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Comment by throwawaylaptop | Hacker News Reader

The reason the average ice car doesn't last 200k miles is because car purchases are amazingly irrational. Other than a few unlucky models, basically any Toyota or Honda will go over 200k miles. I own two 250k mile Toyota/Lexus vehicles and expect another 100k from them easily. But people buy Dodge sedans and vans, jaguars and range rovers, Audis and Kias.... Because they basically don't care for getting 200k miles. Realistically if you buy a ice car that is known for lasting 200k, it will easily do it.

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I thought the main issue, ICE or not, was that a low energy crash after 10 years makes it a total loss, insurance wise. So drive enough miles in, say, a random US urban highway/stroad environment and you'll find yourself having to change cars regardless.

It's a bigger problem with a Tesla, as there is no sensibly priced repair network, and getting original parts has lead times that will lead to replacing the car.

I suppose, but most people don't crash their cars that often. If they did, insurance would basically be unaffordable for most people just based on statistics of how much they'd have to pay out. No one in my family has had a major crash in 25 years.. most people I know haven't. Like all other things, I think it's a pretty skewed distribution. I dated a girl once that got rear-ended several times by age 30... You can tell something about her driving from that. Her record will show she's not at fault ever and gets good rates, but she causes accidents.

Those cars are often bought and fixed and sold on the market. Others go for parts to keep the rest on the roads.

In my adult life I’ve owned four cars, three of them Honda Accords. Each Accord had around 85-100k miles when I bought them, and I’ve driven each well past 200k miles with no major issues. These cars are built to last if you maintain them. 1996, 2004, 2014 (Current) with 188k miles. Best advice, by 3 year old Toyotas/Hondas off-lease and then don't think about a vehicle again for 8-10 years. I buy mine a bit older, but next time ...

It doesn't even have to be particularly known for it. The cars you're listing are the ones well known for not doing it. You can pretty easily get 200k miles out of the median Chevy.

I agree. I've had a 300k mile Silverado and currently own a 210k mile Volt. The thing that's basically hanging over the Volts head is a battery problem you almost can't even test for. The gas motor is doing just great.

A 2012 Kia Soul will last until 200k miles. In the 2010s Kia used some good engines, with a couple notable exceptions (the highest end Stingers, etc).

The issue is that all those Kias got stolen and trashed by Kia Boys. :(

I had a 2011 Kia Soul that I was going to drive until it died. Someone else did the dying part for me.

>2012 Kia Soul will last until 200k miles

not the 1.6L GDI one

Ok fair. Souls came with a lot of different engine models. The engine in my 2011 soul was pre-gdi and is rock solid stable basically forever. I also had a 2015 forte with the 1.6L turbo which is, from my understanding, also super reliable so long as you change the oil every 3000 miles.

The absurd warranty Kia used to have encouraged them to put out good products. I had incorrect oil put in my Soul (at an oil change place!) and Kia warranty replaced the entire engine.

It's very well possible to get 500k kilometers out of a Mercedes or Audi. They're mechanically quite reliable as long as maintenance is done religiously.

Maybe on the older models. But I'm a sucker for buying high miles cars, and you simply won't even FIND a high miles Audi A7 for example. You'll find cheap ones sure, for $5k even, with 150k miles and multiple issues the owner can't afford to fix. I've never even seen a 200k mile Audi for sale near me, and I'm in a huge major metro area.

And if you have deep pockets. My BMW at 120k miles started to cost around 2k a year to maintain. I ended up selling it for 6k.

Each of my Audi A4 wagons has suffered catalytic converter failure around 200,000 miles / 350,000 km which has rendered them uneconomic to repair (at least in California.) But it's about the only wagon on sale in the US (SUVs do not fit in my garage) so I guess I am stuck with them. It seems more economic to buy a cheap one and drive it into the ground (one can buy two used Audis for the equivalent Toyota/Lexus.)

>> as long as maintenance is done religiously.

Maybe, but an oil change & minor service for my Mom's off-warranty Mercedes is clsoe to $1000. You seem to be fighting yourself if you're after a long-term reliable driver and go Euro luxury.

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