "93?" Literally like a question. And they said "some people don't maintain their cars as well as you". I said wow that's just sad.

But yea! You bought the car to enjoy it! sooooo ENJOY IT!!!!!!

[champignon]

Originally Posted by Dat Aus

Mileage is just a number on the dash. Yes, it does affect resale value; but not driving your car to keep the miles off it for resale is like not banging your girlfriend to keep her tight for the next guy.

:-)

Or just get a bunch of fun cars and rotate through driving them. This keeps the mileage down, and provides lots of variety.

Of course, this is not very practical for most people :-)

[xQx]

I expect cars to reach end of life at about 300,000 km or 20 years. Not because anything major goes wrong, but because you reach a point where replacing the turbos or fixing an oil leak is going to cost more than it would cost to replace the whole car.

So I either buy a second hand car with between 60,000km - 80,000km on the clock with the expectation that I'll sell it 5 - 7 years later with 180km or a car with 220,000 km on the clock with the expectation that I'll drive it to it's death.

I broke my own rules and bought my current car at 95,000km from a dealer, which means I don't know its history and within a few months of owning it I was up for the 100,000km major engine and gearbox service right away (neither of these are in the owners manual, but I'm from the traditional school of thought with regular minor servicing and overhaul every 100,000km) ... the way I justify it to myself is at least now I've done the major service and I know it's done right so it'll be good for the next 80,000km.

Also, now that I've modified the crap out of the car and have totally overcapitalized on it, I'll be driving it to its death.

To answer the question: anything over 220,000km is high mileage to me but it's generally safe to buy one of these cars because everything that goes wrong at about 200,000km has been fixed. I won't buy anything with 150,000km - 199,999km on the clock because there seems to be massive depreciation between 179,999km and 200,000km - and a well maintained car with 220km on the clock is IMHO going to cost less to maintain than a poorly maintained car with 150km on the clock.

[xQx]

Originally Posted by champignon

:-)

Or just get a bunch of fun cars and rotate through driving them.

Reminds me of a Bill Hicks quote.

You know, constantly travelling around like this as a comedian takes a toll on relationships. It takes a very special woman to make it work.

...
...
...

Or just a bunch of average ones.

[WDE82]

Originally Posted by Gray_Panther

A guy on here got his 128i up to 197k and it sounded like it was holding strong. He posted every maintenance item he performed and the cost of owning a bmw for 160k miles (bought used at ~30k miles).

I forget his username but it will come to me later.
Truly an inspiration.

Pretty normal as BMW NA I6s go. Several people on the E46 forums have over 300K miles and they still run strong. My E46 is at 165K and I can flog it. That's even with an auto that somehow still shifts smoothly (change fluid regularly people!).

[chadillac2000]

Just turned 195,000 miles in my E60 535i with an N54. The normal issues like pumps, injectors have been all I've had to replace. With that said, I'm looking to sell it because I don't really want to have to depend on it once mileage is north of 200,000.

[Iron Man]

Originally Posted by Gray_Panther

A guy on here got his 128i up to 197k and it sounded like it was holding strong. He posted every maintenance item he performed and the cost of owning a bmw for 160k miles (bought used at ~30k miles).

I forget his username but it will come to me later.
Truly an inspiration.

I think his handle was Pkaia524.

[Gray_Panther]

Originally Posted by Iron Man

I think his handle was Pkaia524.

Bingo. That was it!

[PA135i]

I'm amazed my car is at 118K now and does not use a drop of oil. This engine is very well built. Of course I have had the oil filter gasket leak and other maintenance issues but as far as the engine itself.. it's like new.

To answer your question directly... I have always considered anything north of 120K is high mileage.

[Juggernaut135i]

I still think if you actually care of your engine you'll never need to sell it. I'll tell you right now, I'm at 85k. Never plan on selling it. I'm gonna start a thread about my build soon. I've been following VTLs build. When my turbos go, I'm gonna upgrade them.

Right now I was going to do coils, but instead I'm upgrading maintenance parts to make the engine last longer then do upgrades. when I got the car I promised to her, maintenance before upgrades!! So far it's worth it.

[HomoPirate]

Originally Posted by Dat Aus

I personally wouldn't buy one with over 130,000 km but that's solely because I do more mileage than average and I generally keep my cars for a long time. I consider "high mileage" to be anything over 200,000 km (124,000 miles) but it's really not because, if maintained, almost all engines will last well beyond that before needing any major work.

Mileage is just a number on the dash. Yes, it does affect resale value; but not driving your car to keep the miles off it for resale is like not banging your girlfriend to keep her tight for the next guy.

Nice example for the girlfriend stuff

Yes, cars are meant to be driven.

[Eau_Rouge111]

My 128i has 172,000 km...not a damn thing has ever gone wrong with it...maybe I'm lucky and I PUSH the car. I also have a 1994 318is...407,000km on it...it's had the usual water pump/alternator/starter done...that's it...fires right up too. My Z4M...only has 44,000km so too young to say.

[Mr Rooty Von Tooty]

Unless you have a very special or collectible car, why would you want to own it say longer than say 6 years at 15K/year? With that interval of time, you'll find lots of improvements on the current model.

Also the ultimate driving machine will probably get thoroughly pounded during that period of time. You might think doing all the maintenance will preserve the integrity of the vehicle, but it just ain't true. You should take a moment to examine some of the high mileage trade ins at your local dealer. It isn't only the mechanical stuff that wears out but also the body, suspension, and the interior.

And anyway our economy needs you bunch of cheapskates to open your wallets once in a while.

[Gray_Panther]

Originally Posted by Mr Rooty Von Tooty

Unless you have a very special or collectible car, why would you want to own it say longer than say 6 years at 15K/year? With that interval of time, you'll find lots of improvements on the current model.

Also the ultimate driving machine will probably get thoroughly pounded during that period of time. You might think doing all the maintenance will preserve the integrity of the vehicle, but it just ain't true. You should take a moment to examine some of the high mileage trade ins at your local dealer. It isn't only the mechanical stuff that wears out but also the body, suspension, and the interior.

And anyway our economy needs you bunch of cheapskates to open your wallets once in a while.

Huh?
Proper maintenance can keep a german car running for decades. Why keep it for that long? Not only does it save you tons of money but you also grow attached to the car. Maybe some people just love the car that no newer car can give them the same or better joy that they get from what they currently have.

Case in point:
My family's 1984 MB 190E with over 320k miles on it that we kept for 28 years. It was a tank and never broke down. We properly maintained it and we loved owning it. It was part of the family.

Hopefully I can own my 128i for that long or even longer!

[c1pher]

Inline six motors are generally longer lasting, in part due to fewer mechanical resonances and NVH. The only other motors as smooth are 12 cylinders. I think you can easily get 300k miles out of these provided you take care of the maintenance. I had a Jeep Cherokee that went 330k miles before it was stolen and basically gutted. That thing had a 4.0l inline six in it too. I'm a big fan of that type engine.

[sandlion]

I used to but BMWs at 90k. no issues. great deal to get a car for 25%of list.

135i bought at 60k and have 77k now. plan to keep it for a long time. known maintenance and fun to drive!

oh, and high mileage, to me, it's 200k plus. had a Toyota with 240k on the original clutch!