Author Topic: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car  (Read 404066 times)

prodarwin

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #50 on: February 18, 2014, 06:34:35 AM »
My car is neither old nor high mileage, but its still pretty frugal.  '98 Saturn with 141k miles.

coconutpop

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #51 on: February 18, 2014, 06:46:02 PM »
97 civic. I do all the reparations myself with a friend. It is still pretty reliable. last thing I changed was my front brakes last year. And 2 spark plug 2 months ago.

train_writer

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #52 on: February 19, 2014, 07:40:15 AM »
My beloved and many-times tuned up bicycle now has 25k+ on the meter, which equals the circumference of the earth!

It also used to be pink, has been orange one summer and now lives as a blue sparkly bicycle. It (she) has seen Belarus, Poland, Germany, Denmark and of course the Netherlands.

I do plan on buying a 2nd bicycle soon to accompany her

1967mama

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #53 on: February 19, 2014, 05:30:16 PM »
For our family, we drive a 2001 Ford van. It has 81,000 miles on it and we have so far replaced the transmission, the a/c and last week, the power steering. Other than regular maintenance, it has served us well and we will continue to drive it -- its paid for and I don't have nearly enough money set aside to replace it anyways. Its worth a pittance if we sold it -- maybe $5000 if we were lucky.
« Last Edit: April 01, 2014, 12:32:05 AM by 1967mama »

greaper007

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #54 on: February 19, 2014, 10:57:59 PM »
A new transmission after 81,000 miles?   That  hurts.

Little Nell

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #55 on: February 19, 2014, 11:05:00 PM »
1989 Volvo wagon, with 200K and a little more on it. We use it to haul wood.

aj_yooper

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #56 on: February 20, 2014, 03:08:20 AM »
My beloved and many-times tuned up bicycle now has 25k+ on the meter, which equals the circumference of the earth!

It also used to be pink, has been orange one summer and now lives as a blue sparkly bicycle. It (she) has seen Belarus, Poland, Germany, Denmark and of course the Netherlands.

I do plan on buying a 2nd bicycle soon to accompany her

Badass!

jhartt3

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #57 on: February 20, 2014, 06:22:44 AM »
I have a 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid.  Not sure how this car doesnt make the Mustachian list of cars.  The EPA estimates are all wrong.  in the winter i get my worst Gas mileage at 35MPGs YES IN AN SUV.  If the weather is over 45 degrees this bad boy puts out 40-45 MPGs depending on how frugal i drive YES IN AN SUV.  No clown car needed.  Plus i picked it up with 150k miles on it from my companies fleet sale last winter for a cool 5400 bucks.  Yes its still worth more than that.  On top of this i drive to some client sites for work.  and they pay to the tune of 56.5cents a mile and i estimate i profit 35cents a mile minimum if i keep it above 30MPGs on the highway.  So now my company has paid for the car i bought from them in gas mileage. 

skunkfunk

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #58 on: February 20, 2014, 07:24:42 AM »
I have a 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid.  Not sure how this car doesnt make the Mustachian list of cars.  The EPA estimates are all wrong.  in the winter i get my worst Gas mileage at 35MPGs YES IN AN SUV.  If the weather is over 45 degrees this bad boy puts out 40-45 MPGs depending on how frugal i drive YES IN AN SUV.  No clown car needed.  Plus i picked it up with 150k miles on it from my companies fleet sale last winter for a cool 5400 bucks.  Yes its still worth more than that.  On top of this i drive to some client sites for work.  and they pay to the tune of 56.5cents a mile and i estimate i profit 35cents a mile minimum if i keep it above 30MPGs on the highway.  So now my company has paid for the car i bought from them in gas mileage.

