306,000 Miles...now what?

So my 02 Golf TDI is trucking along at 306K miles on the chassis, 180K on a new longblock, original turbo, injection pump, and trans. Last January I replaced the clutch and flywheel after the dual mass fw failed. At the same time I rebuilt the suspension with used stock springs with 80k miles, fresh bearings and rubber bushings, new engine mounts, rebuilt injectors, and rear brakes. There's some minor rust, a few small dents.

Its the only car between my girlfriend and I. We just moved to a new city away from family/friends, and I don't have a garage. We are both working, and public transit in Pittsburgh is a short distance from home and work for both of us.

The car hasn't let me down in a long time, so I'm trying to keep it running until we can get a house with a garage.

Should I run it til it dies? Ditch it while its running well and pick up a used Fit/SX4/Impreza?

Rally lights years ago:

Pike's Peak for the hillclimb

Skid plate was used frequently before upgrading the struts

Big 300,000

drive it into the ground.. it's either that or give up your known car for another car that comes with a whole new set of unknowns..

Keep it. There's almost no way you can beat it financially by trying to sell it and then buying another car unless you are a good car shopper and have the patience to wait for those rare deals (all while having sold the VW a while back so you'd have the money ready to jump..).

About the only thing you could be ASSURED of would be if you got a new or nearly new car, it would probably be more reliable.

But honestly past about 40 or 50k miles i think it'd be a crapshoot to buy anything else thinking it would be more reliable. Maybe, maybe not. Almost guaranteed to be less efficient, too.

So i say keep it. Sounds like you dont need it all that much. That means you're in a perfect position to not be picky about the car you barely need, not waste any money changing it, and just ride it out with what you've got.

I had the same (effectively) internal argument tonight.

You know the answer: Economical (smart?) play is to drive till she dies. But that's not to say you couldn't do better. I've got 350k on my 91 integra. Past due for a timing belt, and I can't seem to E36 M3 or get off the pot.

I think the answer is maintenance + turbo = low cost of ownership with a little pat on the back for being a good little cheap c*nt.

Problem is, I'm starting to realize that hoarding cash may not be the meaning of life, and a beater NSX may be the ultimate DD.

278k on my 03 TDi here. I plan on running it for the foreseeable future. Or until I turn 50. By then it'll have around 600k and I think I'll deserve a proper mid-life crisis car...

In other terms: never dump a faithful car. Karma will get you back.

It's true. Speaking from experience: I sold my 88 Shadow Turbo w/265,000 miles for something "More Reliable" - 150,000 mile 91 Civic that burned oil to death. I'd kill to have that car back.

you could pass on the love=]
I could save some serious cash by getting 50mpg instead of 28-31mpg

corytate wrote: you could pass on the love=] I could save some serious cash by getting 50mpg instead of 28-31mpg

The extra cost of diesel (unless you need premium) and the German car tax hurts the payback from the fuel economy. A rebuilt TDI alternator is $250; new from a dealer is $500.

I have about 450K spread between 3 no value cars that are all paid for. I just keep two of the three running at all times to ensure I have somthing to get to the parts store in.

HIDGolf wrote:

corytate wrote: you could pass on the love=] I could save some serious cash by getting 50mpg instead of 28-31mpg

The extra cost of diesel (unless you need premium) and the German car tax hurts the payback from the fuel economy. A rebuilt TDI alternator is $250; new from a dealer is $500.

That said, my TDI golf, has been much MUCH cheaper to run over 60k miles than my '03 Protege

I'm in the boat behind you. 05 GTI with 180+K on it. I'm just about to do all the bushings and shocks but in the back of my mind has been "how far do you want to go down this rabbit hole?" It's been pretty reliable so far if you exclude coilpacks, but as my wife's daily driver, it has to be 5 9's reliable.

Only problem is, I still have a bunch of work to do on it. Needs a new RMS, axle seals and CV boot at the least. Do I pull the transmission out and do a clutch while I'm in there? I don't really want to touch the RMS until the clutch goes though, but the axle seals look to be a PITA without pulling the transmission.

dean1484 wrote: I have about 450K spread between 3 no value cars that are all paid for. I just keep two of the three running at all times to ensure I have somthing to get to the parts store in.

