My Cruze surpassed 121,000 miles last night. Should I be afraid? I can't get a new car right now, or ever.

in kind of a position I have never been in before, honestly.
Opinions?

Having never owned an American car, I couldn't really tell you.

I've only ever owned a Toyota/Lexus/Honda/Acura...... never had a car last less than 200K

Sam I have a Chrysler Town and Country with 248k on the original drivetrain. All depends on maintenance.

I'd hardly call 121k "high miles" these days.

My last car was over 100k and still was running perfectly. The only reason I got rid of it was that it drowned fording a river. My new one I'm hoping to get at least 250k miles out of.

I've never owned an American car either, and I know that ALH TDIs are generally built like tanks, but when I bought my most recent 2003 wagon with 345,000km I considered that relatively low km - especially with the 5spd. My automatic 2003 made it to 563,000km and still runs - I just don't have the time/money to sink into the small things that need replacement due to age in order to justify the 5spd swap.

I'd say keep driving it. Cars are built to be driven - really low km used cars make me nervous.

Posted by shadowedsmile I've never owned an American car either, and I know that ALH TDIs are generally built like tanks, but when I bought my most recent 2003 wagon with 345,000km I considered that relatively low km - especially with the 5spd. My automatic 2003 made it to 563,000km and still runs - I just don't have the time/money to sink into the small things that need replacement due to age in order to justify the 5spd swap. I'd say keep driving it. Cars are built to be driven - really low km used cars make me nervous.

This. I bought a 1976 Monza for $75 that had 46k original miles. Nothing but problems.

I mean, my 91 Cavalier was routinely driven from northern New York to the DC Metro Area-Maryland, even with over 150,000 miles on it... other than tires going to hell because of my laziness, the car never broke down on the highway.

my fears right now are alternator, water pump, fuel pump and accessory belt breaking on me on the highway.

Posted by Samurai I mean, my 91 Cavalier was routinely driven from northern New York to the DC Metro Area-Maryland, even with over 150,000 miles on it... other than tires going to hell because of my laziness, the car never broke down on the highway. my fears right now are alternator, water pump, fuel pump and accessory belt breaking on me on the highway.

I just put a water pump in that van. Fuck you Chrysler.

and the thing is, this Cruze is still new... very few owners have crested the 100k mark, so I am treading into the unknown. With the cavaliers I had, there were so many out there before I got mine, I knew what to expect and replacement parts were fairly inexpensive. My Cobalts as well.

meh... I'll just keep driving it until it explodes.

Does the water pump, belt, etc have a maintenance schedule?

Ex: on my wagons the timing belt and water pump are done every 160,000km...and then usually one would do the serp belt at the same time since you have to take it off anyways to get to the timing belt. You could also visually inspect the belt yourself for signs of wear.

Alternators/fuel pumps...you just drive until they give symptoms of failure. My alternator light flashed randomly at me for a year before it gave up on the 401, at around 350,000km and diesel engines are hard on alternators (thus the clutch pulley mechanism on them).

one of the great things is the 1.4L is a timing chain (the other engine available in the Cruze is a 1.8L that is a timing belt with a wee ridiculous change schedule- 60k miles). From what I can see under the hoodage of my car, the alternator will probably have to be changed from underneath, but the waterpump is in a pretty good spot. Accessory drive belt and upper/lower rad hoses look not too bad to do... I already had heater hoses done a couple of months ago.

someone told me that if you never run your tank empty, that fuel pump lasts a ton longer than if you kept running it empty, especially in hot weather. Any validity to that old chestnut, or is it, like so many other automotive tall tales, bullshit?

Posted by Samurai someone told me that if you never run your tank empty, that fuel pump lasts a ton longer than if you kept running it empty, especially in hot weather. Any validity to that old chestnut, or is it, like so many other automotive tall tales, bullshit?

I've been told that this no longer matters due to better fuel filters, but I still never like to let my tank get below 1/4. If anything, it at least helps the lifespan of the filter.

Posted by Brind I've been told that this no longer matters due to better fuel filters, but I still never like to let my tank get below 1/4. If anything, it at least helps the lifespan of the filter.

Has nothing to do with filters. It's keeping the pump itself submerged in gasoline because it keeps it cool. Heat kills electric motors.

synthetic oil changes on the regular ever 4k miles would prolong the life of the chain guides and tensioners exponentially, proper synthetic oil no blends or castrol or royal purple crap

Posted by Nismo synthetic oil changes on the regular ever 4k miles would prolong the life of the chain guides and tensioners exponentially, proper synthetic oil no blends or castrol or royal purple crap

always synthetic Mobil 1.
I have run, just due to no stock, Castrol Edge before once or twice in the infancy of the engine.
always changed at the dealer.

703,000 km on my TDI Bug, 388,000 on my Ranger... I've often said I'd rather own a high mileage car that looks good than a beat up low mileage car.

have any of you worked with turbo timers and is it really a necessity on something not making 500+hp?

We ran them on rally cars... that's about it. 90% of the cars I work on are turbocharged, none with timers, and I'm not exactly replacing turbos on a regular basis.

I mean, if you're shutting your car off immediately after running at full boost for half an hour straight, yeah, you're gonna have a bad time, but for normal driving, I wouldn't worry about it.

Posted by bandi We ran them on rally cars... that's about it. 90% of the cars I work on are turbocharged, none with timers, and I'm not exactly replacing turbos on a regular basis. I mean, if you're shutting your car off immediately after running at full boost for half an hour straight, yeah, you're gonna have a bad time, but for normal driving, I wouldn't worry about it.

I've already put one turbo in the car at 92k.
Reason I ask is that I live on a hill. Once I leave the village, it's all boost (4 or so miles) uphill. That's kind of what I was getting at.

Posted by Samurai I've already put one turbo in the car at 92k. Reason I ask is that I live on a hill. Once I leave the village, it's all boost (4 or so miles) uphill. That's kind of what I was getting at.

let the car warm up for a few minutes before driving and cool down for a few minutes after driving