"You can get up to maybe 250,000 km or 300,000 km before a gas engine starts to make noise, or burn oil because it's wearing out, but a diesel can quite easily do 500,000 km and still be in excellent shape," says one certified mechanic I spoke with.
It's always worthwhile to assess the service record of any used car, and if it hasn't been consistent, then it could be cause for trouble. Most cars around the 200,000-kilometre mark and above with a reliable service history should be an excellent purchase if the price is right.
As for what's considered high mileage for specific diesel engines? According to Prosource Diesel, anything over 350,000-miles is considered high mileage for a used diesel pickup with a Cummins or Duramax engine under its hood. Anything over 350,000-miles is also regarded as high mileage for a Powerstroke diesel engine.
But an amazing fact is that diesel engines can run for 1,000,000-1,500,000 miles before needing any major diesel repairs. If kept well-maintained, a diesel engine can be driven for about 30 years or more.
It's not unheard of for diesel pickups to last up to 200,000 miles –or even 300,000 miles and beyond. The diesel engine's long lifespan gives these trucks good resale value on the used truck market. If you find a used diesel truck with high mileage, you may still get plenty of use out of it.
Depending upon your vehicle & assuming it to be a normal domestic car, one can expect to get 1 liter diesel = 14–17 kms of mileage.
Absolutely, if we're talking about a modern vehicle made in the last 10 to 15 years that has had all manufacturer scheduled maintenance performed and no repairs deferred. Modern vehicles are so good now that 200,000 miles isn't even a benchmark in my opinion. That number has moved up to 300k.
The magic number that buyers look for on an odometer is 200,000kms. Once a car hits this number, it is significantly reduced in value. However, many vehicles around this number still have 5 good years of operation left in them.
A study released this week conducted by iSeeCars.com, a US car search engine website, found the Toyota LandCruiser was the most likely vehicle to reach over 300,000 kilometres on its odometer.
4.5 gallons or 16L per 100 km. Chevy 350, downhill. @Maximus Decimus Meridius said: 11?
Marine diesel mechanics have told us that most marine diesels go bad after about 4,000 hours.
Diesel engines last longer on average than petrol engines as they use less energy to power the engine. This will mean your investment into a diesel engine car could last longer than if you bought a petrol engine car.
Maintenance Is Important to Longevity
That said, while most gas engines are intended to last at least 200,000 miles on average, a diesel truck that is well-maintained can potentially last 350,000 to 500,000 miles.
The long and short of the issue is, you must regularly run a diesel engine at high speeds for between 30 and 50 minutes to allow the exhaust temperature to increase enough to cleanly 'burn off' the excess soot in the filter and clear it - motorway driving is ideal for this.
Diesel's should be driven hard periodically. The reason for this is found in the large amount of carbon deposits that build up in diesel engines that are not opened up on occasion. A good way to do it is, simply to drop into a low gear while pulling a hill to get the RPMs up for several minutes.
Diesel fuel is a type of distillate fuel that is essentially produced from crude oil, which gives diesel engines slower cylinder wear than gasoline engines. This gives diesel fuel lubrication properties that extend the overall lifespan of the engine.
In order to start a diesel engine and keep it running in cold weather, you must make sure you allow plenty of time for your engine to warm up. If you do not let your engine warm up before driving, you will make it work harder than necessary, which will lead to problems later on.
Of course, the answer depends on how the truck is used, how the engine is maintained, and whether or not the engine is operating correctly, but a turbocharger on a diesel engine will usually last for at least 150,000 miles, but more often than not, the average turbo will still be functioning correctly at 200,000 miles, ...
If you only ever use your car for quick trips, the DPF may not reach the temperature needed to regenerate, causing a blockage that could lead to a breakdown. So, if you drive a diesel, you should always make sure to take longer journeys every so often to keep your DPF clean and in good working order.
This is because diesel is around 20% more efficient than petrol so it should be cheaper to run in the long term, but only for drivers who go long distances or travel on motorways regularly. If you live in a city and/or mostly drive less than 15 miles per journey, then you're better off buying a petrol.
Pros of buying a diesel car
Due to diesel engines' increased fuel economy, you can get up to double the kilometres out of a tank, meaning less trips to the service station. Diesel fuel is less prone to price fluctuations than petrol. Some diesels are even more economical than hybrids and are cheaper to buy.
Whether a used car is considered high mileage or not depends largely on the year to mileage ratio. Take a five-year-old used vehicle with 100,000 kilometers (or just over 62,000 miles). That works out to 20,000 km per year on average, so not too bad. Now, assume you have a three-year-old used car with the same mileage.
So it is advised that drivers regularly give their diesel vehicle a good 30 to 50 minute run at sustained speed on a motorway or A-road to help clear the filter. However, not all drivers do this type of driving regularly – which is why manufacturers have designed an alternative form of regeneration.
A Toyota LandCuiser 80-Series has just clocked over one million kilometres on the same, original engine. The owner says he bought the car at 132,000km 10 years ago and has since fitted an LPG system and driven it an additional 868,000km.