This is the way I do it.

I've got about 600K between 3. They never all quit at the same time.

In reply to Toyman01:

Then you've got better luck than me. Twice I've had to scramble to get at least 2 of the three cars working.. Currently I've got 550k spread over 3 cars.

I think i'm berkeleying up.

I have 995,000 between 5 cars. Only two are on the road right now, their combined mileage is 370k.

YIKES!

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: I think i'm berkeleying up. I have 995,000 between 5 cars. Only two are on the road right now, their combined mileage is 370k. YIKES!

Funny. I have the EXACT same spread.

I've got 320,000 between 2 cars. I guess I need to get out more.

I have 639,000 miles between 2 cars and a pickup. Berkley something newer, it's just as likely to break.

Then again, it is pretty quickly disheartening to get in a car and try to start it .. and have it not start. Especially when it's blocking in one of the other vehicles that does run. Fortunately that doesn't happen very often, and there's usually room to squeeze a motorcycle out past the car.

I got a little over 600k between 2 cars . One is showing signs of head gasket failure and the other ive been driving without 5th gear for the past 100k+. I need to get another car or two to replace one so i can do a swap on the other one

well... there's 564k on our 4 cars, but one is a baby. It only has 68k miles on it.

I say keep it and run it into the ground.

The 180K long block has another 120K of life AT LEAST on it. The dual mass flywheel problem has already been replaced and is now likely good for the life of the car.

The problem bushings and stuff have already been dealt with in the suspension so that's good for another bajillion miles. Brakes are cheap, and no more complicated/pricey than any other car.

I just crossed 200K on my '99 Golf TDI last week. Original everything (clutch/trans/motor/turbo). Short of doing a water pump just because while doing the timing belt, it just keeps running.

I'd only sell it if you really wanted something else... not out of being scared of it at 300K. At 300K most will be scared of the mileage regardless... the car at 320K isn't any less desirable or less valuable, and I don't see any reason why an immenent death failure is in front of you with the work you've done. As-is it's a dirt cheap economy car that has proven itself to you. Maybe start saving XX $'s per month in a savings account that you would theoretically pay for a car payment on a "new" car, and then when you get settled and have a garage and know exactly what you want next you're sitting on a decent pile towards the next purchase.

a post like that and not a single picture?

tisk tisk hahaha

Lowest to highest:

• 74xxx 1973 Javelin
• 81xxx 2006 Mazda5
• 131xxx 2001 Grand Prix
• 227xxx 1986 944

The low mile one is the one that doesn't move!

As for the OP, man drive the thing! You know exactly what the car has and needs and how to fix it, and it's paid for and economical. Drive it to the ground!

I have.... oh god.... um....

55k on the 07ms3 that SHOULD be a DD, but sits in the garage collecting dust.

96k on the 05 Cooper S that IS a DD and gets hooned at every possible moment.

177k on the Chevy Prism I bought for 150$ and can't be bothered to find the oil leak in, because I bought it for 150$.

209k on the mx6 that some jagoff with a million miles on 5 cars convinced me to buy.

and then there's the Heep... I don't actually know what kind of miles it has on it. We'll say 128k because that's what the Taurus I traded for it had.

Currently the MINI and the Prism are the only ones 100% ready to go at all times. ms3 and mx6 have dead batteries, and the Heep needs a water pump.

to the OP, i recommend a two-car strategy if you have room to park a second car and enough $ to swing another used car. high mileage does not scare me as long as there's a "plan b" sitting at the curb. we are a three-car couple with near 600k miles combined. i'm currently DD'ing the '96 probe GT (228k) while the intake is off the '03 mazda6 (154k) for COP replacement. when the mazda is fixed, wifey will DD it while i replace motor mounts in the '03 odyssey (214k).

^This. Multiple cars solves a lot of problems. Case in point- Taurus that got traded for a Heep was revealed to have a dead tire one morning. I had two sets of keys upstairs and 3 in my hand. It took me about 4 seconds to decide to take the mx6 to work that day. And in a fit of ULTRA lazy I actually never replaced the tire on the Taurus. I traded it out with the space saver on it and the dead one in the trunk.