The joys of owning a car with 200K miles

[mclasser]

Over the past year, I've had to do some repairs on my Accord that're more-or-less expected at 200K miles:

- Front O2 sensor
- Distributor cap, rotor, o-ring, spark plug wires
- Valve cover gasket
- Tranny drain & fill
- Rear brakes
- Rear hub bearing
- Timing belt, drive belts, water pump, tensioners, seals
- Tie rod ends, lower ball joints, CV axles, alignment
- PS pump
- New gas cap due to CEL
- New rad cap

I remember driving it off the dealer lot 15 yrs ago. Hope to take it to 300K+ *knock on wood.*

 

[Nick1994]

For now, I have the same goals with my Camry. 300k miles at least.

This year I did some maintenance stuff to my Camry too.
New front wheel bearings, one was a little noisy, decided to do both.
While spindles were off I noticed the ball joint boots were tearing. New ball joints
New valve cover gasket this summer, I used a cheap one last August and it leaked.
New heater hoses. Oil from valve cover gasket leaked all over them. Replaced them just incase.
Junk yard fuel pump, plastic cracked on original one and leaked.
Air intake hose dry rotted and broke. Go at new one.

It's been a good car, only the last 2 were actual necessary repairs. I could have gone without doing the others but I need it to be dependable.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

I've had to do a bit on the Cherokee.

Replaced the rear main seal and oil pan gasket. It was starting to leak a lot of oil. Replacing the pan gasket I managed to take out the B2S2 oxygen sensor while putting in the flexplate cover.

Still has some oil leaks but not too many. Mechanically it's okay, but other stuff is starting to wear out. Got lots of wires to fix.

I have replaced steering components - a few tierods. They are undersized for bigger tires, but that's been solved now.

 

[austinlunsford]

I've got 314k on my F250. I've had to do some work like brakes, new degas bottle, radiator, shocks, camshaft position sensor, glow plug relay, and some other small stuff. But I'd drive it almost anywhere. When you have a good car or truck, that is taken care of, you should feel confident in it, even with high miles.

 

[zzyzzx]

Just imagine how much more joy you can have if you live someplace where cars rust.

 

[Chris B.]

Originally Posted By: mclasser
Over the past year, I've had to do some repairs on my Accord that're more-or-less expected at 200K miles:

- Front O2 sensor
- Distributor cap, rotor, o-ring, spark plug wires
- Valve cover gasket
- Tranny drain & fill
- Rear brakes
- Rear hub bearing
- Timing belt, drive belts, water pump, tensioners, seals
- Tie rod ends, lower ball joints, CV axles, alignment
- PS pump
- New gas cap due to CEL
- New rad cap

I remember driving it off the dealer lot 15 yrs ago. Hope to take it to 300K+ *knock on wood.*


What engine and tranny does your Accord have? I have a 2012 EX-L V6 with 60,000 miles. I bought it new and it has been flawless. Hope to hit 300,000 miles as well.

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: zzyzzx
Just imagine how much more joy you can have if you live someplace where cars rust.


Ha!

It really puts a damper on shopping well used cars, I can say that. Parts swapping is one thing, fighting every fastener is another.

I also ditched my VW as the rust was getting up there. I was looking at pics earlier this week, and... I don't recall it being quite that rusty. I guess my glasses were a bit more rose colored back then.

 

[Kool1]

Congratulations!! I believe, at 200,000 miles you got your money's worth and at 300,000 miles you are on borrowed time. I'm at 195,000 miles on my 03 CRV and am looking forward to hitting the 200k mark soon. The list of repairs that I have performed is long but I'm a true believer in proper maintenance rather than chance being stranded on the side of the road.

 

[Ohle_Manezzini]

Originally Posted By: mclasser
Over the past year, I've had to do some repairs on my Accord that're more-or-less expected at 200K miles:

- Front O2 sensor
- Distributor cap, rotor, o-ring, spark plug wires
- Valve cover gasket
- Tranny drain & fill
- Rear brakes
- Rear hub ĺbearing
- Timing belt, drive belts, water pump, tensioners, seals
- Tie rod ends, lower ball joints, CV axles, alignment
- PS pump
- New gas cap due to CEL
- New rad cap

I remember driving it off the dealer lot 15 yrs ago. Hope to take it to 300K+ *knock on wood.*


DIstributor cap? REALLY?

 

[kschachn]

Originally Posted By: Ohle_Manezzini
DIstributor cap? REALLY?

Honda used distributors into the 2000s.

