Muscle Car Mileage Question

[Bouchie11982]

Ok, i went to a Pontiac car show this opast weekend and ALOT of the cars mileage gauge all have 5 digits minues the on eon teh far end....now i have always wondered why did they mak ethe milgeage gauge have only digits and all the newer cars now have 6 digits?? i dont understand that :???: how do u know that the 1973 Grand Am has pringally 55k on it, or is is actully 155k??? and yes there were TWO 1973 Grand Ams there...ill have pics up shortly :D

[Rayz]

You can't tell the true mileage of any car without supporting documentation. You can buy an Instrument cluster from a low mileage wreck at the junk yard for any year car.

[Old Guy]

I kinda miss the old days when you had a "new car" at 100,000 miles. It was kinda neat to see it flip to all 0s again.

[tenspeed]

Back in the good old days, engines only lasted about 100,000 miles. Many people bought a new car every three to five years. Cars in the northeast they rotted out in five years, so if the engine was still good, the body was shot. Every year brought new bodywork and new car excitement.

The odometer didn't have to go to 200,000 since few cars ever made it that far. Some bad people were known to run the speedometer in reverse to erase excess miles. This was not as easy as it seems since drills only went in one direction and at full speed. The smart car shopper would check the pedals to see if their wear matched the miles.

Ten year old cars would sell for around $100. My high school friend bought a '58 Buick Roadmaster for $10 because it needed a freeze plug and wasn't worth fixing.

[BBT]

All that and the fact that Canada went metric in the mid-70s (expecting the US to go that way as well - but they didn't yet we stuck with it anyway) and since cars are built in both countries for both markets, it was easier to add the 6th digit on all than make different instrument clusters for each market.

[TA^Guy]

Originally posted by tenspeed
Back in the good old days, engines only lasted about 100,000 miles. Many people bought a new car every three to five years. Cars in the northeast they rotted out in five years, so if the engine was still good, the body was shot. Every year brought new bodywork and new car excitement.

The odometer didn't have to go to 200,000 since few cars ever made it that far. Some bad people were known to run the speedometer in reverse to erase excess miles. This was not as easy as it seems since drills only went in one direction and at full speed. The smart car shopper would check the pedals to see if their wear matched the miles.

Ten year old cars would sell for around $100. My high school friend bought a '58 Buick Roadmaster for $10 because it needed a freeze plug and wasn't worth fixing. :agree:

Shoot I still buy cars for a few hundred bucks that run with only minor repairs.

I mean when I purchased my truck I traded in a Cavalier that I purchased for $175.