Low Mileage or Full Service Done???

[megathrone]

Dear Bimmers,been having this question lately, expecially with the intention of upgrading to a 4 / 5 year old used car.Which one would be a better bet in sense of reliability/economy/value in the next 5 years time when looking for a used car?1)THE CAR WITH A LOW MILEAGE FOR THE YEAR MADE or2)THE CAR WITH A REASONABLE MILEAGE AND FULL MAINTENANCE DONE- part been changed for wear & tear:stupido2:what say you all...................?

 

[machinehead]

My choice will be No 2.Reason is that there is prove of parts change and maintain. I have known a case of a lady driver( E36 318i)who did not service her car when she took delivery of her new car and the engine was stalled after traveling 35000 km. A new engine was replace. So even the mileage is low,without maintenance is risky.

 

[SS626A]

I vote number 2!!

 

[firdaus325]

yes.. number 2 forsure

 

[megathrone]

More reply/ arguments from the Bimmers Drivers!?

 

[megatniza]

Definitely # 2 ! Anxious ( one the e36 forumer from penang ) will testify to this . try reading up his threads . very interesting .

 

[genius328i]

#2 at least you know history of the car rather than unknown

Is it possible to reset milage for BMW??

 

[JKay]

Number 2 without even thinking about it. Yes its possible to change the mileage of a BMW of course. If you dont do it right, a tamper dot will appear on the dash, but its possible to change the mileage and not have the tamper dot show as well

 

[anxious]

Yes, mileage can be deceiving as I learnt the hard way.

See my expereince :-

http://www.bmwclubmalaysia.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12081

Of course , luckily I have managed to overcome the various problems I had and am now enjoying my ride but it can really be a very frustrating and expensive expeience.

I got a 1995 E36 325i for RM40000 with less than 80000km on it. It was guniene as the car looked it and the owner was my friend's neighbour(a rich old man with 5 other cars which included a Jaguar and 2 Mercs ).

My car was used by his wife who allowed the car to overheat and had a cracked cylinder head. It was pretty much neglected. I had to replace the head , do a top overhaul, overhaul the cooling system etc. My repair bill was double what I had expected/budgeted. Likely I could afford it.

So guys learn from me, before you buy a car make sure it has a service history.

I think you should have a problem finding a 4-5 year old car with say 100k km or so and fully serviced at AB. The older it gets the harder it gets to find a good car.

Good Luck.

 

[megathrone]

Really would thank ANXIOUS for dropping by the thread, feel an honor to have someone with such experience to share with us all, SIFUUUU.....:77:

Actually the Low Mileage option would be genuine as already checked with Authorized Dealer Record, don't think the meter been tampered.
As far as the lower mileage is concerned, the necessary serviced would have been done as per the mileage but only distance travelled would be lower compared to the age.
The Higher Mileage fully serviced car would have had the proper service done as per to distance travelled but service record would show that mostly all the wear&tear items that need to be change for the model have been changed.
So, satu kereta Low Mileage , lagi satu kereta High Mileage , sama tahun!
The catch is , the Low Mileage car haven't change all those wear & tear stuff that you can expect would have to be changed eventually.
So how!!!???

 

[supergripen]

i'd go for a low mileage example..

there are things that are not changeable as far as wear and tear is concerned,things that u can't change but are affected by the car's mileage..

case in point? chassis fatigue,dashboard integrity etc.now,these items are not wear and tear per se but are affected by how far the car has travelled..

yes,if the high mileage example's parts has been changed,u've saved some money but nothing is he same as having a car that feels and sounds new..no rattling,no squeeks and groans which is normally the case with genuine low mileage cars.

so,again,i'd get a low mileage car and won't mind spending cash on wear and tear items when the time comes..

all this is with the condition that both cars are geniune with no clocking and proper maint' made as per the maint' schedule la..neglect and clocking will nullify the argument as far as the 2 choices are concerned.

 

[anxious]

I feel the whole idea of having a forum is to enable us to share our experiences with one another.

Anyway , if u r looking for a 4-5 yr old car then it must be a E46 of the like. For newer cars u can check the mileage by using the key itself. Just take the key to AB and they will be able to tell you the mileage. My friend who got a Japanese recon discovered that the mileage was actually 30k km or so higher.

