very low mileage Puma's

[quest63]

I have sometimes heard criticism of very low milage Pumas as potentially being a problem, could someone comment on what the potential probs may be with a puma thats done less than say 25k and has never been on the motorway.

Cheers

 

[XIIVVX]

Ignoring the apostrophe abuse

1.7 Puma with Nikasil linings on the cylinders benefit from regular use.

Assuming we are talking model year 2000 - less than 2,000 miles a year would have me being a little cautious. But if the bodywork and underpinnings are corrosion-free because it has had no winter use I might be a little more interested. Rebuilding / replacing the motor is always easier than fighting tin worm.

You can't generalise. But if that 2,000 miles per year had consisted of four x five-mile shopping trips each week then that really is bad news (Engine never up to temperature, chassis soaked with water and salt solution then garaged for a couple of days.). If it was half a dozen 300 mile hooligan trips between April and October then I'd be queuing with fivers in my hand.

 

[YOG]

I bought my Puma Thunder at 5 years 7 months old when it had done 5,784 miles - yearly average 1,036 miles.
It is now coming up to 11 years 7 months and has done 37,700 miles - yearly average 3,254 miles.
The first 5,784 miles consisted of:
14 Feb 2002 Registered
30 Oct 2003 Service @ 4,795 miles
03 Nov 2004 Service @ 5,092 miles
13 Oct 2005 Service @ 5,319 miles
19 Oct 2006 service @ 5,536 miles
05 Sep 2007 service @ 5,784 miles

New cambelt kit and water pump were fitted at 5,784 miles!
Oil/Oil Filter changed every yearly or 6,000 miles whichever was first. - no top-up required between changes.
Applied rust treatment 4 years ago and still has original arches with no rust showing.

I don't see low or high mileage being a problem, it's more down to how well a car is maintained/serviced.

 

[yippeekiay]

As above - maintenance is the key no matter how high or low the mileage. Doesn't mean you have to spend a fortune on a dealer service history, simple diy care will more than suffice if you have enough knowledge to change the regular service items and keep the car clean/dry.

 

[ElDude at Allison Automotive]

I don't see low or high mileage being a problem, it's more down to how well a car is maintained/serviced.

exactly!..

how anyone can say the bore linings will be subject to more wear with lower milage is just crazy... you'd have to back that up with hard evidence from inspecting several engines..

 

[XIIVVX]

Think it through:

a) Engine starts from cold, drives two miles, stops. cools.

Repeat 100 times.

b) Engine starts from cold, drives 300 miles, stops, cools

So engine a) at 200 miles has nothing like the mileage of engine b) yet you still think the bore linings have not been subject to more wear?

Nobody has said a lower mileage engine WILL have more wear, but the fact is short trips are not good for any engine.

It is merely something to be aware of.

 

[yippeekiay]

Engine wear and more importantly basic maintenance is such an inconsistent variable between cars and their owners that I wouldn't ever be concerned about the former if the latter had been taken care of at a somewhat regular basis. Chances are most people should be able to spot a problem when first test driving a potential new car by how it starts and runs on the test drive.

Plus, you could buy a perfect engine that has little wear and something entirely different could cause it to go kaput whereas a more ropey engine could somehow run forever and ever, it's still not an exact science as we've all seen it.

As cars lose value year after year they become more and more disposable, with this in mind, the majority of people just move on to another car if the one they have starts playing up or simply get it repaired, a lot don't care why it went wrong long enough to matter, they just want a car that is running.

What gets me is when people clearly neglect their cars and then moan because it let 'them' down when they needed it......like my mother and her cars :lol:

 

[Vivmeister]

You can pretty much sort anything with the engine - It's the rusty arches that stuff ya!! You could have the best engine ever, but if the car has been taking salt water baths without any rust-proofing its heading to the scrapyard. (As i can testify to recently!!) :roll: