It's no secret that odometer readings often determine the value of a used car. Regardless of the condition of a 500,000km car, it'll never be worth the same amount as one with 50,000km. That's because it's essentially the only way to see just how much a car has been used.
To illustrate, we found two identical 2015 Toyota LandCruiser Prados – one with 500,000km in good condition for $22,000 and one with 58,000km for $56,999. Then it's a whole other ball game when it comes to classic cars.
Quite frequently, you'll see a 30+ year-old car with delivery kilometres on it sell for significantly more than its original price because people want something untouched.
It leads me to my next point – I have a champagne taste on a beer budget. This consistently leads me to buy the highest-kilometre cars to save myself a couple of bucks.
For the past few months, I've developed an affinity for Ford Falcons. I wanted another after selling my XH ute years ago, but as is the nature of any cheap rear-wheel-drive car – they were all dilapidated.
No, I don't want a car with a tyre slap on the rear quarters, a $100 eBay set of headers, and the mufflers cut out; I genuinely just wanted a large tourer.
I shifted my focus more towards a Ford Fairlane over the past few months, as they were always perceived as an old person's car – an automatic only, with a long wheelbase and fewer modification parts available.
Finally, a car that piqued my interest popped up about two hours from me. Admittedly, it wasn't the model I had wanted, but it seemed well maintained in the photos. I've been heartbroken before.
The kicker – it had a whopping 391,000km on the clock; that's a steady 17,000ish kilometres per year.
What I was presented with was one of the most well-maintained AU Ford Fairlanes and probably the most well-maintained Australian Ford of the era ever.
Not a single drop of oil leaking from the original engine, gearbox or differential. No weird rattles from the engine and no slip from the automatic transmission.
Perhaps the most striking aspect is the minimal wear on the interior. It had the usual headliner sag that plagued all Australian-made Fords of the era, but the leather and all of the buttons were still well and truly intact.
The reason why? It's a one-owner car from someone who loved it, and love means actually driving it, not just leaving it in a garage to become another full-sized scale model.
As I've covered extensively previously, leaving a car to sit is one of the worst things you can actually do to it. Cars are composed of multiple rubber components, and the chemical composition of rubber requires them to be constantly in motion to maintain their elasticity.
Leaving them sitting means gaskets crack and leak, bushings crumble and cause the suspension to knock, not to mention internal components, such as fuel, sitting in the lines, causing leaks and rust in the tank. Additionally, brake lines will become brittle and leak. You can read more about that here.
Back to the Ford Fairlane, reading through the logbook, things weren't ignored when they popped up. Shocks are knocking? Replace them. Steering rack is leaking? Fix it. Brake master cylinder also leaking? Just buy a new one.
It's a simple fact of treating the car like yourself as you get older; the longer you are on this earth, the more trips to the doctor you're going to need. But ignore the issues that could be sorted with a prescription of rosuvastatin, and your expiry date moves closer.
You can also tell a fair bit about how a car has been looked after based on who you're buying it from. If they can't answer any questions about their ownership of the car or have "only owned it for a short while", run for the hills.
However, if it's someone who can tell you literally loved the car but can no longer drive or has just upgraded, then I would highly recommend seriously considering it.
Paint is the ultimate indicator of how well a car has been looked after – when people take pride in their belongings it shows. The paint on the Fairlane is immaculate with zero peeling anywhere, because it was washed frequently and stored in a garage when not in use, not on the street.
A regular wash routine gives the owner a chance to really spend some time with the car, notice things they wouldn't normally notice like a new drop of oil, uneven tyre wear and cracked components.
The high-kilometre car does have some minor ailments. It does struggle a bit to start, which is relatively common among the Intech six-cylinder engine, and it uses slightly more fuel than it did 23 years ago – now sitting at around 16L/100km compared to the 13L/100km it was originally claimed to get, and the fuel gauge doesn't work. But that's quite literally it.
In my ownership, all I've done is replace the spark plugs and perform a few minor servicing tasks, but it passes registration and has no trouble waking me up in the morning to take me to work each day.
Now, I'm not saying everyone should rush out and buy a car with half a million kilometres on the dash. I have more than a baseline experience of working on and maintaining cars, but I'm saying I don't discount the high-kilometre option.
Don't be afraid to get an external opinion from a mechanic with a pre-purchase inspection, and don't be afraid to judge a book by its cover – cars that don't look like their odometer reading are often hiding something. Certainly, don't be afraid to spend extra time looking over the car.
Moving parts rarely catastrophically fail if a car has been looked after. Usually, if an engine or gearbox is going to fail, it'll start to become noticeably tired. However, if regular maintenance has been performed, it'll give you a fair warning before it fails.
There is a level of acceptance that comes with buying a high-kilometre car, so if you're willing to sacrifice a few minor things that may not work, then you'll get a bargain, like this AU Ford Fairlane. Just make sure this is the only time in your life that you judge a book by its cover.
Zane Dobie comes from a background of motorcycle journalism, working for notable titles such as Australian Motorcycle News Magazine, Just Bikes and BikeReview. Despite his fresh age, Zane brings a lifetime of racing and hands-on experience. His passion now resides on four wheels as an avid car collector, restorer, drift car pilot and weekend go-kart racer.