 

[turbology]

Mileage mean nothing to me.
But service and what done to the car does.

 

[cempaka]

Keep in mind that it's not only mileage that wears out parts it's also time. Bushings, absorbers, gaskets, hoses, plastics and other wear and tear all will decay even with few miles driven as long as they are sitting on the automobile. In my experience, these are the parts that make the real difference in how "new" a car feels. So if they haven't been replaced then expect to be doing it yourself and factor it into the price eval.

Service specifications are supposed to be by time or mileage, whichever comes first, but usually these low mile cars are only serviced by mileage, which can mean they were way overdue for each service if going by time interval, so careful exam of the service records is a must.

These are only general guidelines we're talking about here though, it really depends so much on each car. For instance a lower mileage car that was driven only for a lot of short trips in town and stop/go traffic can actually have more wear and tear than a higher mileage mostly highway driven car. One kept in a garage or covered will probably have nicer paint/dash than one always parked outside, etc, etc. So it just comes down to careful examination and comparison rather than focusing only on mileage.

 

[supergripen]

Keep in mind that it's not only mileage that wears out parts it's also time. Bushings, absorbers, gaskets, hoses, plastics and other wear and tear all will decay even with few miles driven as long as they are sitting on the automobile. In my experience, these are the parts that make the real difference in how "new" a car feels. So if they haven't been replaced then expect to be doing it yourself and factor it into the price eval.

Service specifications are supposed to be by time or mileage, whichever comes first, but usually these low mile cars are only serviced by mileage, which can mean they were way overdue for each service if going by time interval, so careful exam of the service records is a must.

These are only generalizations we're talking about here though, it really depends so much on each car's unique condition. The one area low mileage cars have a real advantage is that their seats and interiors are usually in better shape, but again it depends on the individual car.

agreed..this needs to be looked case by case as all cars will be different individually,even those fresh out of the factory,obviously more so on pre-owned/2nd hand cars.

with all else being equal/constant tho,i'd again go for a low mileage example.common sense..

 

[megathrone]

Wow, some really good arguments been brought forward with different point of view to the matter.
Guess it would come up to what we want from the ride that we intend to get;
the feeling of a relatively 'new' car with full control/say of its future with own spending to its future maintenance
or
monetory saving on the car's done maintenance with trusting its previous record history

 

[tchdaniel]

low mileage or full service

i agreed wit supergripen,i would go for a low mileage car anytime but u must have the experience to spot one used by a fussy car enthusiast who will not hesitate to rectify small problem or replace wear n tear wit ori parts.Low mileage well taken car have less Chassis Fatigue n noise.straight body less door dimples n dents,newer ori paint etc.As for the other,yes..even though replace parts but what quality..is it been done professionly.always on the road,more dents n dimples,especially Chassis Fatigue,i have seen cars after after repaired having endless noise problems due to broken,missing clips n screws.As for those who bought low mileage cars having problems,i sympathize wif them,next time bring an experience gut along,rich man wit many cars on the porch could be deceiving (too many cars..pening kepala which to maintain?)ke ke ke ...no offence guys Just kidding.Cheers :wink:

 

[astroboy]

Low mileage is very important to me because every non-solid state components in the car actually has a mileage-useful life, on top of time life. Every 20k km short in mileage in a used car can translate to a year of additional life for many components and that equate to about RM10k - RM15k of replacement cost.

Gearbox is one such example and of course, routine replacement of ATF with the right grade is equally important.

To me, both low mileage AND full service history is equally important.

I have a habit to stretch my parts life like a minor leak on the absorber is something I can live with as long as the handling of the car is not severely affected. Minor oil sump or head gasket leakage also is bearable to me as long as I don't have to top up 1 litre every 2 weeks. I wash my engine every month anyway.. So I may give u all the service history but that doesn't mean I replace all the items because I adopt a different meaning of "due change".

Seriously I won't consider any car that's over 100k km in mileage because gearbox may give way soon. And BTW, how sure are u that the what ever stated on the bill is actually "consumed"? It might just be an bill with 10 items but only 2 jobs were carried out? Unless its an SC bill and SC job.

Mileage too can be deceiving as odo can be tempered. So be very careful.