Mileage matters?

[chrisg]

I read a post on here today where a chap was selling his 2.5 with 30k miles and a response was - low miles dosent get too dollar - I wonder about that and wondered what people think

I confess to having an opinion - I bought my 45k miles red Zed more on miles than condition because you can fix problems but you can’t have less miles

What’s the prevailing view ?

 

[TitanTim]

Lower mileage will always command a slightly higher retail value but if it's trade then not as much as you would think or like over a higher mileage same like for like vehicle.

Just because it's low mileage doesn't mean a better car, which have had plenty of short trips compared to a higher mileage car that's done motorway miles at optimum running temp, less mechanical wear etc.

Tim.

 

[enuff_zed]

I think mine was one of those comments.
My thinking on this is that general Joe Public loves low mileage because it sounds good. And I accept wear and tear is likely to be less, particularly on interiors.
However, those with engineering/mechanical understanding, or who maintain their own cars, will accept that a car you use regularly is likely to be reliable. A lot of store is put by the magic 100k in the UK. This seems to originate from the old days where engines were lucky to make it that far. But now, buying an M54 or N52 engined zed with 120k+ should hold no fears as long as there is evidence that it has been looked after.

Other opinions are available.

 

[Rockhopper]

Just run your car through WBAC and change the mileage to see how much it affects its value. It'll be more than you might imagine.

 

[sars]

Apart from automobiles (this, for ease includes vans and trucks) what other machinery uses miles/km as a measure of use, rather than hours?

A car can be stuck in the commute for hours and do very few miles, yet I sit on the motorway doing 70 mph for three hours and I am penalised for that, yet the running hours maybe similar.

The crux, don't limit your choice with miles, look at how the car was treated

 

[plenty]

If you're confident evaluating a used car, then miles aren't important for assessing condition. If you're not, then miles can be an (extremely blunt) tool to help you evaluate.

But regardless of the above, if you plan to maximise your return come resale then miles matter, because that's how the market works. It's always easier to sell a lower-mileage example than a higher-mileage one, everything else being equal.

And some people get enjoyment from owning a car with low miles on the odometer, just because. (Not me though, Z4 has 131k and rest of fleet is on 105k, 157k, 170k).

 

[pvr]

yet I sit on the motorway doing 70 mph for three hours and I am penalised for that

Keep looking for those 50 mph average zones :lol: oke:

I am afraid I am a miles man - would not touch anything high. It has never ended up well for me so far.

 

[Pondrew]

You only need to see what the trade thinks of mileage. Low miles = big bucks. It is as simple as that.

I, Like PVR, will only buy very low mileage cars. Yes I pay for them through the nose, but the perceived peace of mind is worth it for me. I have a definite 'issue' with mileage; probably down to the fact that I have had mostly brand new vehicles over the years. I always gave them back at around 30k miles, so to me they were 'finished with' at that.

Cars are mechanical things with hundreds of moving parts. Everything wears out, eventually, so why volunteer to get into that in the short term just to save a few quid when buying? And with mileage comes wear and tear to everything; seats, trim, bodywork, etc etc.

 

[sars]

yet I sit on the motorway doing 70 mph for three hours and I am penalised for that

Keep looking for those 50 mph average zones :lol: oke:

I am afraid I am a miles man - would not touch anything high. It has never ended up well for me so far.

I don't worry about speed cameras, I've just cloned your plate :lol:

 

[pvr]

We don't have much of an overlap of cars though :lol:

 

[TitanTim]

The problem is if you always buy a new car and do low miles and come to sell it, if the mileage is lower than normal you will either have your pants pulled down by a stealer who then make a sales killing or a private buyer will view a low mileage car with suspicion. The secret is basically never sell a car if your the first owner :?

Tim.

 

[Beerman]

People are obsessed with low miles now. It didn't used to be this vital.

When you are looking at cars 10+ years old the mileage shouldn't be as important as condition, maintenance and history.

A 30k mile car could have been sat around for long periods and in need of age related maintenance.

An 80k mile car could have been subject to lots of refurbishment and in better condition than the car with 30k miles.

Too much importance is put on mileage now.

 

[john-e89]

I, Like PVR,

You like PVR…?? Not a sentence you hear much anywhere, but anyway…. :evil:

Lent you a few quid has he Pondlington…? You watch the APR from PVR….98% on a generous day you know…. oke: oke: :evil:

 

[coldel]

ALWAYS consider a car on condition first. If I walk up to a car and I see obvious signs of lack of care and had no idea of mileage I would walk away, it could have 15k miles on it, I would walk away.

I've owned my fair share of cars across high and low mileage, one of the best condition ones was the E85 I just sold, 115k miles and it was immaculate. Owned it for a year and a half, no problems of any note, I just enjoyed driving it.