Have you verified that mileage? That's incredible.

jhartt3

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #59 on: February 20, 2014, 07:34:41 AM »
Yes i have verified this mileage.  For the first half year i tracked it and compared to what the guage in the car said and it was always within .5 MPGs on either side which tells me my car MPG meter is accurate.  b/c gas quality and when the pump stops can easily allow for that variance.  i just filled up on my way in to work today and reset it.  since the car was half warm when i filled up i always get insane numbers after fillup so i'm at 50 but that will avg. back out down to probably 38-40 since cold weather is coming back.

prodarwin

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #60 on: February 20, 2014, 07:35:00 AM »
I have a 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid.  Not sure how this car doesnt make the Mustachian list of cars.  The EPA estimates are all wrong.  in the winter i get my worst Gas mileage at 35MPGs YES IN AN SUV.  If the weather is over 45 degrees this bad boy puts out 40-45 MPGs depending on how frugal i drive YES IN AN SUV.  No clown car needed.  Plus i picked it up with 150k miles on it from my companies fleet sale last winter for a cool 5400 bucks.  Yes its still worth more than that.  On top of this i drive to some client sites for work.  and they pay to the tune of 56.5cents a mile and i estimate i profit 35cents a mile minimum if i keep it above 30MPGs on the highway.  So now my company has paid for the car i bought from them in gas mileage.

Have you verified that mileage? That's incredible.

He's an outlier, that's for sure.  http://www.fuelly.com/car/ford/escape%20hybrid

gillstone

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #61 on: February 20, 2014, 08:58:27 AM »
I'll brag about my car one more time.  Two weeks ago we had a mix of snow and ice which left my wife's Hyundai Sonata sidelined.  Every time we tried to move it, the fairly new (and gigantic) all-season tires would just polish the ice below.  But my 2000 Grand Prix on second-hand all seasons would glide over the stuff like it was blacktop.

We're replacing the Hyundai in a few months with a Honda Fit, but we will never get rid of the Pontiac.

jhartt3

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #62 on: February 20, 2014, 09:54:06 AM »
I have a 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid.  Not sure how this car doesnt make the Mustachian list of cars.  The EPA estimates are all wrong.  in the winter i get my worst Gas mileage at 35MPGs YES IN AN SUV.  If the weather is over 45 degrees this bad boy puts out 40-45 MPGs depending on how frugal i drive YES IN AN SUV.  No clown car needed.  Plus i picked it up with 150k miles on it from my companies fleet sale last winter for a cool 5400 bucks.  Yes its still worth more than that.  On top of this i drive to some client sites for work.  and they pay to the tune of 56.5cents a mile and i estimate i profit 35cents a mile minimum if i keep it above 30MPGs on the highway.  So now my company has paid for the car i bought from them in gas mileage.

Have you verified that mileage? That's incredible.

He's an outlier, that's for sure.  http://www.fuelly.com/car/ford/escape%20hybrid

arent we all outliers on this site.  It isnt the car or anything special i put in it.  Its how i drive the car.  Just like how you live in a cooler house in the winter as a mustachian or a warmer house in the summer.  Driving this car efficiently has much much more upside than driving a regular gas engine efficiently.  i drive 20 miles to work each day.  i drive down a road with a 45 Sp Lim. at 40 so when i see red traffic lights i can brake quickly and get under 40 to turn off the Comb Eng.  then on certain hills on my way to work i can coast down 100% on battery.  And obviously this route is to and from so its not like going downhill both ways.  some tricks and secrets with the FEH can help it get there and it really isnt that hard.  I drive 55 on an interstate for about 6 miles.  total it adds about 3 mins to my commute vs going the speed limit. 

grantmeaname

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #63 on: February 20, 2014, 12:30:08 PM »
For real. How you drive it has a huge potential to make a difference. 20% or more above the fuelly/fueleconomy.gov estimates isn't unusual, and this is just a bit past that.

jhartt3

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #64 on: February 20, 2014, 12:40:56 PM »
It is legit.  and you can see others posting the same thing.  now i feel like i live a good distance to maximize my mileage and have the roads that can get me there with this driving style.  It isnt for everyone.

This isnt for you if you
1. mainly drive over 55 MPH
2. Don't want to take the time to learn the car
3. Can't drive with a light foot... i mean very light.

nicknageli

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #65 on: February 20, 2014, 01:44:51 PM »
My current commuter car is 10+ years old now.  The old EPA MPG estimates on the sticker were 25/31.  With today's new measurements, the estimates have been revised down to 22/28.

I do probably 80% freeway (speed limit only in the slow lane) and 20% in-town driving, a lot of coasting, no jack rabbit starts, etc. and consistently get 32-34 MPG per tank.

Just adding my two cents that driving style has a huge impact on fuel economy.

