High Milage vs. Low.

["therealdmcvegas" <DMCVegas@xxxx>]

--- In dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, Jim Strickland <ihaveanaccount@xxxx>
wrote:
> On Sat, 11 Oct 2003 07:47:31 -0700 (PDT) Marc Levy <malevy_nj@xxxx>
> writes:
> > Bragging about such a thing may make one's car worth
> > less.. :)
> > 
> 
> Maybe not.
> 
> I'd value a high mileage, obviously consistently maintained, PRV over a
> 30k mile engine that has been ignored for 15 or more years.
> 
> Jim
> 1537

Milage is of course a consideration with all common cars. Typicly,
higher milage means that a vehicle has experienced quite a load of
normal wear/tear, as the typical consumer drives their car into the
ground. People typicly view a car that has higher milage as beeing
closer to the end of it's service "life". Which is kinda funny, when
you think about it. Most people consider classic car owners to be
needlessly over concerned with maintaing their car, while most
ordinary drivers are just as needlessly overconcerned with disposing
of a vehicle when it's milage hits a certain limit. Same fanaticisim,
opposite ends of the spectrum.

Anywho, when it comes to special interest vehicles, higher milage can
most definatly make a car more desireable overall, by what it means in
the individual areas that it has affected. And this is of course
speaking of DeLoreans in general. Typicly higher milage is interpreted
as meaning that the owner has been faithful to the vehicles
maintenance schedule, and quite meticulous as to making sure that the
car gets what it needs to stay in tip-top condition. Lower milage cars
I have found are usually owner by people more interested in
maintaining the car's cosmetic appearance, moreso than the vehicle's
mechanical function. That's fine too. After all, we are dealing with
simply cars here. But mechanicly, the vehicle probably isn't yet
broken in. And this I can attest to. Safety recalls may not be
performed, parts that might have a specific service life may wear out
prematurely due to age (shocks), non-use (rubber), chemical damage
(gasoline, failed brake fluid seals), etc... Now the normal
maintenance items that one may replace over the course of several
years of keeping a vehicle in active service may seem almost trival,
since they're purchase/installation is spread out over such a time
span. But when someone sends a mothballed vehilce into service so
quickly, deteriorated components can appear to fail almost
simultaniouisly. And this can give a low milage vehicle an unfair
appearance of being "unreliable".

Now this isn't a rule, so please don't take it as such. After all, you
can end up with a high milage vehicle that has been run into the
ground, or some special, low milage car that is in such great shape,
and gives you n problems, that it's almost as if you've walked off the
showroom floor with them. And yes, I've seen both cases.

So far I've only spoken about the problems of buying a D with low
miles/usage. They do after all have their advantages. You start with a
much cleaner slate. Your chances of unknown modifications are greatly
reduced. And you prepare yourself for a restorate much easier by
beeing able to budget, and set timelines. Sure, a few things may pop
up along the way, but you'll already be aware of the biggest, 'cause
after all, if you know that you need to replace the entire fuel
system, shocks, water hoses, water pump, tires, A/C, etc... you know
what exactly your in for, and can have a better glmpse of that light
at the end of the tunnel. It can also build up more confidence in the
car, because you have an idea of how well everything is functioning,
because you know it's working properly. And since you can become
involved in such an intensive restoration, you get to know the car
much better, eliminating much of the "mystery" of the function of
systems and components.

So in a nutshell, does one choose between a high milage car that is
ready to go, but can have problems that the previous owner did
know/admit to? Or. Is it better to buy a car that is more likely to
need extensive work, and that way you'll atleast have a better idea of
what you're getting into, and are less likely to be "surprised" by any
hidden problems?

So as you can see, there is no rule set in stone about high, vs. low
milage cars. There is a guideline, but nothing truly certain, and of
course, there are ALWAYS other factors involved. But now you can
understand that there are both unique advantages, and disadvantages to
both.

-Robert
vin 6585 "X"