This week saw my bakkie’s mileage clicking over to 384,403 km. This is the average distance to the Moon. How far can a vehicle go? This is now a sort of challenge to me. I will call it a day when the engine or gearbox go - so far so good. Of course there was a few problems like CV joints, shocks the battery and so on but nothing serious. How many of you can claim this or better?
Not me … I was never able to clock more than 100k without itching for something else. The most I ever managed was with my second car, a 1992 Ford Bantam bakkie. Bought it with 32k on the odometer, and sold it at about 125k.
Your’s diesel?
Rigil
Well I used to have this beetle that had “wrapped around” on the mile-meter. How many digits it was, or what the total was eventually, I’m unsure. But the car was old, very old, and had driven the “Transvaal <-> Cape Town” route often, it was in my family from the start, so I know it’s history, being bought in 1969 (long before my birth) until we finally, reluctantly, sold it after me and my sibling had used it as “varsity transport”. It was still very much original - now a true “collectors beetle” - around 2003-ish.
I now own 2 bmers, one of which (a 2001 e46) is sitting around 280k, and I have no intention of selling it. I actually recently had it’s clutch replaced and the mecchie’s jaw dropped when he saw it was still the factory original.
And lastly, my parents have this early-90’s corolla that is just refusing to die, my best guess is it must be around 450-500k.
We have a way of making a car pay for itself.
I had a little beaten up Ford laser many years ago, I recall “clocking” it three times, but not the exact milage. The engine finally blew up (literally) in front of a Toyota dealership, and I considered it devine intervention, as I simply walked in and bought myself a little Tazz - which my son is now driving, and that one has been around the clock once too. I’m of the ilk that one should drive a car until it’s not able to go anymore, or it becomes too expensive to maintain, whichever comes sooner. With the right care there is no reason a car should’nt last you a good 15 years or so.
Lol. Only had two cars, first one was a Citi Golf that I bought from my dad at 130k, sold it at 195k because I was itching to get something new that had some oomph. Had that for 4 years now. It’s a turbo diesel, so will have to see what happens when I pay it off, and see if I want the risk of a blown turbo. But I’ve also had a itch for something new, but that is just boredom with the norm.
There are three car owning strategies:
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Buy a skedonk very cheap and drive it until it dies. This is the most economical if you can do your own repairs, so it’s the mechanical DIY artist’s strategy of choice.
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Buy a brand new car and drive it until a major component (engine or gear box) gives way, then buy another one. This is the strategy I follow, and usually my cars last about 15 years or 200,000km before that happens. I have noticed that each succeeding car lasts a bit longer; I’m not sure whether that is because cars are getting better, or because I’m becoming a better driver as I get older. The advantage of this is that you can buy your car for cash, thus avoiding interest costs.
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Buy a new car and trade it in for a new one every year or so. This is expensive and only for insecure individuals who care disproportionately about what strangers think of them, or who are reps and on the road eight hours a day.
My current car has just completed its first 100,000km and is good for at least that much again. I think I’ll be in the market again around 2017.
Actually, I find the most oft-used reason for strategy 3 (in my generation) is the “service plan fear freak-out”.
These people believe if it’s not in service plan it can explode at any given second, so they buy shittier cars (think Korean) at inflated costs because “it has service plan”. So they buy a new car, then once it’s almost paid off, they sell it at a huge loss and buy another one brand new (at a huge markup). This is by far the best strategy for burning money imho, though these people are immune to the fear of having no retirement money.
Hey, I think I saw you guys in that old VW commercial!
Such nonsense. I’m an insecure individual who cares disproportionately about what my friends think of me. 
Rigil
Aaaarrggghhh… lets not go there! 
2 is basically my strategy, and it ensured that I could afford to give my eldest a car for his 18th, the same will go (barring accidents) for my youngest, the hubby’s car will be inherited and hubby will get a new one in around 4 years time. I’d never have been able to give my kids cars if I went for strategy # 3. As for what other’s think of me, well, everybody seems to think we’re really well off because of the amount of vehicles parked in the yard overnight.
I guess I work with strategy 1, but not entirely. I don’t buy “skedonks”.
I buy really nice cars that are juuust out of motorplan. Then I maintain those until they really start literally falling apart. You can find cars like this that are practically new mechanically yet have depreciated very significantly due to the service plan freak-out. For instance, my current car is “out of motorplan” and almost unsellable due to it’s combination of exclusivity and “not being warrantied”-ness. Yet it hasn’t even hit 70k on the clock… That’s the difference between paying 1/2 a bar, or 150k, for a stunning, mechanically sound, “executive” car. Moreover, on 2nd hand models any extra’s come free, so you shop around for one that is kitted out to the hilt, and you pay very little extra for what would’ve cost a fortune to the guy who bought the car in the first place.
“But maintaining those high-spec cars must be murderous!” - No, it’ll be a fraction as expensive as buying a new, inferior, one. unless you really suck at checking out used cars before buying.
Nope. You buy schedonques.
I’m with BM, “buy one just out of motorplan”. Bought my 2000 Subaru Forester in 2003 for cheap, still going strong, best car I’ve ever had. Being a weekend warrior adrenaline sports addict, I abuse it quite bit by driving on dirt roads most weekends.
I tend to buy a ‘sensible’ car fairly new and drive it as long as I feel it is reliable, maintaining it myself when out of warranty. I have limited options as I am required to use a car for work and there are conditions on the car allowance, technically I am not supposed to have a car older than 6 years or more than 200,000km.
