1977 Ford LTD Country Squire

https://reno.craigslist.org/cto/d/1977-ford-country-squire/6518022764.html

 

Not a bad-looking car at a not unreasonable price. But 111,000 miles does not equal "low mileage."

 

For a vehicle first sold 41 years ago? I think I'll have to disagree with you on this one. That's just barely over a 2,700 mile per year average, or if you want to compute it per day - an average of about 7.5 miles per day....and I'm sure there were at least a few 1,000 mile vacations in there somewhere. Do you need the seller to add, (low mileage)..."for the age of the car."?

 

Which means nothing. Mileage is usually not accumulated linearly. Cars are generally driven heavily in their early years, lightly in later years if they manage to survive past the typical scrappage age and become an "old" car. Mileage is an absolute, not a relative, when it comes to cars. Mileage affects the wear and tear and the car's overall condition. Parts can be replaced, but it still reflects wear on the car.

You take a new car and drive it the U.S. average of 12,000 miles per year for 10 years, thus accumulating 120,000 miles on it. That's high mileage in my book. Now park it in a barn for 40 years without driving it. When it's pulled out as the proverbial "barn find," it's got "only" 120,000 miles on it, or "only" 2,400 miles per year. But that's not how the car was driven. It was a high-mileage car when it went into the barn. It's high mileage when it comes out. Sitting those 40 years didn't turn back the clock. It didn't "unwear" the parts that were worn. It didn't turn a high-mileage car into a low-mileage one.

People can have their own definitions of where the cut-offs are, but, in my book, 0-50,000 is "very low" mileage, 50,000-100,000 is "low mileage," and for anything that has turned over a 5-digit odometer, well, the low-mileage ship has sailed, and it's better to talk about how the paint retains its sheen and the seats are not worn.

 

I think low or high mileage depends on the age of the car. I would not consider a 1 year old car with 40,000 miles on it low mileage. I would consider a 40 year old car with 120,000 miles low mileage for the year. My 13 Spark with 108,000 miles on it was in a lot better condition the my 57 Chev was with only 62,000 miles. My great aunt use to park in her garage by the sound method. it burnt so much oil you did not want to be behind it, and the car was so hard to steer when I drove it home my shoulders hurt for 2 days. Plus she already had the transmission rebuilt. There is a difference between a highway car with 70.000 miles and a city car with 70,000 miles. Any way I most likely would of paid the same money for my wagon if it had 272,000 miles on it instead of 72,000 miles.

 

High Mileage = High Wear? Not always; that's a general rule and a good one to go by but still, if an owner used a bypass oil filter for years I feel like it still is "low mileage."

 

My point is that you cannot take a car's current mileage, divide it by how old the car is, and then, from the quotient, decide whether it's high or low mileage. A 100-year old car with 300,000 miles on it has "only 3,000 miles per year." But is it "low mileage?" Of course not.

As far as a 1-year-old car with 40,000 miles on it, of course that's not low mileage for one year of driving. But few cars are driven that way, and I'm talking about averages. According to the Federal Highway Traffic Administration, the average car in the U.S. is driven about 13,500 miles per year.

Also, 40,000 miles IS low mileage in an absolute sense, as I say above. If that car is then parked for 40 years and then pulled out of the barn, it will be 41 years old with 40,000 miles on it. That's very low mileage in my book, but not because the average mileage is "only 975 miles per year" but because it's total mileage is less than 50,000.

 

I agree.

 

I don't think mileage has much to do with the condition of the car when they get this old. Geographical area, care and upkeep is more important than mileage. Low mileage car that has none of the above qualifiers is worthless to me. I have a 1986 Mercedes 560sl in mint shape with the original fabric top also mint. 135,000 miles. I got a great deal on this HIGH mileage car. I've had to put zero dollars into this car. My Cadillac 70,000 and wagon 50,000 and I've put a ton into them.

 

Condition of body and interior is far more important to me over mileage.
Does it run? If yes that's great.
If it doesn't run, does it spin? If yes that's not bad.
Is the engine is seized? How bad do I want the car?
Engine work is relatively cheap and easy compared to body/interior.

 

Somebody thought it was a deal - SOLD

 

I have to disagree with you, in part.
Mileage is relative but more to the era of the car that to its age, per se.
Consider the differences between a 1977 car and a much more recent model.

1. This 1977, at least, has a carburetor, not computer-controlled electronic fuel injection. Although EFI was meant to increase fuel mileage and decrease emissions, by injecting a very precise amount of fuel, it also minimizes the wash down of oil from the cylinder walls, thus reducing wear.

2. The '77 CS has a conventional 3 speed automatic as opposed the multispeed-with-overdrive automatics common today. Another innovation designed to increase fuel economy, by reducing the rpms at highway speeds, it also reduces engine wear.

3. Oil has been improved greatly in the last 40 years. Synthetic oils were much less common back then, and even conventional oil has been improved. Again the result is lower wear.

4. I think there is a greater awareness in the general public of the virtues of good maintenance. Prices of cars are much higher than 40 years ago, even accounting for inflation. This gives people an incentive to take better care of them. An $1800 car might be a throw away car, but a $40,000 one? Also, warning lights and constant Jiffy Lube commercials keep people reminded of maintenance. True, you do still hear the stories of gross neglect of cars, but these are not nearly as prevalent as they were in the '70s.

Thus while 111,000 miles may not be "high" mileage for a young vehicle, , in my opinion, it does constitute high mileage for a 1977 model. Now that does not absolutely determine that it's a high wear car, but it is an indicator that high wear is likely unless it has received a level of care and maintenance well above average for its era. I've owned a lot of cars from this period that were basically "done" after not much over 100K miles.

By the way, that 40,000 mile car that was stored in a barn for 40 years... be very leery. If the engine isn't rusted and seized, expect to replace every seal in the engine and trans, as well as all the rubber fuel and brake lines (and maybe the metal ones, too). It could easily cost more to get right than a high mileage car that's been driven regularly and well cared for.

 

I still agree with Jaunty on the mileage (depending, continue reading) but also agree on "Wear = relevant to the car's era and location and how it was taken care of." I read that very few stock 1950s cars got over 100k. Now we can get warranties from oil manufacturers that last 3x that long. I realize Jaunty wan't talking about rust and mold but here's another subject as an example:

My Grandpa (in Pennsylvania) kept a silver 1967 Grand Prix Convertible from new until he died a few years ago. It's still sitting in a dirt-floor garage next to a creek after all these years and it's somewhere under 30k miles but you know what? Some time between 2003-2011 he put siding on the garage and a tarp over the car; the car got moldy and a stinkin' mouse chewed the roof. He didn't have it on blocks, either.



(this image probably isn't of the same car.)

As the car sits now, it's in limbo. Uncle doesn't seem to be working on it since it needs an entirely new interior + roof and I know the transmission and engine seals are probably going to be junk. A mouse probably chewed ignition wires and who knows what else it needs?

 

That's a shame, being a one-year only model / body style combination. If there are no plans or money for a nice restoration, it should be sold so someone else can bring it back.

 

I consider this standard procedure along with new/rebuilt wheel cylinders, brake shoes, master cylinder, rebuild starter, alternator/generator, replace any worn front end parts, inspect/grease front wheel bearings, u-joints, tires, etc. no matter what the mileage.

I would rather fix/replace parts in the shop than on the road.