Hi all,

As mentioned in a previous topic, I am looking to get back into Coop ownership. Having looked at one locally that was, erm, inadequate, I am having to look further afield. One I am interested in is a t the other end of the country from me. But, just like my first Coop, I am prepared to travel. The fly in the ointment is that it has done 165K. Now it appears to have been looked after, but I am not in a position to go all the way to the south coast for a lemon.

So, I would be interested to hear your views on high mileage Coops. You wealth of knowledge is always appreciated.

Cheers
Oliver

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Really? I'll PM you!

my coupe has 144K on it.... i have no issues with it, but it has had a lot of things done since i bought it in Febuary this year.... mainly because i was not too happy with some of the cosmetic things, but once you start you tend to then do the next bit... then the next bit...

so new coilovers, turbo, fuel pump, mapping, injectors, dump valve, oil and service .... these were done for performance, but the original ones were working fine with exception to suspension, was crashy and the original plastic dump valve... the cosmetics involved sorting out the tired plastic interia parts due to scratches, age etc.... then the extra had a couple of dings in it that were filled, painted... then rust felt with on arches and the underside...

all in all the car was fine but for a required parts point of view, just suspension and dump valve.

Cheers Chris. Mine was 133K when I sold it and, apart from the rear arches, it was pretty tidy.
I guess what I'm asking is mainly to do with the engine. The car I'm looking at looks mint but then so did the broom yellow one I looked at the other day. It would be a shame to go 200+ miles by coach to find it in a state under the bonnet.

can you not ask the seller to mail photos of the engine bay or a video of engine, underside etc to you.?

I have sent two messages asking for more info etc. No reply as yet.

The second Coupe we bought recently is showing 146k. It has a stack of paperwork to back this up.

It drives really well, I confess I haven't driven my own for some months so I have yet to do a back-to-back comparison but from memory I would say that the higher-mileage one drives just as well. In fact it has better oil pressure than mine, although it may have had engine work done (but so has mine).

There is a little more rust, only minor surface stuff, but then again mine is not exactly a straight comparison!

There is an oil leak somewhere which I haven't identified yet; again, not serious but there is a smear of oil on the sump which has come from somewhere.

At the price I paid for our high-miler I'm more than happy, and I guess that's what it comes down to - price as well as condition.

Where is the one you're looking at?

It may be that someone on the south coast would be prepared to have an initial look at it for you Cevert1973.

Arundel. It's near Worthing. The coach from Sheff goes to Worthing eventually after 7hrs. I must be mad....again! I thought of Asking a member to have a look if they were near by. I wanted a response from the seller first.

Ah, Arundel is a fair trot from me, couple of hours, otherwise I would have offered to look.

Could you ask him where he gets it serviced then have a word with them? That's what I did, I bought the car sight unseen after that, although the person who I asked about it was Rog so I was fairly confident! (And I told him that I knew where he lived so I'd send the boys round if he was wrong!)

(And I told him that I knew where he lived so I'd send the boys round if he was wrong!) [/quote]

Haha! Always a good tactic. Funny, when I bought my last one from a village in Hertfordshire, Rog's name was mentioned as having done work on it. That was a deal sealer. And I don't even know the guy!!

This doesn't sound particularly promising.

Mileage is almost an irrelevance - buy on condition and history (and your gut feel for the owner)

We've had cars in with a third of that mileage that I wouldn't touch with a barge-pole and we've had cars in with over 200,000 miles that I'd buy in a heartbeat

Check closely for rust in the floorpan, wheelarches, boot floor & sills

You can try calling the experts like Rog to see if they know the Coops you're looking at. I know Rog has seen plenty of cars move away from Essex and then return years later. A mate of mine bought one from Kent that used to live just a few miles from where he lives now in Essex. Might be a long shot, but then it might have been in the garage a week ago

Mine's done 136k now and it's in better condition than it was the day I bought it over 10 years ago with 41k on the clock

Mine had 155k on it when I swapped the engine over; there was nothing wrong with it, strong as ever, just had the opportunity to get a 10k engine. So if it has been looked after, should be fine.

Cheers Mark.

Sometimes I think that if a car has made it to high miles it means big jobs have been done and some time and money has been spent. I'm more worried about turbos and clutches etc. Stuff that goes bang without warning!! lol

Cheers Nigel!

Cheers. Rog must have worked on every Coop. I know he worked on my old one.

165,000 miles of relevance imo.

Of course 165,000 *may* be well treated but my lord, it will be a tired car unless it has had everything that can wear changed on it.

It much rather hold out for a car with 65k that is in good condition.

To buy a car with millenium falcon miles on it is a breakdown waiting to happen in terms of likelihood compared to a nice low mile.

only good thing is that a high milers price will be on the floor as most people will (rightly so imo) run from it

I know. Some folk are like that though. Put stuff on the bay and forget about it. I'm only trying to assist him in achieving his goal of selling his car. lol

Thats been on a while now, its a plus but not listed as a plus would be a very good buy if bodywork is ok imho especially at that price!

The mot history has general wear and tear comments including ball joint covers split for the last 2-3 years
Has rust on arches but unsure of the rest of it

Its definitely one that wants an eye over it! i considered buying it, but was just about to go on Holiday so did not have time to travel down to veiw! supprised its still there

it may be the bargain of the year or just a right Lemon but it is a plus and still hasnt gone yet! so either he is hard to get hold of, its sold and he has not updated ebay or there is something wrong with it?

If you go for it i would say the bodywork is more important to check than the engine as you can get a decent engine fitted no problems and you already have all the other toys
But if you cant do the work yourself obviously best it all works properly

This is correct to an extent, but a high miler is more likely to have had parts replaced and been looked after to get it there.
I've had more trouble with low mileage coupes than I have high, and I've had quite a few.

Just my opinion and experience though

Many people will remember my Sprinty - 246,000 miles and often referred to as the "Trigger's Broom" of the Coupe world - much of the car had been replaced as a matter of course over the years, to the extent that it was as new and reliable as a car with a quarter of the miles

Sadly, my money-no-object approach to the mechanical maintenance stopped short of blowing a fortune on the bodywork and it succumbed to rust four years ago. If I'd kept it, it would be very close to 300,000 miles now (I've done 50,000 in the Moonie that replaced it)

My point is that high mileage really shouldn't be seen as an issue - if the car drives well, sounds good, has a good history of preventative maintenance with a reputable specialist, has no bodywork issues and is priced accordingly, I still believe that the numbers on the odometer are close to irrelevant.

I accept though that if a car with 165k on the clock hasn't had a clutch or a turbo, there's two fairly chunky bills just around the corner - like I said, buy on condition and history.

Dont forget Brake pipes think that is on the advisory too!
Got the info by zooming into the mot pic there is enough info to do an mot history check and also check spec on eper

Give FCSS a call he appears to have done some work on it. It's had the clutch and belts replaced in the last two years. Just ask for photos of the areas where it rusts

Mines on 184k with full dealer, and specialist history. And still purrs.

Just to add i did speak to Joe at FCSS he does not know the car and has only supplied braided oil pipes i also made the assumption that he had done some work on it!
Im sure Joe would be happy to answer on his own behalf as he is aware of the car as i sent him a link about 10-11 days ago

Good spot!!! Impressive.

Good idea. Cheers