When looking at used cars to buy, what is the relationship between the thousands of miles and the car itself?

Question

Hello friends,

I was just browsing the classifieds and looking at the used cars section and noticed how a lot of the ads will list things such as 'low mileage' or list how many thousands of miles the car has such as '50k miles' and things of that nature.

I don't know too much about cars, but what is the significance of how many miles a car has in relation to its performance or whatever else you can gauge about the car by looking at how many miles has been logged onto the car?

Does having more miles on a car mean that it will break down a lot, or how can you tell? What is a safe amount of miles to look at when buying a used car, because I've seen used cars in the ads that range from 20k to 200k miles logged onto the car. Any other tips?

And just a side rant, man, a lot of these 'used' cars cost so much money, even though they are many years old and have many thousands of miles on them. You might as well buy a new car for how much some of these cars are listed for in the classifieds.

Answer 1

good rule of thumb for a used car is 12000 miles per year...if it's a 2 yr old car with 60000 miles on it...not good
if it's a 6 yr old car with 12000 miles on it it is considered low mileadge. buy what you can afford

Answer 2

The more miles the more wear and tear.
Under 36,000 & 3 years it is still under warrenty, some go for longer period and miles but you have to ask. Under warrenty is much better, if it has a problem it can be fixed for free by a dealer of the same make.
Leased vehicles new or 2 years old are less than buying, you never own the vehicle just rent for a period around 2-5 years.
Even if you buy new, after you have it for awhile it loses so much value. I think the best is a 2 year old lease returned vehicle, the big loss in value is gone and you won't be paying for and they tend to be used for businesses and are highway miles which is much better than the short trips or stop and going during intown driving.
The Most wear and tear on a vehcile happens when you start it, not when you drive it- motor wise.
Watch for $$ they may want to sign a lease and also at the end to return it. You can talk them out of these fees.
Also you can trade in a lease anywhere, any dealer does not have to be the same model type dealer.

Answer 3

well, it is a very good idea to buy a used car. when the buyer bought the car new that person took the butt kickin on the depreciating of the value of it. usually when you buy a used car its a good idea to take someone you know that knows about cars to take a look at it or take it to your local mechanic to have it checked out. the miles has alot to do with the car being reliable. they say you should expect to have 10,000 to 12,000 miles a year. if you have for say a 2000 vehicle you should expect to have 60,000 miles or so wouldn't be that bad. if you have alot more miles than that you might wanna look else where. it depends on the vehicle. full size trucks seem to go alot longer than cars. not sure why. to make a long story short, it all depends on the people that have owned the vehicle in the past. older people are great to buy from because they usually drive the car well and take care of it. if a younger person owned it that person might have run it into the ground and put alot of miles on it. you wouldn't want to buy a car like that. Ive seen cars that are 2 yrs old and have 50k miles on it, that's usually not good. hope this helps you.

Answer 4

All parts wear with time and use and the higher the mileage of the car the more likely the parts are worn, however it does depend a lot on the type of use that has created that mileage.
A vehicle that has done long steady journeys might have a higher mileage than a car that has been driven shorter distances in the city, but the driver of the city vehicle might have been a particularly poor driver who placed more stress on th mechanical components.
It really should be used as a guideline but all things being equal a lower mileage is better than a higher mileage for long term maintenane and reliability

Answer 5

the mileage will tell you how often the car has been used because the greater the number is, it means the more it has been used for travel....well, i guess its one of the things to be considered, but life of the car is usually 5 years (not sure) and the way the owner maintains it will surely make a lot of points to sustain the performance condition of the car.

before you buy, try to have an occular inspection yourself, because relying on ads alone may mislead you, there maybe hidden defects in the ads for promotional purposes, so if you see it yourself, the motor, its body, etc, then you can gauge more or less if the price being offered is reasonable

but if you have enough money, why buy used cars? you are right, brand new is best!

