How many miles is too much for you?

[Rupert]

Yes, but it is a big expense and apparently a lot of SVTF owners have had it fail prematurely.  I'm hoping it doesn't happen to me before I can put enough money aside to do the replacement. 

How much of an expense is it?

[2o6]

They're not great. The transmission is super heavy and is hard to drop and install. I've done it twice.

How much will a shop charge?

[280Z Turbo]

How much will a shop charge?

$Texas

[2o6]

$Texas

So, all MT Focuses either need new clutches, or have paid insane amounts of $$$ to change it?

[Mustangfan2003]

Yes, but it is a big expense and apparently a lot of SVTF owners have had it fail prematurely.  I'm hoping it doesn't happen to me before I can put enough money aside to do the replacement. 

Makes me glad that both my cars have chains. 

[280Z Turbo]

So, all MT Focuses either need new clutches, or have paid insane amounts of $$$ to change it?

I don't know about that. The clutch problems are mainly with the SVT model.

[The Pirate]

Makes me glad that both my cars have chains. 

Both of my cars are belts, but are non-interference engines.  The Mazda is due again at 180K miles, and the Audi will be done as soon as the weather breaks (have the belt and water pump already).

[sportyaccordy]

I am surprised there is not some form of standardization for transmission designs.

I needed a new transmission in my Maxima and got a replacement. It was light enough for me to pick up with one hand, and when I got it replaced my mechanic at the time did the job within the timespan it took for me to go see a movie (he said it took him about 1.5hrs). It's slightly less easy but not incredibly so for Hondas. Ford fucked up on that if that is all true.

[thewizard16]

It depends on the car and my price range of course, but I normally think of 75-100k as too much. I average about 10,000 miles a year of personal driving (maybe less lately) so a 50,000 mile car is almost perfect in that I know I could own it for 5 years before any expensive repairs or maintenance popped up, and a 75,000 mile one is to the point I know I'm going to have to have work done on it, but I could keep it a long time after that if I chose before expensive issues are likely to arise.

[Vinsanity]

Depends on how much I'm paying for the car as well. I bought my car for $20k+fees, with 27k miles. Not too shabby in '07 for a 3-year-old luxury car. My next car will probably be in the $25-30k range, with under 36,000 miles. I would be perfectly fine with a car with 100k miles...if I were paying less than $5 grand for it.

[omicron]

Probably 200,000km/124,000 miles, although I have nothing beyond a mental block limiting me to that figure. That many of you have had relatively trouble-free experiences with high-mileage cars is slowly easing me towards the potential bargains available beyond this 200k figure.

[hounddog]

I only buy new and begin consideration for replacement at about 70k.

I like having a warranty, and I like having a car I am relatively certain will be extremely reliable.

I would consider 300 hours on a boat to be too many, but am open to buying used. 

[Rupert]

300 hours? That doesn't seem like a lot...

[hounddog]

It really is not if you put the hours on and know the level of care put in, but it is for purchasing.  

Typically, 500 to 750 hours is considered a normal life for a drive unit which, depending on make and model, can run as much as $5,000 to replace and $2,500 to rebuild.  

So, you want to be certain you are buying a boat with fewer hours if you can.  Sometimes, however, you run across a boat which has received "A" level maintenance and is in perfect working order at many more hours, but like cars, that level of maint. is far more rare than should be.

When it comes to high hour boats; buyer beware.

[Rupert]

Wow, 500 hours is like a car with 30,000 miles, and that's at 60 mph!

[SVT666]

Wow, 500 hours is like a car with, 30,000 miles, and that's at 60 mph!

It's not really the same.  Most of the time boats are run at full throttle.  It's more like running your car flat out for 65,000 miles.

Also, 300 hours takes years and years to reach.  Say your boat is actually running for about 4 hours on a typical day on the lake.  If you go out once a week for the two summer months (8 weeks), then 300 hours will take 10 years to accumulate.  When I was a 18, My buddy and I put 175 hours on the boat in one summer waterkiing all weekend and after work a couple nights every week.  Let me tell you, that's a shitload of hours for one summer.

[Raza]

Hard for me to say, since I've never bought a used car.  I'm considering one now, but since it's not going to be a daily driver, I'm less concerned about mileage.  I'd say I'd put the cutoff for a second car at 120,000 miles and for a daily driver 50,000 miles. 

[Rupert]

You've been "considering" one for years. I'm beginning to think it's bullshit.

[The Pirate]

Man, I've been driving the Audi a lot lately, and it only makes me thing that miles don't really matter much.  It's a freaking tank. 

[Raza]

You've been "considering" one for years. I'm beginning to think it's bullshit.

I've got to make the money work.  It's all about timing.  I decided that being on my own was more important than buying a sports car.  Prices aren't going quite low enough on the car I want though.  Maybe I'm being too ambitious, but I don't want a Miata. 

[MrH]

I bought the Miata with 22,000 miles on it.

I bought the Protege5 with 25,000 miles on it.  I'm going to be putting the protege5 up for sale this weekend, I think it was 68,000 now.

I guess I like to buy used with under 30,000 miles?

[Rupert]

I've got to make the money work.  It's all about timing.  I decided that being on my own was more important than buying a sports car.  Prices aren't going quite low enough on the car I want though.  Maybe I'm being too ambitious, but I don't want a Miata. 

I thought you were making bank? I don't make that much, but look at my driveway.

[Raza]

I thought you were making bank? I don't make that much, but look at my driveway.

I have a number in my head, and until I see that in my bank account, I'm not making any large purchases.  I'm trying to retire, buy a condo, or something like that. 

[Rupert]

Well, then maybe you should change your sig to say, "First addition:", since you haven't the guts to be a real enthusiast and blow your money on cars.

[Vinsanity]

this was actually taken about 6 months ago. I just turned 65,000 miles on my way home tonight.

[dazzleman]

I prefer to buy new or late model used with low mileage.  I'm thinking about doing the latter next time around.  But I don't think I'd want a used car with more than around 40k miles.

[rohan]

Well until a few years ago I only ever bought junkers mostly excpet I had a 98 Ram I bought with 15k miles I drove that until it wasn't drivable anymore.  Now we'll probably buy cars with less than 10k or new.

[The Pirate]

I bought the Miata with 22,000 miles on it.

I bought the Protege5 with 25,000 miles on it.  I'm going to be putting the protege5 up for sale this weekend, I think it was 68,000 now.

I guess I like to buy used with under 30,000 miles?

Oh wow, your P5 is low mileage.  My car is rolling up on 140K.

[hounddog]

It's not really the same.  Most of the time boats are run at full throttle.  It's more like running your car flat out for 65,000 miles.

Also, 300 hours takes years and years to reach.  

Well, sort of but not exactly.

They do get run at much higher rpms for much longer periods, I run mine at about 3700 rpms on long runs.   But, we do run her full open sometimes just for fun.    

And 300 hours is a lot of boating.  Mine is an '03 and she has about 450 hours right now, and we boat quite a bit more than the average boat owner.  It has been some time since I calculated it, but it seems to me the multiplier is 70.  So, my boat;  450 x 70 = 31500 miles.

However, the "mileage" is not entirely indicative either since high-hour boats are generally older and have been in the water and sun alot.

[Rupert]

3700 RPM isn't that much. The MG can run all day at 75 mph, which is something like 3000-3500 RPM (that RPM in the Porsche would be more like 90+ mph ).