Paul der Krake

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #66 on: February 20, 2014, 01:47:12 PM »
Keeping the car at or under 55 MPH is definitely key for the two toyotas I drive regularly. Especially if you allow it go slower when going uphill on the highway so it never needs to shift down. We averaged 41 MPG when driving through mountainous West Virginia in a corolla that's rated for 35 highway EVEN though we drove at the posted speed limit (65-70) the majority of the time.

EPAs are for people who haven't yet heard of coasting.

nicknageli

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #67 on: February 20, 2014, 01:51:38 PM »
EPAs are for people who haven't yet heard of coasting.



What drives me nuts is when I'm behind a chipped, jacked up diesel truck at a stop light and they nail the throttle when the light goes green and blow black diesel smoke everywhere.  That's when I wonder if fuel should be priced at $10 a gallon.

MissGina

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #68 on: February 21, 2014, 03:02:42 PM »
I like this thread! 1998 Toyota Camry V6 XLE purchased in Feb. 2005 for $10k cash with 88,000 miles. Now has 214,000 miles. Keeping for one more year then I'll start to look at slightly newer camry's (2009-2011 model year).

jhartt3

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #69 on: February 21, 2014, 05:16:12 PM »
I like this thread! 1998 Toyota Camry V6 XLE purchased in Feb. 2005 for $10k cash with 88,000 miles. Now has 214,000 miles. Keeping for one more year then I'll start to look at slightly newer camry's (2009-2011 model year).

why a V6 ?

goatmom

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #70 on: February 22, 2014, 08:53:05 AM »
Well, my dh drives a manual transmission 2002 civic with 150,000 miles on it.  Not too impressive with some of the other cars on this thread, but it looks great in the doctors' parking garage at the hospital surrounded by late model BMWs and Mercedes!  Now I am working on getting him to bike on nice weather days!

Shropskr

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #71 on: February 23, 2014, 05:21:27 PM »
Got rid of my second car last year 1995 Subaru impreza 150,000 miles on her. Only major maintenance a replaced AC. It literally imploded.  Gave her to a family member.  She went crunch 2 months later :(

Just realized last July my van isn't new anymore.  2004 honda odyssey.  People were asking when I was getting a new one.  I was saying What I just got this one it's a 2004!  Oh wait she's 9 years old.  Only has 70,000 miles on her.    Not replacing anytime soon.

abhe8

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #72 on: February 23, 2014, 05:34:05 PM »
family car = 2005 suburban with 120k miles
comuter car = 1998 toyota 4runner with 197k miles (going to be sold this month)
new comuter car = 2003 toyota matrix with 74k miles.

the 4runner is pretty ugly, some hail damage we did not repair and a few rust spots, but its been a loyal, trustworthy ride. dh had it in highschool. but the gas milage is terrible and we just moved (now 4.5 miles from work one way, was 1.2 miles) with a couple of months per year comuting 25 miles each way, so i think the trade will be a good one. we were thrilled to find such an old matrix with 1 owner and such low milage. its completely bare bones, as in no power windows or locks. our familes are a little confused (as usual) about our vehicle choices. but again they they all drive new SUVS (hylander, explorer, land rover and 2 oddyses).

ThermionicScott

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #73 on: February 23, 2014, 06:41:01 PM »
but the gas milage is terrible and we just moved (now 4.5 miles from work one way, was 1.2 miles)

I would be remiss as a MMMer if I didn't point out that this is a fantastic bike-commuting distance.  ;^)

MissGina

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #74 on: February 24, 2014, 12:51:23 PM »
I like this thread! 1998 Toyota Camry V6 XLE purchased in Feb. 2005 for $10k cash with 88,000 miles. Now has 214,000 miles. Keeping for one more year then I'll start to look at slightly newer camry's (2009-2011 model year).

why a V6 ?

I need the power to overtake vehicles. I am a very aggressive driver.

jhartt3

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #75 on: February 25, 2014, 04:47:26 AM »
I like this thread! 1998 Toyota Camry V6 XLE purchased in Feb. 2005 for $10k cash with 88,000 miles. Now has 214,000 miles. Keeping for one more year then I'll start to look at slightly newer camry's (2009-2011 model year).

why a V6 ?