Answer 6

Great question , and one I'm sure you'll find many answers of varying degree. The obvious answer is the more miles it has the more susceptible it is to break down. But this is determined by the type of vehicle, the type of care, or lack of by the previous owner or owners.

Also has if it has ever been wrecked, involved with flood damages etc will decrease the value.

Example, some vehicles such as Toyotas, Hondas and other Japanese imports tend to last longer than some others and higher mileage vehicles may be a good buy, depending on the price and as mentioned above, how well the car has been maintained.

If any vehicle has been abused and neglected, irregardless of the type, it will be more prone to cause serious problems than a vehicle that has been well maintained by regular oil changes, service intervals, etc that have been adhered to.

So what's high mileage and what's not is difficult to answer, but the average rule of thumb for normal miles is 12,000 to 15,000 per year.

A well maintained vehicle with 100,000 miles will most likely be in better condition, both mechanically and appearance wise than a lower mileage that has been abused.

Asking for maintenance records of course is critical, not just oil changes records either. For example, some cars and trucks have timing belts that are required to be changed, and even some that if they break will severley damage the engine. If there is no record of this then the selling price should be less than one that has been changed. The price to replace can be expensive depending on the make/model etc.

Used cars do cost a lot, but consider the fact of a new one, when you first drive it off the lot it depreciates in value of several thousand dollars, let alone the high monthly notes for as much as 6-7 years.

There are numerous things you can look for to determine the condition and if it's a good buy, if you know what and how it's not so difficult.

I'll list some basics for you, but it's really much too detailed to explain everything.

Body/Paint for signs of repaired body work:

You should inspect for signs of overspray (samples and pics at the url below), inspect for signs of repairs along the frame rails, perhaps even remove the inner trunck liner and inspect inside for signs of repairs and/or repainting.

Another tell-tell sign is the evidence of pinstripes, decals etc that have been "cleared over", if these stripes appear to be underneath a coat of clear paint, then most likely it's been repainted. This clear coat is common with after market body shops, it also tends to peel away, especially from seems and plastic panels such as front and rear bumpers.

Inspect for flood damage: See the url below

Check the online history with carfax or others, but see the link below for cuations about this.

Mechanical:

1-Know how to peform a proper test drive and what to look for during, this doesn't include a spin around the block either. A proper road test should include 25 miles of driving, cold and hot, along with different road surfaces as well.

2-Pay attention to how the transmission shifts, cold and hot. Also pay attention to any delayed engagement from Park to drive or from Park to Reverse.

3-Inspect for smoke coming from the exhaust, once again cold and hot.

4-Listen for any howling noises or high pitch humming sounds while driving at different speeds, especially high way speeds, any such noises may indicate a differntial problem which can be very expensive to repair. These type of noises will occur at steady speeds, or when you let off the accelerator in a costing mode.

5-Look inside the oil cap if you can and see if you see any oil sludge or caked up oil.

6-Look at the cooling system as well, remove the radiator cap (COLD ENGINE ONLY) and look to see if the water is rusted or brownish looking which would indicate possible serious issues.

7-Lastly, call the manufactuer and ask them to give you the "Warranty History" on the vehicle. They may or may not give you details on what repairs were done, but they may tell you how many were performed and if the vehicle has excessive repairs. (Your local delaership can also do this as well) They can also check for any open recalls or campaigns.

These steps may not protect you 100%, but if you follow them it will at least offer some extra protection.

Jerry Christopher
http://www.usedcarwise.com

Answer 7

The more miles on the car, the more wear on the engine, parts and so on. You want something with lower mileage so the car in the hope the vehicle has not seen too much time on the road. It means less repairs in the long run. Good question!!

Answer 8

The more miles it has the more damage is likely to have occured or haven't occured yet, but it pending. So mileage is a very big factor when buying a car.

Answer 9

There are SOME great used cheap cars out there. It's just about taking the time to look to find one you like.