HOW MANY Ks IS TOO MANY?????

[3.8L of executive power!!]

hey there, i have got an 89 vn 3.8 sedan with 277,577 on the clock, the car runs mint and has been fairly well serviced and i definately dont thrash it, its standard at the moment and has a few rust spots, i was just wondering has it got too higher Ks to spend money on it and do it up or should i buy another with lower Ks?
thanks for any information

[pandaman]

I say as long as it's still running smooth go for it! Put some mods onto that beast. My VN has 287,000, no knocking, no noisy lifters, no oil being burned and I'm planning to put a fair bit of effort into it. Just be prepared for annoying little things to start going wrong. Hah, my old XE falcon had 365,000 on the clock and was still goin hard when it got nicked, but yeah annoying little things falling apart from old age all over the place.

[hakhawk]

mine clocked over 300,000 the other week, still sweet as, as long as theyre treated well and serviced regularly, they'll last forever

if you want to do it up, strip it down, check and replace anything that might not last, chuck in a cam, polish heads, exhaust, etc.

[sircruisealotVS]

that decision would really be up to you man...if you were gunna spend alot of money on it though you'd need to realise no-one will ever buy it with lots of k's, unless its dirt cheap...so your probably goin to loose quite alot of cash.
then again if you were gunna keep it forever and not worried about any resale then i say go for it, as mentioned they are a pretty tough old motor so it should last a while yet.

[3.8L of executive power!!]

thanks for the advice, i have just added up all the reciepts for the engine alone since 1999 the last owner and me combined have spent $11,000 I thought that was outrageous due to the fact its a completely standard vn

[bradvt98]

personaly i wouldn't but like sircruisealotvs said it's up to you i got a car with low k's 102,000 cause i'm planning on doing a bit to it and it will take a few years so when it's finished it should still have reasonable k's and should last like that for a very long time hopefully. I will admit my last car had 295,ooo on it and i did stuff to it but i made sure it was stuff i could take off when it carked it and it did But if you want then go for it !

[Garth]

thanks for the advice, i have just added up all the reciepts for the engine alone since 1999 the last owner and me combined have spent $11,000 I thought that was outrageous due to the fact its a completely standard vn

is that all you have spent, i bought my vn for 9k, i have spent close to 15k on it, and ive only had it for about 6 yrs. but that is just me, have a thing for the vn, something about the front and rear when it's done up nice.

there is no such thing as to many k's on a car of it's age, all depends on how it runs now. if it's smooth and still idles nicely, dont blow smoke and isnt missing a beat then yeah, go for it. if it's blowing smoke and other stuff, ditch it.

cheers
garth

[=Calais v8=]

i was looking in the guiness book or records before, and the highest recorded amount of k's is 3,029,685 kms in a volvo. i'd say THAT is too many kms.

[jamieaus]

Go for it engines can be replaced.

[PaRaDoX]

yeah,

main thing to look for before doing it up, get the body inspected, nothing worse than doing up a car witha bent frame

mines taken a hit at the front left wheel arch, not too bad but i want a new vn... maybe a 8 next time.. ooo and a 5 speed =D now they last for ever =D

if you decide not to keep it heres something to do... keep doing it up (sound,interior,exterior) but evaluate each mod u do... ie only do bolt on mods :P if u cant take it off... but as for engines.... mine has 263 on the ticker and it runs hard as... not an issue with my motor or my tranny, and if your worried about the k's on the engine have it rebuilt with performance parts (ie new cam, new pistons, polished head)

my uncle's a taxi driver, he usually gets 1,000,000k's out of each vehicle, solong as they are serviced regularly they shouldnt troubble you... expect other things to brake first... electricial is gettin to the stage... solder joints last around 50 years for a good solder, reduce that with vibrations and the solder techniques at the time and u get around 20-30 years solder life...
just something to be cautious about

[Phoenix21]

yer my cars on 350 now and she still goses fine and my auntys car what is unbeliveable is on 760 somthing as long as the car is looked after it will keep going

[savage1987]

It's never too late to start if you plan on keeping the car. Mine has just gone 380,000 km and doesn't miss a beat - this is with an 18 year old P-plater behind the wheel.

I'm just starting to customise it now, although I have accepted the fact that the engine will need rebuilt eventually.

[Shanoqueeb]

My VP has just done 197,000 wasnt skipping a beat until i got it back from Holden, had the car 2 hours and there was this huge clunking noise from the motor, that day they replaced and inlet gastket and something else. 3 days down the track i have to get a new fu#n engine because the 2nd pistion is cracked! I'm 99% sure Holden has ****@d it up, my mechanic who is changing the engine will let me know if what was done at Holden's was the problem that caused my engine to completely fall to shit.

[slammed_calais]

i service two retra vision utes, vg and a vr, one has done 650,000 the other has done 550,000 they get serviced all the time and are still running sweet.

[chromic]

On the other hand I had a VS wagon that had 145 000 on the clock but the last owner treated it like crap (never serviced it etc) and ended up costing me quite a bit. I fixed it all up because at the time I thought I was going to keep it (plus the fact that if I didn't I would be catching a bus to get around) but circumstances forced me to sell it.

[IhateRICE!]

hey all

I have a Vn with about nearly 300 xxx and i was thinking about a manual conversion..
1.How much would it cost me??
2.Is It worth doing to the car if it has that many Ks
3.And if i do get it done and the engine forks itself how much for a rebuild??

thanks for any info

Cheers Jamie

[ScottB_33]

Was working on a VP wagon today that had a fuel injection problem with poor running as it was running barely on three cylinders when it came in. At first glance it appeared to be serious as the car had over 305,000klm. After giving it a compression test all the readings were around 160psi which for a vehicle with this many k's and still its original engine is amazing and the servicing wasnt really that up to date. After fixing the problem and setting the car up again it ran as smooth as a babies bum!!! AMAZING

[nathans1987]

my mums el ford has 400,000 and had 4 motors well thats ford for ya :P stupid disposable heads good for one trip. i kid but they really do go tho a head each 100,000ks they just errode out and band one day head is gone.

[vpdood]

i just hit 350 000km.......thats about 350000000meters of travelling, and still going harder than any other vp around!

[The1985divo]

well mine has done 198000 and had its engine replaced a month ago so, i guess it all goes to how its looked after, looks like the previous owners did not do her justice....i looked after like she was god so i gues it all goes down to that?"?