I need the power to overtake vehicles. I am a very aggressive driver.

sounds like you could save alot of gas and lead a happier life by slowing down and get a 4 banger.  power to overtake just burns gas.  I used to be aggressive as well since i got my hybrid and now drive under the speed limit the stress from my commute is gone.  something to consider

Villanelle

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #76 on: February 25, 2014, 05:25:42 AM »
Mine isn't high mileage.  To be fair, it was in storage for 2.5 years while I lived overseas, so that accounts for some of the low mileage.  But it's a 2000 toyota Echo and has 84,000 miles on it. 

Due to practicalities, it may be sold in Germany when we leave in 8-20 months, or it may make the journey with us.  I'd be perfectly happy driving it for another couple years though, so that may happen.  I do want my next car to ahve power windows and maybe power door locks, though.

I live in Germany, so I drive fast and also spent a lot of time in traffic.  (Though let's be realistic.  An Echo can't really go what is considered "fast" on many German roads.)  Other than speeding, I am a pretty fuel efficient driver with slow starts and stops and a few other things.  At one point, I was getting mid 40s MPG (EPA is 31/38) on my drive when I lived in SoCal.  Now, I am probably about 40 on average.

Depending on where we live next, there's a good chance my next car will by a hybrid or possibly even an electric (though I'd done almost zero research on E cars.)

data.Damnation

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #77 on: February 25, 2014, 06:33:52 AM »
97 Ford Explorer with 87k miles. I bought it back in 2004 with 40k miles on it. The last 5 years I've only put about 2500 miles on it per year because I bike to work (except in winter) or work from home.

nicknageli

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #78 on: February 25, 2014, 03:00:28 PM »
97 Ford Explorer with 87k miles. I bought it back in 2004 with 40k miles on it. The last 5 years I've only put about 2500 miles on it per year because I bike to work (except in winter) or work from home.

That would be sweet!  Great situation you're in.

RootofGood

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #79 on: February 26, 2014, 08:37:58 AM »
I'm pimping it in my 2000 Honda Civic.  It only has 94k miles (I don't drive a lot).  I bought this puppy brand new 14 years ago.  Zero repairs other than routine maintenance and a few minor things like O2 sensor. 

I even haul our 3 kids around in it.  We'll probably drive it 800 miles to Florida this fall for vacation. 

Hopefully it lasts another 14 years. 

My wife drives a 2000 Honda Accord (we bought new cars together 14 years ago :) ).  She's closer to 150k miles due to a longish commute to the high paying job part of town. 

When the wife quits work, we are contemplating a switch to one car, maybe a minivan or mid size SUV (honda pilot-ish).  Gas mileage will become mostly irrelevant since we live in the city and don't drive very much (other than an occasional vacation). 

exranger06

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #80 on: February 26, 2014, 10:32:20 AM »
My car isn't very high mileage, but it is pretty old - 1992 Honda Accord. It just hit 169k miles this morning. It's in almost mint condition, it's reliable and pretty economical. It's needed some repairs over the years, but I do all repairs and maintenance myself which saves me a lot of money, and I get a significant discount on parts from my job, which saves me even more money.

That's not my only vehicle, but it is the oldest and the most MMM friendly.

Herk

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #81 on: February 26, 2014, 01:19:51 PM »
My 1996 Volvo wagon is at 164k, only bought it last summer with 155k on the clock though.  My dad's still driving his 1994 Buick LeSabre with 142k on it (he got it for free from his father-in-law about 11 years ago with 41k on it, doesn't get much better than that).  My girlfriend used to have a '93 Volvo with 211k on it before she moved across the country.  I'm sure it's still driving around Phoenix.

I see no reason why my Volvo won't last me well past 200k.  It's a *very* well-built car, and it's been very well taken-care of in the past.  I'm also babying it pretty hard.  Textbook maintenance.  If you treat a car like you'll have it forever, you probably will be able to.

The main problem with old cars (at least in northern Illinois) is rust.  Get something built decently, and without rust (or minor rust that you fix right away), take care of it, and no reason it can't run forever.  My Volvo had only two very small spots of rust when I got it, and I fixed them easily before winter came to make them bigger.

I'm driving a '92 Volvo with 230k (plus the three years when the odo was broken) up here in Wisconsin. I've heard they do very well w/r/t rust, but  it'll be a sad day nonetheless when it first appears.

