<VV> Low Mileage

Dave Keillor dkeillor@ultrex.com
Tue, 1 Jun 2004 10:15:26 -0500


By itself, "low mileage" means nothing.

It can mean a car that was beat and abused until it quit running at an early
age, then was stored in someone's damp, rat-infested, dirt-floored shed.
Not a car that anyone would pay much for, much less a low mileage premium.

It can also mean an original car that was well cared for, never tinkered
with or modified, and for whatever reason was not driven much.  This car, if
it has been stored properly, is something that appeals to me.  First, I like
original or "survivor" cars.  Second, all the low-mileage cars I've
purchased still have that "tight" new car feel to them.  Third, if it's been
well preserved, I don't need to spend hundreds of hours in rust repairs.

I recently ran across a rather extreme case of low-mileage.  A 1970 Chevelle
SS with a claimed actual mileage of 26 apparently sold for $354,200 on
e-bay.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=247835477
0&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT

Although I have three low mileage cars, that doesn't stop me from driving
them.  On the other hand, I'd never buy an extremely low mileage car such as
the once cited above simply because driving them negate the huge premium I'd
paid.  I currently have a 40K '66 Corvair convert, 40K '73 Nova coupe, and
25K '69 Corvair coupe.  All of them (except the '69 vair) get driven
regularly.  

The '69 Corvair is undergoing a 30-year refurbishing.  I bought the car new,
drove it for 3 years and then parked it in my garage when I bought a new
Fiat 124 Spider.  I didn't get rid of the Corvair because I liked it and it
wasn't worth anything.  I did sandblast and paint the undercarriage as well
as completely rebush the front and rear suspension.  So, here's an original,
rust-free, low mileage car sitting disassembled with primer for paint.  Sort
of makes the case that "low mileage" by itself means nothing.

Dave Keillor

-----Original Message-----
From: Bill Hubbell [mailto:whubbell@cox.net]
Sent: Monday, May 31, 2004 10:55 PM
To: NOSVAIR@aol.com; virtualvairs@corvair.org
Subject: Re: <VV> Re: Matching Engine Numbers


Every time I hear the term "low mileage" I am curious what that means in a
40 year old car.  As far as I am concerned, even a very low mileage car
(under 1,000 miles) would likely be in a state of deterioration after 40
years unless it had been meticulously prepped and stored in a light free low
humidity environment.  Many times people seem to go bonkers when the car has
"only 30,000 miles" or whatever, neglecting the fact that sometimes all it
takes is one drive in the wrong kind of weather and the years will take
their toll.

Bill Hubbell