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advice on age vs mileage


regmcm

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hello to all. I am new to this mullarky so let me tell you a little about our plans.

 

We are currently living in Cadiz Spain and have just sold up to move to our home in Izmir Turkey. Our plan is to take a very slow journey through west and eastern Europe and plan to arrive in Izmir before the winter sets in. We expect to drive over 5000 km depending on the route (and covid restrictions!)

 

obviously reliability is our main priority. So my question is this...what is more important as far as reliability is concerned, the age or the mileage?

We are about to buy a Renault XGO profiled Diésel

2299 cm3

110 kw / 150 CV

 

Year is 2014 but only 23000 km (15k miles) price is 38000 euros. (33k sterling) we have checked it out and its spotless. Like new. Present owner has had it for 2 years and its been garaged for most of that time he has only taken it on one 2 week holiday in 2 years.

 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

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Everyone will undoubtedly have their own view on this so speaking personally I’d say that 5K miles a year is a healthy miliage, less than 2K I’d be worried about and more than 15K a year every year might concern me.

 

So ideally I’d want a 2014 vehicle with 14K -35k miles on the clock. Consequently I’d regard the vehicle you’re looking at as a bit too low on mileage for my liking. Having said that, if it’s regularly driven every year (maybe once a week) rather than being left stationary for most of each year it might be just fine.

 

If the van has been garaged for most of the last two years the question that arises is how was it prepared for storage? If left untouched you may find tyre flat spots. I’d suggest you check that it has been recently serviced and ask to see the service report, take it for a test drive and check how well the van runs and steers, and be prepared for the possibly of having to buy new tyres even though they may have plenty of tread left.

 

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I have serviced and repaired motorhomes in the UK for over thirty years, it has not been uncommon to find some of them only do 2 to 4000 miles a year, the annual two week holiday a couple of bank holidays and perhaps an odd day out. More so if the vans are in storage as opposed to being kept handy on their driveway. Now retired our van bought new Sept 2019 has just gone over the 7000 miles including not used during the lockdown. So devils choice, as previously stated be careful of the tyres, as opposed to the white van man a motorhome stands nearly fully loaded most of its life.
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Yep agree with the others, van should be fine, it may breakdown, BUT the tyres can kill you. They could well be the original tyres at that age and mileage, so check the sidewall tyre age number and if over 4 -5 years definitely replace them all, you would not notice the problems that can appear until you have had a fast long drive in hot weather, play safe it worth it!
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Would ensure the seller can provide habitation check reports, as well as vehicle servicing. This is (usually) done annually, and will tell you if there is or has been a problem with gas, electrics in living compartment, cooker and fridge are safe and that there have been no leaks from outside seams allowing wall to go rotten.

 

I'm sure you've also thought of back-up of road rescue policy in case of breakdown. Otherwise, enjoy your adventure!

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BruceM - 2020-09-11 3:52 PM

 

Everyone will undoubtedly have their own view on this so speaking personally I’d say that 5K miles a year is a healthy miliage, less than 2K I’d be worried about and more than 15K a year every year might concern me.

 

So ideally I’d want a 2014 vehicle with 14K -35k miles on the clock. Consequently I’d regard the vehicle you’re looking at as a bit too low on mileage for my liking. Having said that, if it’s regularly driven every year (maybe once a week) rather than being left stationary for most of each year it might be just fine.

 

If the van has been garaged for most of the last two years the question that arises is how was it prepared for storage? If left untouched you may find tyre flat spots. I’d suggest you check that it has been recently serviced and ask to see the service report, take it for a test drive and check how well the van runs and steers, and be prepared for the possibly of having to buy new tyres even though they may have plenty of tread left.

 

Many thanks for the advice. Checking for flat spots in the tyres, I am assuming that when taking for a test drive this will be noticable ( vibrations? is it something that is obviouls to the naked eye? If the tyres are original, but it has been garaged are there any visual checks to look for? how long do tyres normally last if still have good tread? cheers

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I have had 2 blowouts on the road at average speeds had cracks suddenly appear in tyre walls on vans and no after a van has been parked for 9 months seen no flat spots, you simply cannot be sure if the are okay even with plenty of tread. They are under great stress on a big van and when they go it really scares you, one failure put a 6 inch hole in the floor and lost the whole of the outer part of the tyre, at 60 mph its no fun. I look after my tyres but have listened to others and learnt to change them 4-5 years with good tyres and sleep at night.
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I don't know what could possibly go wrong in the habitation part of a MH that has been used for 2 weeks per year except the battery. Definitely change that as well. I guess mold might be possible but less likely if it was in a garage. What I'd be more worried about is the vehicle itself. They are designed to drive, not lay stationary forever. We've done the same distance (23000km) since last november so covid restrictions included. We'd probably be at double any other year :-S

 

I guess if it has a full service history it should be OK although changing all fluids, filters and belts as a precaution shouldn't be too bad financially.

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many thanks for your replies your advice and comments made us look a little closer at the vehicle and as the seller refused to change the tyres, battery and had no service history (he claimed that although 7 years old it did not need a service until 30k km!) so we looked elswhere and we are very glad we did!

 

We have now bought a fiat Challenger Genesis 288, 2018 with 50000 km on the clock ex rental but in pristine condition, loads of extras plus 1 year mechanical and habitation guarantee 40k euros....take delivery next week...

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