If mine ever bites the dust, I think I'd "upgrade" to one of those mid-late nineties wagons.
Nice.  I do love the older RWD Volvos.  They're even more tank-like than mine.

Indeed, they were awesome! To bad they don't make them anymore. The newer Volvos just don't have the quality anymore. I've had one from 1971, one from 1984. Being from Sweden I still see them for sale here, lots of them have around 300000-400000 miles on them, still going strong. And spare parts were almost free for them, since almost everyone had a Volvo. I really miss them :( Now I have a 99 Toyota, that gets about 50% longer per liter of gas though, so not everything was better with the old Volvos.

Herk

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #82 on: February 26, 2014, 01:26:46 PM »
Umm, yeah. Forgot to mention my current car. 1999 Toyota Avensis with 200k miles (320k km) getting 37 MPG in winter (winter tires) and 39-40 in summer. Awesome car so far.

clarkfan1979

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #83 on: February 26, 2014, 02:18:13 PM »
My 2000 Hyundai Accent with 195K miles is finally done. It needs new bearings on the brakes. It grinds when I turn and accelerate. I bought the car in July 2000 and I only had one major repair that was not regular maintenance ($2,200). I forget what it was but I'm pretty sure that I got "taken." Looking back I should have tried harder to get a second opinion. My car broke down 70-80 miles away from my regular shop.

 

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #84 on: February 26, 2014, 11:05:42 PM »
2001 Ford Escort Coupe, red. 32-37 miles to the gallon. Sexy and stubborn just like me ;)

For a first car, or any car, it is a dream.



(once you learn to do the 2 wheel drive in the winter, that is)

loki

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #85 on: February 27, 2014, 07:43:13 PM »
Last year, sold the '95 Tercel at 203k miles. Still driving the '02 Intrigue at almost 206k miles.

NVDee

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #86 on: February 28, 2014, 03:45:34 PM »
1981 VW Vanagon (AKA Fritz)  purchased in 2001, no idea on the mileage (or KMs) as the odometer has not functioned since we purchased it.  We've driven it from BC to LA, and records show the van was driven by previous owners to Mexico.

Hubby does all the maintenance on it to keep the costs down, including the off roadside/campsite emergency repairs.  By far the best hotel/holiday/cottage value out there.


chops

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #87 on: February 28, 2014, 06:46:01 PM »
Low mileage / old car brag:  1995 buick century with...drumroll please...14,000 miles! 

Inherited it from Grandma last year (she had it since new!)  I'm planning on keeping it as a Mustachian ride for awhile even though the gas mileage is only around 26 mpg.  Am trying to get that up through better driving though.  Great in the NE winters though, probably because of the "boat of a car-style" hood weight at the front tires. 

Jealous of the high mpg cars here!     

Hedge_87

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #88 on: February 28, 2014, 06:50:14 PM »
01 dodge 1500 pickup with 205K. This thing is a tank. gets horrible gas milage but some times there is just no way around having to have a truck.

ketchup

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #89 on: February 28, 2014, 08:36:01 PM »
Low mileage / old car brag:  1995 buick century with...drumroll please...14,000 miles! 

Inherited it from Grandma last year (she had it since new!)  I'm planning on keeping it as a Mustachian ride for awhile even though the gas mileage is only around 26 mpg.  Am trying to get that up through better driving though.  Great in the NE winters though, probably because of the "boat of a car-style" hood weight at the front tires. 

Jealous of the high mpg cars here!   
Damn!  Drive that baby for the rest of your life!  Reminds me of my dad's car (1994 Buick Lesabre) that he got for free from his father-in-law with 42k miles on it in 2004, so not quite as badass.

spoonman

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #90 on: February 28, 2014, 10:15:05 PM »
Nothing amazing, but my 2006 Civic sedan can do 38.5 mpg between LA and San Diego.  On a regular basis it's more like 34 mpg.

gobius

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Re: Brag on your high-mileage car
« Reply #91 on: March 06, 2014, 03:53:24 PM »
I got a lot of surprised looks from people about how many miles that car had since Taurus's have a bad reputation.

I thought that as well but a coworker of mine had a Mercury equivalent to a Taurus and got it to 300k I thought.  She said her sister had a Taurus and it got to 270k or something like that.  She said the mechanic told her that those models were known to run forever.

