What is high mileage?

IMHO, 20,000 miles or fewer is low mileage. Remember that almost no one drove these cars on anything close to a daily basis.

For vintage cars, odometers are usually not regarded as being all that reliable or important. Unfortunately TRs aren't considered vintage yet, so a lot of their value is still tied up in the odometer. Low mileage = expensive, high mileage = old used car.

 

It's probably some sort of normal distribution.

There's High mileage (for a car) and then high mileage (for a TR.)

I'd say 1000 miles a year is probably average, maybe a little above average.


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Any number with no proof of maintenance.

 

I have a 1992 512TR with nearly 41k miles now and after the work I have done on it over the last year I would argue it is in much better shape than it had less miles. I think Melvok has over 80k km and I am sure he would agree. I plan on driving mine when I like and not limiting myself. Besides the diff I think this car is fairly solid.

 

Outside of Fchat, when people ask what year and how many miles - everyone is shocked at the answer of 37K for 1992. That's it? they ask. Then you have to go on an explain further as to why - family, work, other cars etc...

 

seems to me, People who do not drive Ferrari ask condition and miles, People who drive Ferrari ask condition and maintenance history.

 

I think we all like to say our car is low miles. I was telling people my former Mondial was high miles car with 72,000. Was in very good driving condition. My 1999 F150 has 180,000 km and it's a low miles truck. It is always a question of in relation with what!

I think a TR with 30-35k mile is average and 50-60k miles is high. Does it make it a less good car? NO WAY! Well maintained high miles car are good.

If it's a long term keeper driver I think higher miles is not bad at all. If as investment, buy low miles car.

 

IMHO, every Ferrari before the 360 is a TMU car (true mileage unknown).

Seems almost every TR, 328,348, etc has around 40k miles on it. Yet I service 360's with an average of 50k miles on them..hummm. Did the owners of the older cars just drive less then 360 owners? Doubt it.

 

Might it be that the OD can be unpluged form the drivers seat and pluged back in, with out leaving the car? Much less even the drivers seat? I can't emagine anyone doing that! Could not possably have anything to do with all the low milage cars out there.

 

I have seen more then a few with a simple toggle switch under the dash that turns off and on the speedo. 40k..lol that's seems to be the magic number. And that number hasn't changed in over 10 years.

 

High mileage is 1 mile more than you believe the car should have on it so you can say it has high mileage and is therefore worth less money while negotiating a purchase.

Isn't there a fuse for the instruments. No fuse, no mileage. Amazing how many cars have low miles, yet look like crap.

 

250,000

 

Switches are out there, seen it...

That is why good 5cm thick paper trail with the car is nice touch, I even got all, but one, owner invoise from purchase of the car.

Almost all 308's have 5-digit odometer, so hundred, two or three, there is forgoten. I have seen service books with in new car firts owner have driven 90,000km's in just 3 years.
Most cars pre 360 have special plug that kills odometer, so do not be so naive...
Here is one from 308, 512BB have similar and Testarossa. With Mondial, 512BB, Testarossa, it takes 15min to take odometer from use, BUT you have to know how and I think these cut sockets are ment to factory trial use and dealer to move new cars.

But all-in-all; high miles do not mean car is bad, there are very nice cars with high miles, it is just how good car is kept and serviced.
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Agree that for exotics of the 80s and 90s, the odo better be in the 20s or less to catch my interest.

I tracked prices diligently for 2.5 years on a certain make from the 90s and the average over that span was 11k.

 

The newer the car the easier it is to find the truth or not of an odometer. Pre internet cars have probably all been clocked at some stage.

John

 

Indeed Alex ! 85.000 km's on the odo !

Who states that 1000 miles or km's is " normal" ???

My first year I drove 10.000 kms and the years to follow 5.000 -7.000 ... That is what I think normal for a normal car-owner.

I laugh about a TR with only 6.000 (or even less) or 10.000 miles ...in almost 30 years ... would never buy one of those.

Do you know what will go wrong with these cars for maintenance later .... you won't believe it ...

 

The better cars are the ones driven and maintained.


Ago

 

I don`t really know what is or isn`t high mileage as it`s everyone`s personal oppinion.

I agree though that with the recent values a lot of classics have probably had their true mileage "lost" - and with it sadly probably a lot of their service history if it "disagrees" with the odometer reading....

There used to be a good few Testarossa`s and Countach`s advertised 20 years ago with 40k and 50k miles - and above. Now you see very few.

I don`t know if your US Testarossa`s have 6 digit odometers like the UK cars but this at least eliminates them from being round the clock - unless they`ve done 1 million miles ofc - but obviously odometer disconnections no doubt often hide the truth - especially with cars that are just below milestone mileages like 9x miles or 9xx miles or 9,xxx miles etc.

I guess some people could have 2 odometers - 1 that they use the car with and a different one they sell the car with!


Rightly or wrongly regardless of running condition a Testarossa with 10,000 miles will probably always command a premium over one with 100,000 miles - the same as one with 1,000 miles will always be in a different league to the one with 10,000 miles.

To me though other than say a delivery mileage only static museum piece it seems barmy as low mileage often means more expenditure on maintenance - not just purchase price.

Somewhere along the line someone who wants to actually drive a low miles car will end up footing the bill. It will end up being a very good car possibly in unique cosmetic condition - but you sure pay for it!


I have never ever turned a car down on mileage alone - and as I want a car that can be driven reliably I look at it like this:

9 times out of 10 it`s going to cost less in maintenance and mileage based depreciation to drive a Testarossa from 100,000 miles to 120,000 miles than it is to drive one from 20,000 miles to 40,000 miles.

Anyone who has seen a few service records of high miles old Italian cars will have seen the relatively massive expenditure on things that have gone wrong early on when at low miles compared to it`s later high mileage life.

Also adding 20k miles to a 100k miles car isn`t going to depreciate it anything like doubling the mileage of a 20k miles car to 40k miles will.

So if you really want to drive a Testarossa or any old Italian car, gettting a high miles one to me is a no brainer!

Alternatively you just have to have enough money to not be bothered by how much the low miles one depreciates if you use it - or hope (as seems to be happening at the minute) that the market appreciates so fast that it more than makes up for it.


You can`t blame people for buying a low miles one though as that`s what the market seems to favour - but the whole low mileage fad seems to have got completely out of hand with the Testarossa more than any other other car I can think of!


I sold my 79 308 GTS with something like 99,000 miles on the clock. Think how much I could have gained by keeping it until the odometer had gone round to the start 1,000 miles later - and selling it with delivery miles only - but no service history lol.

There again I then wouldn`t have had these 3 awesome years with my Testarossa instead, so it`s worth it a million times over

Dom.

 

Yeah definitely.

20k-40k miles seems normal/average as that's the range you see most Testarossa's in.

Could maybe even narrow it down to 25-35 being the norm ?

Dom.