High mileage MK4s

[Chri5B]

Given the recent expense on my Ibiza, I'm currently debating what to do with it. It's on 83,200(ish) miles and is a Jan 03 52 plate which I've had from new.

I had new front tyres yesterday, which I'd been expecting at some point soon, but un-even wear caused by the knackered bush in the wishbone brought them forward.

The engine feels lovely, really strong and pulls great (touch wood). The change of air filter on the recent service has given it an extra growl.

If I keep the car beyond a couple of weeks, I need to sort out the wishbone bushes else the new tyres are going to be killed on the inside edges very quickly. Whilst the guys at the local tyre place I use do a good job, I'm not keen to spend too much time there!

Likewise, pads and discs I'm would to attempt myself with some help from my Dad.

Has anyone else got or seen an Ibiza with 100k (or more) on the clock? I can sort out the wishbones, change the brakes to get it back to fine health but I'm wondering else might upset my wallet in the next 6 to 12 months if I decide not to chop-it-in ASAP? The cambelt change service won't be cheap (would that be at 100k or 120k miles?).

 

[Ant FR]

i would keep it, as trade in would be around 4-4.5 k ish which is seriously an insult.

Even private you would struggle to get much over 5.5 - 6 ish. So keep it spend some cash on giving her some TLC.

Cambelt, i would say 100k as i never leave it till the pecified milage as that is no guarantee. Price of that varies, main dealer would say near enoug £400, but a good private garage or Vag specialist would say nearer £180.

Only other possible thing may be the clutch to be done as you get over 100k, depends on your driving style etc. and then just your usuall oil services. Gearbox never needs changing, oh fuel filter maybe, but nothing major. Oh also shocks may need changing too, but again not a huge expence.

If its running sweet then keep it, especialy as there is still nothing else out there that is small and diesel and runs as well. I intend to run mine for at least another 3 years, but unless the new mk5 ibiza 2.0Tdi Cupra looks too good i would love to run it for another 5years.

 

[Chri5B]

Cheers Ant. I'll work on doing the cambelt by 100k. It's still on the original clutch, with (touch wood) no sign of it slipping.

Will be staying away from main dealer servicing now - I saved about £100 on the 80k service price.

When looking around at new cars I've been working on a trade in figure of 3k, 4 to 4.5k sounds quite good.

 

[muddyboots]

Has anyone else got or seen an Ibiza with 100k (or more) on the clock?

When I was looking for the Passat, one place (who at the time specialised in high miler diesels) had a black Mk4 TDI Sport with 110k IIRC.

Only ever saw the photo though.

But mine was on around 80k when I got rid, the engine still sounded like the day it was new, used no oil, and generally flew.
The only problems were the usual like suspension bushes, rattles etc but it sounds like you're getting these sorted anyway.

My '03 Sport (with the extra goodies I had like ESP, Xenons, rain sensing wipers, autodimming mirror, cruise control, factory remap etc) only just broke £6k with 80k miles on, that was back in Feb/March.
Now that the facelifted model is out, and yours is a year older than mine was, you really wouldn't get a great deal for it

So if you're happy with it I'd keep hold if it's still going strong.

 

[muddyboots]

i would keep it, as trade in would be around 4-4.5 k ish which is seriously an insult.

TBH I doubt you'd even get that much

 

[EddyH]

Our Ibiza has now done 104k and in the last week have been offered £4k and £4.15k (in what I would say is average condition; wheels are kerbed/bubbling and there's a few dooor dings) as a p/x against cars that for sale at around the £12k mark.

We had the cambelt done at 80k for piece of mind. Problems have been minor including faulty wipers, wishbone bushes, ARB bushes and gearbox selector shaft. The engine still feels very good and at the moment the clutch seems fine.

We were considering replacing the car but have now decided to keep it a bit longer as my wife really likes it.

 

[Ant FR]

plus we all know the 1.9 tdi engine will go round the clock3 times over if treated nice.

I got a taxi last month, and it was a 110 tdi octavia which had done 289,000 miles in 4 years ( they are shared cabs and are on the road 24 hours a day) and the guy reckoned it was one of the best on the fleet.

And now all the local cab companies only run tdi octavias,


keep it!

 

[Johnsey]

My Ibiza has about 83k on the clock too and apart from the usual rattles it seems to be going strong. It's been serviced every 10k including the cambelt at 60k and i'm going to let it keep on going as a) i'm happy with the performance and economy balance it gives me b) the trade in value will be hideously low and c) i can't think of another car in it's class i'd want as a replacement.

 

[cheshire cat]

plus we all know the 1.9 tdi engine will go round the clock3 times over if treated nice.

I got a taxi last month, and it was a 110 tdi octavia which had done 289,000 miles in 4 years ( they are shared cabs and are on the road 24 hours a day) and the guy reckoned it was one of the best on the fleet.

And now all the local cab companies only run tdi octavias,


keep it!

makes a lot of sense, you know where it's been and you've already taken the biggest hit, could be very economical motoring from here in

 

[sssstew]

yep generally i would agee, if you happy with the car and it does all you need then keep it, spend the money on the things which need doing and enjoy it for another 83k at least. the engine will be at its best for performance and economy now so i would keep it and enjoy.

 

[EdButler]

Hold on a minute... Whats all this speak of cambelt change at 80/100/120k intervals? Its a 60k part i thought!!

I had my bushes changed yesterday and the car feels brand new again, cornering and steering response is incredible, no more knocking, braking is more responsive too. Absolutely incredible difference as the car feels much firmer and tighter - get it done and youll want to keep you car longer! The job takes about 2.5-3hours at a specialist and youll need to get the geometry reset as your wishbones have to come off. I had mine done at JBS for around £200.

Hold it out mate, its not worth getting rid imo.

 

[Chri5B]

Thanks all for your thoughts and comments. It's somewhat swings and roundabouts between taking a higher trade-in value today (Eddy's prices of around £4k on a car with 110k on is good to hear) or waiting for a number of months and saving up more cash to make a big deposit (at the expense of getting less trade-in due more miles / age).

Ed - was that OE or the improved (solid) Cupra bushes JBS put in?

It is a reliable car in that it's had very little attention outside of the standard service intervals. I would like a bigger car (especially a bigger boot) with a few more toys like cruise control, though I can cram a fair amount of stuff in using the back seats.

 

[EdButler]

They were Solid Cupra bushes mate

 

[Ol' Timer]

Quite interesting, this thread. I had originally planned to trade in my Ibiza after three years so that I was always driving a car with a warranty. However, the car has lost so much money that I would probably be looking at £5000-£6000 to change and I can't afford that.

However I still really like the Ibiza and it's only done about 20,000 miles at the moment so this thread has made me think that keeping it for a few more years might not be such a bad thing. Even if I have to spend £1000 or so a year to keep it going, it's still a lot cheaper than buying a new one.

Anyway the Ibiza really suits my requirements and at the moment there's no other car that I would rather have.

 

[Chri5B]

IMO, the PD130 engine keeps getting better until 45 to 50k miles, so at 20k miles you've not seen the best of it by a long way.

 

[cheshire cat]

what else will do 60+ mpg on a good run???