I had a '99 Cavalier and rolled it a few months ago.  It was at 215k.  I had blown the head gasket and let it damage the whole head due to negligence at 190k.  Other than that it never had issues.  I now own a Mazda Protege with about 140k on it.  Spent about $2500 on it; one of my coworkers commented that he paid more in taxes for his truck than the price I paid for my car.  I drive a lot to work (35 miles each way) but am downsizing my house to an area by coworkers so I can hopefully carpool more.

gobius

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #92 on: March 06, 2014, 04:16:19 PM »
any idea how much you guys have spent over the lifetime of the car to maintain it those miles? i wonder if the costs adds up...

I spent $5K for my '99 Cavalier initially and drove it 140k miles over 7-1/2 years.  It got about 28 MPG average, so at $3.50/gal it cost $0.125/mi for gas ($17,500 total).  Probably spent $5,500 total on maintenance including when I blew my head gasket and wrecked the head.  That includes tires, oil changes, a couple brake jobs (one I did myself), and a few other miscellaneous repairs. 

So I spent about $28K total on my car over the course of 7-1/2 years, or about $0.125/mi gas, $0.035/mi purchase price, and $0.04/mi repairs/maintenance.

Wow, I just realized that, if I could live car-free, I would save the equivalent of $300/mo.  Oh well; something to improve on.

Optimiser

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #93 on: March 06, 2014, 05:02:25 PM »
If I'm going somewhere by myself I ride a 2002 Honda Metropolitan. It gets about 90 MPG and I ride it rain or shine. This means I've put less than 3,000 on my 1990 Mazda Miata in the last year. I've owned the Miata for 5 years and it's still worth more than I paid for it. It probably always will be. It's 24 years old now and only has 130,000 miles. It's not the most mustachian car, but I'm able to average around 33 MPG in it. My wife drives a 2001 Honda Civic with 197,000 miles. Since it's the only vehicle that holds all three of us it gets driven the most. I get over 40 MPG in it, but she gets closer to 35.

Milspecstache

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Re: Brag on your high-mileage car
« Reply #94 on: March 06, 2014, 07:10:42 PM »
I got a lot of surprised looks from people about how many miles that car had since Taurus's have a bad reputation.

I thought that as well but a coworker of mine had a Mercury equivalent to a Taurus and got it to 300k I thought.  She said her sister had a Taurus and it got to 270k or something like that.  She said the mechanic told her that those models were known to run forever.
DH saw this article the other day "10 Cars Most Likely to go 200k Miles" and the Taurus is the only non-Japanese one to make the list. Makes me laugh whenever people dog on Fords :)

Just to be a geeky engineer, I'd like to point out that this article only includes vehicles listed for sale.  So, vehicles that are high mileage and still popular might not make the cut because the owners aren't letting them go.
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2014/03/10-best-cars-to-last-200-000-miles/index.htm

homehandymum

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #95 on: March 06, 2014, 10:33:02 PM »
No idea how many kms are on the clock, but our cars are:
1997 Hyundai Lantra - DH's drive-to-work car
1999 Toyota Emina - the minivan for my driving around with the kids.

No plans to replace either of them until they die.

Iceplant18

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #96 on: March 06, 2014, 11:00:28 PM »
Bought my 1996 Saturn SC2 when I was 17.  Manual everything.  It was a couple years old with maybe 40K miles on it at the time.  I think I paid around 11K for it back then.  I still own it today with about 130K miles on it.  Pretty low I know but that's mainly because I ride a motorcycle for 90% of my commuting.  Plus for a period of time I was commuting to work on my bicycle until it got stolen. :(  I do all my own maintenance on it to keep costs low plus it's garaged which makes a HUGE difference in its condition over the long run.  I've literally owned it for almost half my life and I plan on owning it till it blows up or taken from me by an inattentive driver.  Sometimes I literally wonder if I'll ever buy another car again. 

BlueMR2

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #97 on: March 07, 2014, 12:32:44 PM »
1991 Toyota MR2.  269,000 miles now.  Looking forward to a routine 30k interval service at 270,000.  :-)  32-34 mpg in town/and on expressway (65-70 mph here).  38 mpg on the highways (55 mph).  EPA ratings are 22/28 mpg, I can't get that poor mileage out of it even if I try.  Does require periodic rust repairs.  Last year I had a shop do a partial paint job on the back and top of the car (Sun ate through the paint/had primer showing) and small rust repair on a wheel well for $1200.  Also got a new bonnet latch (original one failed when they were checking fluids during an oil change) for about $600.  Other than that I can't recall it needing anything other than fluids in 2013.  Parts are expensive and hard to get, but breakages are very rare.  About as mustachian a mid-engined sportscar as one can find.