There is an argument for sales being easier, you will generally lose more money though on low mileage cars as if you buy one with 40k on it then sell it at 50k thats a 25% increase in miles and will be reflected in the reduced price. Buy one with 110k on it and sell it at 120k you can pretty much demand the same money, or even more if you document your ownership online :wink:

But yes as someone said, in the UK we have island mentality around mileage. Also many cars here just get ruined driving around cities hardly being stretched but having all the moving parts battered by speed humps and what not. I would take an 80k motorway miler over a 40k city car any day.

 

[chrisg]

So for a low miles car other than service which is often on miles not time - what are we looking for (on Zed)

 

[plenty]

There is an argument for sales being easier, you will generally lose more money though on low mileage cars as if you buy one with 40k on it then sell it at 50k thats a 25% increase in miles and will be reflected in the reduced price. Buy one with 110k on it and sell it at 120k you can pretty much demand the same money, or even more if you document your ownership online :wink:

I'd say that's true for cooking/everyday models, but for enthusiast/classic cars the market works differently. For example, the market for a 50k miles Z4M is much larger than for a 150k miles Z4M, regardless of condition.

You also stand a better chance of retaining value or even some appreciation if you keep the miles under around 60-70k for a enthusiast/classic model. I bought my Z4M with 116k at a good price, but there's no way I'd expect to get that money back if I sell it with 140-150k miles. Whereas someone with a 40k miles example selling in 5 years with 60-70k probably will.

 

[Mr Tidy]

I always used to get obsessed with low mileages, but then I bought a Rover V8 with 70K and had no problems with it.

Years later I bought a Mercedes 190e with over 100K and had no problems in the 3 years I had it, then I replaced it with a 100K mile C280 that was also trouble free. Three of my 3 Series dailies have also had 6 figure mileages that really haven't caused any issues.

So now I'm completely over worrying about mileage and pay much more attention to condition and history!

I know UK buyers get scared when they see over 100K, but in most other countries it really isn't a big deal.

As others have said cars that get very little use often suffer issues as a result because gaskets, seals, bushes, tyres, etc. don't deteriorate so much from use as age. That's why if I was buying a 20 year old car I'd rather see 50K miles than 25K!

Admittedly I'd have liked a few less miles on my MC, but 76K in 13 years wasn't exactly high and at the time my budget was a bit limited. And it was a bargain, which is probably just as well because it's done close to 94K now.

 

[Nanu]

I am with SARS on this one. Look at how the car has been cared for rather than the mileage alone. If its been serviced on time and passed all its MOTs with no advisories then that is more important information that numbers on a clock

 

[coldel]

There is an argument for sales being easier, you will generally lose more money though on low mileage cars as if you buy one with 40k on it then sell it at 50k thats a 25% increase in miles and will be reflected in the reduced price. Buy one with 110k on it and sell it at 120k you can pretty much demand the same money, or even more if you document your ownership online :wink:

I'd say that's true for cooking/everyday models, but for enthusiast/classic cars the market works differently. For example, the market for a 50k miles Z4M is much larger than for a 150k miles Z4M, regardless of condition.

You also stand a better chance of retaining value or even some appreciation if you keep the miles under around 60-70k for a enthusiast/classic model. I bought my Z4M with 116k at a good price, but there's no way I'd expect to get that money back if I sell it with 140-150k miles. Whereas someone with a 40k miles example selling in 5 years with 60-70k probably will.

Not at all, look on AT right now at some Z4Ms and say just looking at private price sales (so to try eliminate dealer premiums) and a couple of 20k mile cars are up for over 20k, those on 60k miles are well under 20k. So you will see anything that you add 30 or 40k to depreciate quite substantially.

There is a definite big drop off in value around the 50k mark I would say, whereas you see cars with 80k miles plus seeming to bottom out.

There is always an big drop off as the miles go up from 0 to 50k miles I generally see even in enthusiast cars, then the decreases if looking like for like and trying to base on mileage reduce. You will always lose more money adding 20k miles to a 20k mile car than 20k miles to a 110k mile car.

 

[coldel]

I am with SARS on this one. Look at how the car has been cared for rather than the mileage alone. If its been serviced on time and passed all its MOTs with no advisories then that is more important information that numbers on a clock

I quite liked to see peoples faces when I drove my old E85 to meets. It would rumble in, sounding fantastic, paintwork was immaculate, interior immaculate, then as they pored over the car I would tell them it had 115k miles on it...condition every time

If you buy a car purely because its a low miler, you spend most of your life with it watching and sweating at the relentless ticking over of that mile counter :rofl: