High Mileage GS300

[Ceramicolive]

Hi all,

I'm new here and looking for a GS300, now initially I had decided on a low mileage example but am I overlooking a high mileage car with a great history unfairly?

I could buy a car with low miles for around £8000 or a higher mileage car for half that. Most of the cars i've seen with high mileage have impeccable service records and a lot are one owner cars.

So should I break the bank and get a low mileage car or just save some money and get a high miler?

Any input greatly appreciated

 

[Ceramicolive]

I might add I personally only drive around 5000 miles a year.

[royoftherovers]

Your second para says it all Anthony.

Buy the lowest, high mileage, one owner with impeccable service record vehicle you can find and save yourself four grand !!

 

Regards

John

[Ceramicolive]

58 minutes ago, royoftherovers said:

Your second para says it all Anthony.

Buy the lowest, high mileage, one owner with impeccable service record vehicle you can find and save yourself four grand !!

 

Regards

John

I was thinking the same but something is stopping me, perhaps memories of cars of old falling apart at 100,000 miles.

For example I know of an actual car with 38,000 miles on it for £8000 and of one with 140,000 miles on it for £4000, now to me that seems a lot for a car with that sort of mileage however it is a nice looking car with great service history and it is a lot closer to me.

My dilemma is the car is only half the price with nearly four times the mileage making the lower mileage car seem a bargain in comparison!

Help is needed for an indecisive fool!

[royoftherovers]

For "indecisive fool" read "careful consideration by a wise man" Mike ?

 

I bought a Mercedes E class in 2005 with 60,000 miles on the clock.Full Servcie History, One Owner.

I still have it.It`s done 213,000 miles, still has a full service history (not MB !), NO RUST BUT A FEW SCRATCHES  and a near perfect interior. Would I sell it ? Not a chance.

I bought the Lexus 3 years ago with 17,000 miles on the clock and it now has 42,000.No rust, no scratches, perfect interior and a full (Lexus) service history.. Will I sell it? Not a chance.

My point is that if one is keen enough to retain and cherish a vehicle it will usually reward its owner with faithfull servcie.

If you can trace such a cared for vehicle it should continue to reward its new owner, so long as it remains cared for.

 

Good luck and good hunting.

 

Regards

John

[Ceramicolive]

Thanks John,

You make some very good points there and certainly food for thought. Very much appreciated.

Anthony

[Hangie]

It all depends of what car are you buying. For GS 100k miles is nothing, but I wouldnt buy Astra with diesel with such a mileage :)

i once owned Honda legend with 250k miles and drove it for 2 years without any problems. Car is still in the family and getting near 300k miles - only knock sensor is failing slowly + small leak on steering rack.

saying that if you are buying car designed to last and not some 1.2l triple turbo I wouldnt be scared. Additionally if you are technical person and know something about the cars 150+ isn't a problem. Just be sure to inspect it through as you never know if it was looked after well.

[doog442]

Can you find something in between, that may be the sweet spot .

Personally I would pay more for lower mileage, however with your low annual mileage you can afford to go higher in the mileage stakes..

I wouldn't entertain a 140K car unless I had a decent local friendly garage, a bit of DIY and a slush fund to pay for things that extra mileage might impact on, ie shocks / suspension etc, as we know some of this stuff with Lexus doesn't come cheap. The lump under the bonnet will probably outlive the rest of the car so no worries there I guess. 

[Ceramicolive]

Thanks to all who contributed their thoughts and experiences, I'm still looking but have decided to wait until a decent low mileage example becomes available closer to me.

In the meantime I have an old Saab that's being pressed into daily runabout duties whilst I wait for my Cressida to be finished.

Thanks again.

Anthony

[Ceramicolive]

Revisiting this thread I started because I've 90% decided i'm going to have a high miler now! 

It's a car that some of you might know as it used to belong to a member on here (messi) 140,000 miles but FSH.

What should I be looking for asides from the usual things? Anything specific go wrong?

Thanks again.

[royoftherovers]

Hello again Anthony,

1. Ask Messi if he had any problems with it.

2. Ask the present owner ditto.

3. Get it looked over by a good Indie

4. Check MOT history.

5. Look at Honestjohn.co.uk website under "car by car review" for reported problems(if any )

6. If all ok then buy it before somebody else does !!

Good luck and do report back.

 

Regards

John

[Ceramicolive]

Thanks John,

 

The seller seems a very honest chap and I don't doubt what he says for a second in that it drives like it's done 40,000 miles.

There is another that's done slightly less miles, 117,000, that also claims to have FSH but it's at a dealer and I just don't trust second hand car dealers! 

We'll see, I have asked for proof of FSH and a video walkround of it. If I get no response we'll know if they were being honest ;)

[messi]

3 hours ago, Ceramicolive said:

Revisiting this thread I started because I've 90% decided i'm going to have a high miler now! 

It's a car that some of you might know as it used to belong to a member on here (messi) 140,000 miles but FSH.

What should I be looking for asides from the usual things? Anything specific go wrong?

Thanks again.

Hi there

There was nothing wrong with the Gs300 I sold. The car was and I think still is in very good condition. It does actually drive likes it's done very low miles. nothing wrong with the suspension, no leaks, brake pads were done in I think June, last service was done at Lexus Birmingham, it had the recall job done, it had a brand new bonnet fitted by Lexus dealers due the old one having abit of rust on it, that was done in April I think, i cant quiet remember, it had stone chips on front bumper, im just being picky there, and everything worked on it, well it will do, it's a Lexus. 

[Ceramicolive]

Update to the thread for those who are interested, I have put a deposit on Messi's old car and will be picking it up sometime in the coming weeks.

Thanks to all, in particular John and Qamar for the insight and information that helped me make my decision. 

I'll update with some pictures when she is safely on my drive :)