My last 3 cars in order
Citigolf 1800 1995 model, 180,000km on clock when stolen, one fuel pump failure R60 and 5 minutes to replace. Engine and gearbox/clutch never opened.
Jetta 3 1600 1999 model, 302,000km on clock when traded in, one CV joint replaced, engine and gearbox/clutch never opened.
Polo 2006, 177,000km on clock currently, two wheel bearings replaced under warranty, engine/gearbox/clutch never opened. Average fuel consumption 6.8l/100km
I am likely to replace the polo with a new one in about 18 months - 2 years. I want a boot and a low price so may go Vivo classic, but the fuel consumption of the bluemotion is also tempting with the mileage I do, only available as hatchback.
In an ideal world, i would buy a new car, with a service plan. but as of yet, i have not been ‘ahem’ wealthy enough to do just that.
every vehicle i have driven, was bought by parentals, or hand-me-down from parentals/family.
currently driving a honda balade. she goes and goes. lovely car. blixemed into house after the mechanic ‘adjusted’ the handbrake. my ass.
now, i am looking to pimp her. saw some really nice headlights. need new tyres. might invest in some new seats. the exhaust is reminiscent of the cape flats.
so very torn between what needs love first.
i will drive her untill she falls apart. or, i might just leave her to rest under the carport, and get a scooter to go where i need to be (since i need only to get to the gautrain station right now), and leave her for the longer trips.
i want to (if i dont murder him before then) make my s/o’s mum an offer for her mini cooper in time. she doesnt drive much. and i looooove the mini cooper.
Bought my LR Defender 130 new in 1998. It now has 540000 kms on the clock and I’m in the process of replacing the engine. No other hassles. Still in original shape and it has travelled far and wide in darkest Africa…Serengeti etc. Will keep it until I hit 1 million k’s. I also have a T-bird 5l V8 1980 classic car that is in full running shape. It is of interest to know that spares for this car are easily obtainable from the shelf in most cases but if I need to import something like the V-belts, Ford have the car’s VIN number in the US and within 10 days I have the part. Also, in 1980 the car was built for unleaded fuel!
Only really for people who have more money than sense IMHO. But I’m grateful for their sacrifice.
currently driving a honda balade.
They’re awesome, my mom had the “boxy” one until a fateful venda-bakkie skipped a stop street. Nothing short of a full write-off will kill them.
now, i am looking to pimp her. saw some really nice headlights. need new tyres. might invest in some new seats. the exhaust is reminiscent of the cape flats.
(I am not a mechanic, but I love oldish cars) IMHO best things to do on an old car to make it feel “new” again: Shocks (horribly overlooked, HUGE difference if they’re old), depending on the age: Front control arms/bushings. This should give you “like new” steering and ride .In some cars both (arms/bushings) have to be replaced at once - pricy, some only the bushing. Then a wheel alignment: if your bushings are shot, wheel alignment doesn’t help that much on it’s own any more. Bonus: Your tires will last longer.
Then for longevity some people go ahead and replace every liquid in the car - More expensive than it sounds. Stuff like gearbox oil, power steering liquid, brake fluid, etc… is frequently overlooked. Some fear this can “dislodge” gunk and clog up things, others say it’s the only way to go. YMMV (pun intended). Also, think about checking out the brake discs, esp. if you start getting a shudder. Usually they outlast their specified lifetime, but it’s worth checking…
On lights: The lens covers tend to “fog” up over time due to a lifetime of “sandblasting” by debris. This makes them look really “aged”. Sometimes you can just go to the manufacturer and buy new clear covers (depends on car I’m sure) for the lights to make them look new again. This is why in ye olden days people put those perspex covers over their headlights. But uber zef. People with hot cars these days put a clear plastic film over the front of the car. This is very expensive, and not worth it on your car, but works a charm.
What I like to do with an old car, especially if it has been run for a long time or distance without fluid changes, is to change oil and brake fluid twice. Brake fluid is cheap in enough quantity for two changes and you can buy two oils, a cheapie and some good stuff.
Change the oil once with the cheap stuff, run the car for a week or one long (100km+) trip and drain when hot, this will clear out more gunk than one change possibly could and also will not leave traces of detergent in the system like an oil flush chemical would, thus damaging the new oil. All the pipes are now as clean as they can get for the new oil to circulate and the new oil filter can be used without fear of it being immediately partially clogged with what new oil might dislodge.
i tend to think a bit further than my nose is long when it comes to my car. i have done shocks/brakes/disks and so on. it helps to know wtf is going on in there. when the mechanic checks you have boobies, they quickly rattle off a R12 000 quote. when i bought the spares myself, and had some bloke install them. R1200 excercise. and what i dont know, i google.
the bushes might be a valid point, i had bought them, but never got around to having them put in. the are rolling around the back of my car, in whatever shape of destruction.
my big worry is, pistons, gearbox, and the like. the expensive stuff. i have a theory, that once you open an engine up, it’s downhill from there. totally unfounded, of course.
this car has given me least shit of all my rides. and the fact that i’m pretty much putting her out to pasture taking the gautrain everyday, will hopefully stay the inevitable a little longer.
I have heard that you can drain the oil, fill with parafin, run until hot, drain and refill with oil again. That comes from one of the guys who do the Talk On Cars show on 702 and Cape Talk on Friday evenings.
This might be an interesting question for the philosophers, but if you’re replacing the engine, is it really the same car? Has the car really traveled 1 million k’s? I think that if the Ship of Theseus had an engine, Plutarch might not have accepted it was the same ship once all the engine was replaced all at once. 
Reminds me of a Jimmy Carr joke:
James