Thoughts on high miles/Km

[Lee_Enfield]

Just wondering what peoples thoughts are on high Km/ mile cars.

I have a 2002 with 226000 KM (140000ish miles). It's overall not bad, clean Carfax, but does show it's Km in the form of a little rust and interior wear. I have been making a laundry list of what I want to do for a build and was wondering if it would be better to sell this one and try and find one with lower km.

One thing I am wondering is would it be financially worth it to bring my 2002 up to similar condition to a decent lower km car? I imagine even a lowish km car would still need a lot of the same work like bushings and the big three, but engine, transmission and interior among other things would all be in way better shape. But would the higher cost of lower km car be more or less then bringing mine up to similar standard?

Just figured I would pick peoples brains. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has been down this train of thought. I don't want to start sinking a bunch of cash into a car that won't give me the same returns.

[EthanolTurbo]

140k miles is pretty low. If you get anything with 80-100k miles you're gonna have to do all the same work as a 140k mile example.

[oceansize]

Quick answer, I would buy the best condition car my budget allowed. Keyword though is budget. You have roughly $35k to $45k minus the sale price of your car to spend? Or do you have 10k to spend on reconditioning? Or are you going do DIY everything so 2k to 5k for that?

[heinzboehmer]

Do you track your car and does it have an MK60?

Only way I would swap for a lower mileage car (in the 80k+ mi range) is if I wanted the MK60 and had done no work on my car. If you've done the big three and otherwise trust the car you have, then I would stick with that. Get some buckets and new interior plastics and it will feel like a new car on the inside

[Lee_Enfield]

I have not tracked my car but really want to in the spring. I don't believe it has the mk60 as it's an 02.

I DIY as much as I can. Part reason I got into cars is I like to tinker.

I have done the vanos and rod bearings, and a bit of refresh but have not sunk that much into it.

I do plan on eventually doing a full re paint on whatever car I have, similar to robgills Rosso Corsa build.

[mrgizmo04]

How much is "a little rust"? Just surface on underbody or deeper?

Mileage wise your car is low miles.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[Gt4]

In Canada, everything above 200000km (125000miles) is considered high mileage. If you spend a lot on maintenance on it, you might not see all your money back.

You will spend pretty much the same amount in maintenance on a 125000km car than a 225000km car just because everything made in rubber needs to be replace on a +15yo BMW!

But if you get a facelift low mileage (100-130k km) with a desirable color combo 6mt (for decent price) and do all maintenance/refresh, you might be able to sell it with a +10000$ profit.

[lemoose]

Well you got me thinking and I did a quick search on Autotrader for 03+ Manual Coupes and I didn't stop seeing bad examples (unsavory modifications, excessive wear, or dove gray) until around 40k which at that price doesn't motivate me. My car is far from perfect but I know all of its flaws and save for an mk60 conversion, it wouldn't take more than 5k for my car to look and feel as new as those I found starting around 40k.

[heinzboehmer]

I have not tracked my car but really want to in the spring. I don't believe it has the mk60 as it's an 02.

It might still have it. Cars after 09/02 (IIRC) have the MK60. If you open up the hood you can easily see which one it is. If there's a module in the drug bin (compartment by the firewall on the passenger side), then you have an MK20. If the drug bin is empty, then you have an MK60.

[bigjae46]

Most E46 M3s on the market are in various stages of crap to shit. I'd rather restore what I have than take a chance on a 5 owner car. You can get a low mileage, 1-2 owner car but you'll probably pay well over $30k.

If you want to make it into a track car then you will want an 03 or later with the MK60 ABS.

[Lee_Enfield]

Its definitely a Mk20, confirmed its in the bin.

As for Cars, I have no problem getting a SMG and doing a conversion. Would actually prefer that as from what I can tell, the SMG boxes are probably in better shape then an unknown manual. Say what you will about the system, but computers, usually, will either shift perfectly or not at all.

For rust, it not bad, looks like surface, but rust has a habit of hiding quite well. Was going to dig down a bit and see how far it has spread this winter.

[oceansize]

OP says he plans on a repaint, has a MK20 car, wants to go the track, and the car currently needs a suspension refresh plus interior bits. I'd sell it now and buy the cleanest car I could to avoid all that other hassle. OP seems like he can DIY VANOS, rod bearings, and RACP reinforcement so I can't see refreshing a high mileage Canadian car with some measure of rust. Makes no sense to me if OP Is serious about the repaint, unless OP is going to DIY that as well.

[Tbonem3]

Makes no sense to me.

Few of these threads do.

[TexaZ3]

Drive the damn thing. Don't worry about mileage. Who knows if we even be able to drive these at all on public roads in 20 years.

[maupineda]

If it has rust, move on!