Marine Blue

Yes proper maintenance is absolutely critical for these cars but mileage will inevitably wear the car. For example rubber trim and rubber parts in general will wear or crack with mileage and exposure to elements. Tires may be the exception regarding the cracking vs mileage because they have specific chemistry that keeps them pliable with use but window trim would be at the opposite end of this.

Leather, carpeting, vinyl and paint will also wear with use. If having a car that looks new isn't important or if your intension is to drive the car regularly then I can certainly understand the choice for a higher mileage car but if you want a car that looks and feels new it makes much more sense to buy a low mileage car. Mechanical items which can fail include gaskets and o-rings (cheap parts but high labor costs). Not all gaskets will fail with age but inevitably some will. But if you look at labor costs to replace these parts over two or three years you are not talking about a significant amount of money. Nothing compared to high mileage wear/tear IMHO.

I really think that the low mileage high mileage decision should be based upon what the new owner is looking for. Personally the only way I would consider a high mileage car is if had a complete interior/exterior restoration along with the proper maintenance but I have a feeling that those types of cars will continue to command a premium as much as a low mileage car would.

KEL-J

Heres what I do know.
Car was serviced as described below about 1.5 years ago and driven about 1500k since then:
--replace time belt(tension rollerx2, belt tensioner, belt roller carrier, h2o pump, thermostat, rubber O-ring, paper gasket, misc smaller items associated with such service)
--30k service(spark plug, oil filter, air filter, air duct filter, fuel filter)
--adj U-joint on rack to rid steering of clicking near RT lock(tech reports hard spot/steers poorly)
--replace front pads/rotors
--ABS wiring looms frayed possibly causing dash light to stay on--disconnect

THOUGHT??

Marine Blue

Who did the service, was it a knowledgeable 928 mechanic?

Have you had a PPI? I would be worried about the poor steering comment and would check the steering rack, tie rods and steering pump just to be safe.

The ABS wiring loom being frayed is also odd. Any signs of rodents? Could also be a bad relay causing the problems with the ABS Light.

Did you get any pictures of the exterior, interior and engine bay? Did you check the carfax?

blitz928

With the ABS wiring looms frayed, You may have damaged wiring at the wheel sensors. Which may explain the Antilock light being on.

My car had severely rotted/dried cracked ABS looms on all 4 wheel sensors. One of the front sensors had damaged wiring. THe rest of the ABS sensor wires just needed new wiring loom installed.

Marine Blue

Confused, I thought the looms were in the engine bay and the sensors were at the wheels but I guess the mechanic could be referencing the sensor wiring. So if this is the case why not just change them instead of disconnecting?

blitz928

No, I meant the Looms covering the wiring to the ABS sensors at the wheels. You need to check these because they can be easily damaged. Since they are in the wheel well, Nearly a foot of wire may be exposed to anything that may fly up there, Rocks, etc. If the wires are intact get them covered with fresh wiring loom.

In my case I had a damaged wire, In which case it could not be fixed and 1 new sensor was in order that solved my Antilock light problem.

Marine Blue

Ah, thanks Matt, makes sense now.