End of life for cars.
 

Quite shocked recently, saw a Citroen DS for sale for around 6k, ad said 100k miles. Now for me, a 62 reg car is almost brand new, it seems they get old quickly and depreciate even quicker.

I've never bought a new car in my life - the nearest I came to it was buying my current Rover 75 Connoisseur SE for £5700 when it was 3 years old and with 118000 on the clock.

I had driven it from new as a company car so knew the history. The original list price was £23k, so the book depreciation was pretty steep, unlike now when I could probably measure it in tenners a year. :}

But, 100k miles is not almost brand new. It is a lot of miles for a small car.

This is the mileage and age at which a car requires significant replacement of parts if it is to provide another 7-8 year's of reliable motoring and drive as if it was "new".

Blimey how many cars at 100k have you owned?
They don't need major work as long as servicing has been done well over the years. That's seems to me like a throw away society way of thinking.

I agree with the op. Like him I have never bought new and the most expensive buy was my Supra which I imported from Japan 9 years ago.

I tend to be second or third owner of most of my cars when I first get them and I have to say none were near the end of their time at all.

With the PCP world of buying cars people have just got lazy and I do think garages who conduct repairs have a part to play.

The only thing against the car in the OP is it's French. I didn't get on with either of my son's Renault's at all. Horrible things to work on:getmecoat:

A friend of mine has a yaris with 220k miles, had nothing significant as yet. Just regular oil and filter changes.

It just keeps going.

The OP was not about the wisdom of buying old vs new. It was merely an observation about the depreciation of a certain car.

To answer your other questions, I have owned quite a few cars and all have gone well beyond 100k miles. My Omega is currently at 142k miles and 75 CDT at 151k miles.

To address the OP's point in more detail, most cars end up at a value around 30% of their new price at 7-8 years of age and 12k per-annum mileage. So, £6k for a 100k mile DS that cost circa £20k when new 7 years ago seems about right.

My approach is certainly not indicative of a "throw away" mentality. In fact, quite the opposite. As an example, my next car purchase will be a 8-10 year old CLS. The £50k car will cost me £10k with circa 70k miles and FSH. I will spend £5k over a short timeframe replacing all the parts that wear or tire with age and would otherwise most likely require replacement during the following 7-8 years of ownership. I will therefore end up driving a £50k car, which will drive as if I had bought it new new, for 8+ years and an initial outlay of £15k as opposed to circa £40k depreciation over the same period. This is value for money in my book.

This approach has worked for me every time and is the reason that you will not find any posts from myself about things having gone wrong with my 75's or my Omega. The latter will be 20 years old in September.

Take a look at my "Preventative Maintenance" thread that is the focus of my 75 CDT and see my approach in action.

I do not throw anything away until there is absolutely no choice - I am an Indian and an Indian can make things last longer than most! :}

Must admit, 100k for a 62 is steep mileage. Which has brought the value down no doubt.

I believe the older generation find it a bit difficult to get their head round 100k miles.

When I was young, a car that was over about 8 years and 100k would be only fit for the scrap heap.

Only in the 70's if a car was close to 100k it was probably on its second engine and nothing was thought of it. Leyland would sell Gold Seal engines and most spare part departments would have one on display. Can you imagine that happening these days?

Engines are rarely rebuilt these days as the cost of buying another car is often cheaper than repairing the one you have.

I long ago realised that there were bargains to be had in well-maintained, higher mileage or older motors. So many people know so little about cars that they will judge a second hand motor on shiny paintwork, indicated mileage, and its chronological age. If an old or high mileage car has had few owners, and a good service history, and everything works properly when you buy it, it was probably well put-together, and has been looked after. The fact that, according to the book, it isn't worth much more money than a car of similar age/mileage without that history, is to your benefit, but not to the seller, in comparison to the money and care he has put into it, not to mention the depreciation he has suffered.

I remember in the late 80's / early 90's reading VW Driver magazine and they had a page called the "100000 mile club" (bit like the reader's wives page:D) when it was something out of the ordinary for a car to reach that milestone.