I have to agree with John and I've been around long enough to see the auto industry "grow up" to produce the quality it does today. The last American cars that would not go 200,000 miles+ were the full size GM products with small V6 engines made in the early 80s.
>From my personal observations: 1960s: Engines - 80,000 - 120,000 miles Transmissions - about the same Bolt on accessories (starters, alternators, water pumps, carburetors) - ~35,000 miles Brake shoes - ~12,000 miles Tires - 40,000 miles max, more like 35,000 miles Belts & hoses - once a year Points, plugs & wires - 3000 - 12000 miles 1970s: Engines - 150,000 - 200,000 miles Transmissions - about the same Bolt on accessories (starters, alternators, water pumps, carburetors) - ~60,000 miles Brake pads - ~30,000 miles Tires - 50,000 miles max - 30,000 miles for the cheap ones Belts & hoses - 35,000 + miles if you bought the good ones & changed antifreeze regularly Plugs & wires - 12000 miles + A note about the 70's. This was the era of rampant odometer roll backs. It got so bad in the late 70s & early 80s that even respectable dealerships would look at the condition of a trade-in's interior & set the odometer accordingly. Many thousands of American & import cars went well past 200,000 miles with no issues whatsoever. Many used car buyers got a "bad taste" for American cars when they developed drive line problems in less than 100,000 miles when the cars actually had many more miles on the clock, sometimes over 300,000 miles! 1980s: Engines - 200,000 or more miles. Mercedes 3.8 liter engines with single roller timing chains would fail randomly after 60,000 miles. Transmissions - about 175,000 miles Bolt on accessories (starters, alternators, water pumps, carburetors) - 60,000 or more miles Brake pads - ~70,000 miles for OEM but only 35,000 for aftermarket replacements Tires - 70,000 miles max - 35,000 miles for the cheap ones Belts & hoses - 70,000 + miles if you bought the good ones & changed antifreeze regularly Plugs & wires - 24000 miles + 1990s: Engines - 200,000, 300,000 or more miles, providing the owner actually took care of the car. But most didn't. A friend in the business used to show me car after car that had not been properly serviced and the damage that resulted. We really do mistreat our cars here in the States. There were some engine exceptions - the Mitsubishi V6 used by Mitsu & Chrysler had valve train geometry issues that would wear out valve guides. Mercedes 3.2 liter engines would sludge up on Dino oil & wear out prematurely. Transmissions - Seemed to follow two extremes, would go about 175,000 miles or the life of the car. Early Chrysler minivan transmissions had controller problems that led to early failures. Bolt on accessories (starters, alternators, water pumps, etc.) - would often last the life of the car but some still failed after 60,000 miles Brake pads - ~70,000 miles for OEM but only 35,000 for aftermarket replacements. Tires - 70,000 miles max - 35,000 miles for the cheap ones Belts & hoses - 70,000 + miles if you bought the good ones & changed antifreeze regularly Plugs & wires - Some platinum plugs would go 100,000 miles while conventional plugs crossed 35,000 miles easily. The advent of coil packs eliminated plug wires, distributors, etc. 2000s??? We see, but with technology improving all the time cars should last even longer. My long term observation? Some things don't change, particularly when we vote with our wallets and cheap tires, brake pads, Dot3 fluid, cheap antifreeze, hoses & belts are, well...., so cheap! Thanks, Tom Hargrave www.kegkits.com 256-656-1924 -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of E M Sent: Monday, December 01, 2008 6:21 PM To: Mercedes Discussion List Subject: Re: [MBZ] Car buying Calculus was Re: OT 87 Isuzu trooper I think a million miles is being a bit generous. Even if the engine does make it, how many transmissions will it cost you, not to mention all the other bits that fail with age and miles. I've read where cars have a million on them, and had the engine "freshened" a few times. That's not going a million, that's going a third of a million. To me, anytime a part needs to be rebuilt, I say the part has reached the end of it's service life. Sure, you have a core you can rebuild and start again and get lots more use out of it, but that's not the same as a part that has a million miles on it. :-) You can get amazingly high mileage out of a lot of engines, by keeping the fluids clean, and warming them up properly. Ed 300E with lots of miles. I'm sure it will go lots more after freshening the head, but as for running at it came from the factory, (regular service aside), my car seems to have managed about 345,000 not so easy kms. With a little freshening, by 500,000, I think it will have earned it's rest. 2008/12/1 John Robbins <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Loren wrote: > >> It is all in perspective. A 50k mile caddy is 1/3 spent, if the >> average lifespan of a caddy is 150k miles. That would leave you 100k >> useable miles. An SDL with 250k and no rust is 1/4 spent, figuring a >> lifespan of 1 million. That leaves 750k to go. The cost of ownership >> of the SDL is less. >> > > I'm a big fan of Mercedes and all, but you're giving too little credit to > the Caddy, and WAY too much to the MB. If you maintain the Caddy to the > same level needed for the MB to go 1 million miles, the Caddy will easily > make it to 500k. > > John > > > > > _______________________________________ > http://www.okiebenz.com > For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.552 / Virus Database: 270.9.12/1821 - Release Date: 11/30/2008 5:53 PM No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.552 / Virus Database: 270.9.12/1821 - Release Date: 11/30/2008 5:53 PM _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