 

[WylieCoyote]

I'm glad to see mainstream auto makers moving away from timing belts. Nothing quite like a ticking time bomb under your hood, just waiting to bend all your valves.

 

[rshaw125]

It does not seem that long ago that 200,000 miles was a real milestone. Now it is 300,000 miles.

 

[SLCraig]

Originally Posted By: WylieCoyote
I'm glad to see mainstream auto makers moving away from timing belts. Nothing quite like a ticking time bomb under your hood, just waiting to bend all your valves.


I am definitely a fan of the chain myself as well. One reason to be diligent about oil changes

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: WylieCoyote
I'm glad to see mainstream auto makers moving away from timing belts. Nothing quite like a ticking time bomb under your hood, just waiting to bend all your valves.


Toyota used non-interference engines with timing belts. Engine still stopped (and so did you), but no engine damage.

There have been engines with timing chain issues, but thankfully those seem to be a minority, easily avoided or easily repaired.

 

[69GTX]

I've had a couple cars go over the 200K mile point....and neither was joyful to me. They nickled and dimed me for considerable money from around the 125K-150K mile point. Nice lower mileage used cars are so cheap today that it just doesn't pay not to move on well before 200K miles. Now if you do all the work yourself and enjoy it, that's one thing. But even new parts cost significant money. I've yet to own a car that I didn't regret keeping it past the 150K mile point. Start by buying a 20K to 60K mile cream puff 5-8 year old car at 1/3 of MSRP and drive it for 100K miles or 6-8 years. Repeat.

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: 69GTX
I've had a couple cars go over the 200K mile point....and neither was joyful to me. They nickled and dimed me for considerable money from around the 125K-150K mile point. Nice lower mileage used cars are so cheap today that it just doesn't pay not to move on well before 200K miles. Now if you do all the work yourself and enjoy it, that's one thing. But even new parts cost significant money. I've yet to own a car that I didn't regret keeping it past the 150K mile point. Start by buying a 20K to 60K mile cream puff 5-8 year old car at 1/3 of MSRP and drive it for 100K miles or 6-8 years. Repeat.


How many miles do you drive/year? I do 30k+, and my VW didn't nickle and dime me. Everything was big ticket items (struts, wheel bearings, clutch, turbo) or just routine maintenance (timing belts mostly). 314k in 11 years, although in the last year I started splitting the miles between two vehicles.

I'm still trying to figure out what my next vehicle will be. It's not too easy to find a manual trans car--not impossible, but sure is harder than it ought to be. Haven't decided yet if I want to hit 300k again or not. Need to decide, as my current rides are well on their way to 200k!

 

[Mr Nice]

Most people get rid of car because they are bored with it.

That Accord will last another 200K miles.

 

[Silverado12]

Originally Posted By: kschachn
Originally Posted By: Ohle_Manezzini
DIstributor cap? REALLY?

Honda used distributors into the 2000s.


My truck is a 2012 with a dist cap. I think GM used them up until 2013 on the old-time 4.3 engine.

 

[JHZR2]

None of that seems all that bad for a vehicle with 200k. Amortize the work over the number of miles you've got and its not very much...

 

[Silverado12]

Originally Posted By: supton
Originally Posted By: 69GTX
I've had a couple cars go over the 200K mile point....and neither was joyful to me. They nickled and dimed me for considerable money from around the 125K-150K mile point. Nice lower mileage used cars are so cheap today that it just doesn't pay not to move on well before 200K miles. Now if you do all the work yourself and enjoy it, that's one thing. But even new parts cost significant money. I've yet to own a car that I didn't regret keeping it past the 150K mile point. Start by buying a 20K to 60K mile cream puff 5-8 year old car at 1/3 of MSRP and drive it for 100K miles or 6-8 years. Repeat.


How many miles do you drive/year? I do 30k+, and my VW didn't nickle and dime me. Everything was big ticket items (struts, wheel bearings, clutch, turbo) or just routine maintenance (timing belts mostly). 314k in 11 years, although in the last year I started splitting the miles between two vehicles.

I'm still trying to figure out what my next vehicle will be. It's not too easy to find a manual trans car--not impossible, but sure is harder than it ought to be. Haven't decided yet if I want to hit 300k again or not. Need to decide, as my current rides are well on their way to 200k!


Come down here to the South and you'll find a decent selection of cars w/o rust. It's almost like rust is an unknown phenomenon down here. I'm originally from northern WV (Morgantown) so I have experienced lots of rust issues.