1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX.  124,000 miles.  Not terribly mustachian, but still better than the average SUV/minivan on the road I suppose.  Parts are cheap, and *most* of them are readily available (there's a few that are insanely hard to find) but it breaks all the time and gas mileage is poor.  At one time I was getting 28-30 mpg mixed driving out of it, but it was due to a fuel flow problem that made it horrible to drive in traffic.  With that fixed it gets 26 mpg no matter what kind of driving I do with it (book value is 21/29 city/highway).  2013 was an ugly year.  I had air intake piping rust out and need replacement (did some upgrades at the same time, so dropped about $3500), some electrical wiring fell apart and had to be repaired (my own labor), a cooling system hose blew (original, when I had the shop do all the hoses a couple times they failed to notice/do this one hidden hose!  $150), a wheel bearing seized (and ultimately cost $3000+ due to lack of parts/collateral damage), brake caliper seized (fixed myself for around $20 in parts), a 9 month old battery cooked off (manufacturing defect?) and needed replacement ($120), and I just took it in for an alignment to finish the last of the repercussions of the wheel bearing episode only to find that the 1 wheel that's so far out as to do severe tire wear has a rusted solid toe adjuster (Charged me $39 for a front end alignment only, at least the steering wheel is straight again.  If I fix the rear and bring it back in 30 days the warranty kicks in so I only have to pay for the rear part of the alignment).  So, it's going back up on jack stands this weekend so I can do more suspension work.  At least parts are cheap.  It's been on jackstands at my house all but 2 weeks this year.  In 2013 it was on a lift at a shop for a total of around 7 months for the various problems.  As of now I've decided that this will be my project/fun car.  I will work on it for fun.  I won't count on it for getting to work.  If it doesn't run, I won't care.  Insurance and registration aren't too bad and like I mentioned above parts are (mostly) cheap.  Labor is expensive, so I'll just do everything myself on it now.  :-)

Captain and Mrs Slow

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #98 on: March 07, 2014, 12:54:20 PM »
Interesting, I personally never had much luck with old cars - had a Mazda diesel that I had hopes would hit 500,000K or about 300,000 miles but engine problems stopped that. As an aside we traded it in on a newer used car and a friend told me afterwards he would have bought it and fixed it, bummer sure the car would have run forever.

Anyways we now live in the city centre (Munich) and hardly drive any more, maybe with holidays we drive 5-6 thousand miles a year, so my new goal is to see how long the cars will last.

Another aside when we lived in Spain it wasn't unusual to see 15 year old cars in good shape due to lack of salt and snow there.

Rob

ThermionicScott

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Re: Brag on your MMM high-mileage or old car
« Reply #99 on: March 25, 2014, 12:36:35 PM »
Mine is a 1996 Subaru Outback with the 2.2L 5-speed...

The gas mileage is nothing to write home about (around 20 MPG in the winter, and up to 25 MPG in the summer) ... I'm seeing what I can accomplish with the tips in the Hypermiling blog post.

Bump to brag about my progress.  I've modded the car by removing the crossbars, keeping the tire pressure around 44psi (max sidewall), removing excess junk, and adding a cardboard grille block to the upper grille.  Driving-wise, I've gotten a lot better at driving at or below the speed limit, coasting to red lights, and minimizing my brake usage overall, keeping safety in mind.  The car warms up much faster without overheating and over the course of February and March, my tanks have gone from 18.8 MPG (no mods or hypermiling), to 20.1, to 22.5, to 24.3, to 28.7!  And that's with ethanol gas and daytime high temperatures still dancing around the freezing point.  :^)

I think I have a real shot at 30+ MPG once I install summer tires and the ambient temps warm up even more!

(According to my logbook, my two best-ever tanks were 30.2 and 30.1 MPG, both with relatively small fills, so their accuracy is questionable.)
« Last Edit: March 25, 2014, 12:50:54 PM by ThermionicScott »