Hi there guys, i'm new to both these forums and owning a magna. I have a '98 Magna Executive 3.0L V6 Automatic that now has 310,000 kilometres on the clock. It still drives smooth, starts first time, gears shift smooth, plenty of power. On startup the engine ticks loudly for a minute or so then stops, and some times at idle it blows a bit of smoke, some times it doesn't. (i've been told it's probably valve seals)

My question is, I want to keep the car, but what things should I have done to it at this age to ensure a long life? I've heard of this model living to a healthy 600k+! especially since I will occasionally be driving to Airlie Beach from the gold coast (approx 1200k's each way) to visit relatives.

OR I can upgrade to a ~2000 - 2002 model with ~160,000 - 180,000 k's on it, would that be the best way to go?

Any advice would be great, thanks in advance if you reply.

Well its a tough question. While we're waiting for some of the more technically experienced members here to respond, I can offer you my thoughts.
Im not exactly sure what u want to know, is it about the maintenance schedule for that particular model or if you want advice on buying another second hand car- so i'll talk to both:

You should follow the maintenance schedule as per your owners book, or just check with a dealership. The big ticket regular job is the timing belt change and plugs. This should be done every 100k or 5 years. Given the age and mileage you might be coming up for some additional maintenance, such as water pump, rocker cover seals, new struts, engine mounts, and so on, it just depends on the service history of the car and its current condition. If you haven't strictly maintained the car then you may need to do some stuff right now like replace ATF, coolant, brake fluid, drive belts and so on, but that would need to be assessed. Given the mileage there are no guarantees against major failures, but many of these cars do much more when maintained.

I dont think that noise you describe is a problem, just a bit of tappet noise until the oil gets moving. The smoke could indicate an issue with the engine, but doesn't sound too bad or consistent from what u say and not affecting the power, but the experts here can advise you better than me.

I guess if u want to understand what typically goes wrong with these cars when they've been well maintained at that mileage then i guess it would be auto failures, but i dont think its something you should worry about if its behaving well now. Such failures are not predictable but i believe it would be fair to assume the risk goes up with mileage.

If u want advice on buying another one, well you need to check the service history if there is any. Less k's is no guarantee of anything, even 160k, it really depends on how its been looked after and driven. Also depends on your budget. I'd be checking condition of the ATF, oil, how it feels to drive, any strange noises and so on.
I think these cars are generally a safe buy if you carry out these basic checks, but second hand cars are always a gamble.

Personally, from the way you describe your car i wouldn't be swapping it with an unknown with that level of k's unless you really want the newer model and its a good price or unless you're sure of the service history and condition of the other car.

If you're trying to avoid escalating maintenance costs in the future then IMO you need to consider buying a much lower mileage car, probably less than 100k, but remember there are no guarantees. I don't think these cars are that expensive to maintain, but its subjective.
I hope this helps somehow.

If you are happy with the car then keep the car.

310 is not a deal breaker in any way, if the engine does decide to die then get a 3.5 fitted from a later model, is pretty much a bolt in job anyway. Seems you have had the car a while thus it would have more than paid itself off by now anyway.

As for maintaining it, just do what you have been doing, regular services, good quality oil (recommend Penrite HPR15 for your car with that mileage) and make sure you do the normal stuff such as timing belt, water pump if was not done at 200k, plugs and trans flushes. With the rattle, could be the pre tensioner. If you get a morning rattle shut down the motor immediately and then restart after 10 seconds, if noise is gone then there is your issue and this can be fixed when your timing belt. Dont leave it too long if this is the issue as it can cause major damage.

If you have not done the big service as yet drop me an email as we can supply you good quality parts such as belt kits and tensioners cheaper than you will get them anywhere else.

:happy: Wow that's more information than I was expecting so I am very very appreciative. Thanks guys, you've certainly helped me a lot, Thanks for taking so much time to reply in so much detail, what a great forum and a great club to be a part of. Cheers!

I'm going to keep the car and have it fully inspected and serviced, are there any service chains (Ultratune, Kmart Tyre & Auto, Midas etc) that are particularly good with magnas? or would anyone know of a good place to go on the Gold Coast?

Thanks again guys for your help :woot: