What is considered high mileage for a used car? Is there any good number you should think about?
Many people would go for a used car for budget-related considerations. If you decide to buy a used car, you have to check everything to make sure you are not paying money for a worthless thing. One of the important things to check for is the mileage. This is how many miles the car moved. In general, there are some recommended guidelines when checking the mileage of a used car. So, let’s find out the suitable mileage you should go for when buying a used car.
Average mileage for second-hand cars
Needless to say, when checking the mileage of a car, the lower the mileage is in Miles or Km, the better. However, it doesn’t always mean that you should buy cars with lower mileage without checking anything else. A question that might come to your mind is what is a low mileage? To know the answer to this question, you should know two things; the mileage on the odometer and the years this car has been moving.
The average miles a car usually moves in a year is from 10,000 to 12,000 miles. So, a car that was manufactured and bought 5 years ago should have an average mileage of 50,000 to 60,000 miles. In other words, 50.000 miles is considered a good mileage on a car that is 5 years of age. The wear in metallic parts and plastic electronics will be minimal especially if the car is well-maintained and parked in the garage and not outside.
Knowing this, you can estimate whether the car you want to buy has low or high mileage. If you find two similar cars in the same overall condition but different mileage, certainly go for the lower mileage.
However, if you found two cars, one with lower mileage than the other but the overall condition is not the best, then you have to re-think. Mileages are not always an indicator of usage. Sometimes car owners travel every day on a highway for work, so they consume more miles. However, driving on highways is better in most cases as the roads are better, so the tires don’t wear easily. In brief, the average mileage of the car is important, but it is not the only deciding factor.
Factors to consider when buying a used car
Mileage is the easiest thing to check when buying a used car. This is because it appears on the odometer of any car and is usually the first thing the car owner will tell you about his car. Other important factors you should check are:
Maintenance records
These are all the maintenance that the car owner did to his car in the previous years. Professional car maintenance centers do recommend several repairs every number of miles or years of use to each car. It is a routine thing every car owner, whatever kind of car he owns, should do. This makes the car last longer even with extensive use. If the car owner doesn’t provide you with these records, it is more likely he is not doing the maintenance and repairs of his car regularly.
Manufacturing year
Generally, you should avoid purchasing very old cars (more than 10 years old) unless you want something vintage. The more years the car is used, the more its parts tear and wear out. Even after replacing those parts, the car is still an old one and it lost much of its resale value. Also, you need to check the manufacturing year to estimate the average mileage as mentioned above.
A second-hand vehicle that has 150,000 miles is considered high mileage for a used car. At 70.000 or 80.000 miles, most cars start to have issues and maintenance repairs. But when that high mileage reaches 150.000 miles, most parts like timing chains, belts, AC compressors, water pumps, batteries, etc will need replacement. That happens especially for sedan cars that are average in value.
For Toyota, that’s a different story, especially for SUVs like Land Cruiser. A Toyota car that has that high mileage won’t suffer the same way as other American and European cars. So, Toyota is an exception, it should be a well-built car that lasts more than 300.000 miles. But of course, it needs to be maintained well to reach that exceptionally high mileage.
History Report
The car history report includes the information and details of the car including the maintenance records, recalls, accidents the car had before (if any), and the number of previous owners. With this report, you will know if the car is worth the price you will be paying for or not. For example, a car that had an accident should be sold at lower prices. Similarly, more previous owners of the car should reduce its price.
Mileage and manufacturing year
Finally, compare the manufacturing year to the mileage. If the mileage seems to be very high compared to the year (for example, 100,000 miles in 5 years or so) this might be a sign that the car has been used too much.
Should I buy a car with high mileage?
The newest cars are built to last. When we say new cars, we mean cars that were manufactured in the last 10 years. So, when you purchase an 8-year-old car, for example, you can expect a mileage of 80,000 to 96,000 miles. It is okay to buy such cars as long as you guarantee all the maintenance and repairs were done at the proper times. That should be a good mile range for a used car in the USA.
High-mileage cars are lower in price than others with lower mileage. Further, at these high mileages, the owner should have replaced some of the parts as the PCV valve and water pump. So, they do have some advantages over the ones with low mileage. So, if you are on a tight budget, go for high-mileage cars but with good conditions.
That being said, you need to have a closer look at the vehicle before buying it. 80.000 miles seems a good mileage for a used Jeep Wrangler, but what if the engine and transmission hide serious problems? You may end up buying a new engine and transmission for that car. So, the best way to learn more about the used car you want to buy is by checking its history and a full report by VIN lookup.
Then, listen to what the owner wants to say and ask precise questions like what was the last time you changed engine oil, transmission ATF, or other things. If the owner struggles to answer these questions, then, stay away. He will lie to you and you’ll buy a used car that has high mileage and more repair costs.
Which is more important, the year or mileage?
A short answer to this question is both. An average good mileage of a car means the previous owner didn’t use the car too much which is good for you as the new purchaser.
High mileages are okay provided that the car is in good condition. If the car is used for traveling on highways, then it is more likely it has more mileage. Freeways are better in terms of driving and the overall car condition.
On the other side, if the car is old but has less mileage, it is more likely it wasn’t used too much. So, you have to balance both the year and mileage to know the usage patterns of the previous owner. In the end, the budget is a deciding factor when purchasing a used car. If you have to choose, go for an older car with more mileage and good condition better than a newer car with less mileage but not the perfect conditions.
Also, don’t forget to check other factors mentioned above such as the maintenance records, and history report. It is better to ask a professional mechanic to check the used car you will purchase as he can discover things in the car you don’t understand.
