I don't know too much about cars, but my father always said that 100k is around when you should start getting ready to get rid of the car and get a new one. He doesn't know a ton about cars but... you know, if it's your dad you always tend to believe whatever they say.
So, I was wondering. Is there a point when engines just get "too old"? I saw a pretty nice looking spider but it has 175k miles on it, and to me, I have never seen a car with over 120k miles so for me it seems like a TON. Will an engine like that most likely just fall apart soon or could I continue to use it a lot and even pull a few road trips? (I love just driving for no point at all).
Mileage and Engine quality
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racydave
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spidernut
- Posts: 1906
- Joined: Wed Jan 25, 2006 12:20 am
- Your car is a: 1979 Fiat Spider Automatic
- Location: Lincoln, CA
During the 70s and 80s, a car with 100,000 miles was considered mainly used up. With meticulous care, you could get many more miles out of the cars of that era (including the Spider). Heck, we had a 1963 Ford Galaxy with 152,000 miles on it and it ran perfectly...no oil burning, no smoke.
Typically, a car of this era will have be rebuilt or overhauled at around 100,000-150,000 miles. They just don't hold up as well as the newer vehicles which can go 300,000 miles without a rebuild.
However, don't let mileage in and of itself scare you too much. Have a highly qualified mechanic familiar with Fiats run a full diagnostic and inspection on the car. Make certain they look for difficult to repair oil leaks, strong and balanced compression, no smoking from the engine, etc.
It also depends why you're buying a Spider. As a daily driver, 175,000 miles is a lot unless it has been rebuilt properly and it has had the fuel lines, hoses, belts, timing belt, brakes, etc., replaced or rebuilt correctly. Not only the engine has 175,000 miles, but so does the transmission, rear end, radiator, brakes, etc.
My advice? Find a good, honest, Fiat mechanic and have them check it over if you really want it.
Lastly, I can tell you in all honesty - I'd never buy any car with 175,000 miles on it unless it was a classic car that I intended to rebuild....and I've owned 21 cars in my lifetime.
Typically, a car of this era will have be rebuilt or overhauled at around 100,000-150,000 miles. They just don't hold up as well as the newer vehicles which can go 300,000 miles without a rebuild.
However, don't let mileage in and of itself scare you too much. Have a highly qualified mechanic familiar with Fiats run a full diagnostic and inspection on the car. Make certain they look for difficult to repair oil leaks, strong and balanced compression, no smoking from the engine, etc.
It also depends why you're buying a Spider. As a daily driver, 175,000 miles is a lot unless it has been rebuilt properly and it has had the fuel lines, hoses, belts, timing belt, brakes, etc., replaced or rebuilt correctly. Not only the engine has 175,000 miles, but so does the transmission, rear end, radiator, brakes, etc.
My advice? Find a good, honest, Fiat mechanic and have them check it over if you really want it.
Lastly, I can tell you in all honesty - I'd never buy any car with 175,000 miles on it unless it was a classic car that I intended to rebuild....and I've owned 21 cars in my lifetime.
John G.
1979 Spider (Owned since 2000)
1971 124 Sport Spider (Owned since 2017)
1977 Spider (Sold 2017)
1979 Spider (Disposed of in 2017)
1979 Spider (Sold 2015)
1980 Spider (Sold in 2013)
1981 Spider (Sold in 1985)
2017 Spider (Owned since 2019)
1979 Spider (Owned since 2000)
1971 124 Sport Spider (Owned since 2017)
1977 Spider (Sold 2017)
1979 Spider (Disposed of in 2017)
1979 Spider (Sold 2015)
1980 Spider (Sold in 2013)
1981 Spider (Sold in 1985)
2017 Spider (Owned since 2019)
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Jim DeShon
It really depends on the quality of what you are buying as well as how it's been treated. My Fiat had 132,000 on it when I parked it. The engine ran very good until the timing idler broke. On the other had the transmission was shot ! I had been nursing the bad trans along for some time by then. The newer Jap' stuff seems to run forever. I have had 3 Mitsubishi's in the last 20 years and you can't seem to kill them if you wanted to. ...J.D.