What is mileage?

Question

I am very undereducated when it comes to the car and mileage thing. . what is mileage? And I heard when a car has a certain amount of miles on it you have to get it checked or something, and when it comes to buying cars, what do you look for, low miles or high miles?

Answer 1

It’s simply the number of miles the car has been driven. If you look in the owner’s manual (the most under read book ever) it’ll will tell you what needs to be done and when.

Don’t confuse mileage with gas mileage. Gas mileage is just the number of miles you can drive on a gallon of gas.

Some things, like oil changes need to done every so many miles or every so many months. Oil changes vary depending on the type of driving you do, if you are most like most people you will fall under severe driving conditions. That would include short trips, stop and goes, city driving. That type of driving is hardest on the car.

When I buy a car I tend to look for lower mileage. BUT you need to look at the car as a whole, not just mileage. If the car looks bad on the outside, chances are its bad mechanically too. It’s one of the reason dealerships detail the cars that go out on their lot.

Now, before you go out shopping you’ll need to find someone to check the car out, you can go here

http://www.cartalk.com/content/mechx/find.html

and get a list of mechanics in your area that other people say they’ve had good dealing with, check out the shop and talk to the owners and ask what they would charge to check out a used car for you.

If you don’t feel comfortable for any reason the shop, it’s not clean enough for you or you just don’t like the owner, anything go to a different shop.

Now once you find a car let the dealer know you’re going to have your mechanic check it out. Yes it’ll cost a little bit, but it’ll be money well spent.

When I buy a car I look at how much I have to spend say 5,000 I’d look for a car that cost 4,000 to 4,500 and keep 500 in reserve for repairs. If you don’t use it great, but it’s nice to have it when something breaks.

Also set a budget on what you can afford to pay for a car, and don’t let the salesman talk you into more car then you can afford.

Personally, I don’t like loans that a longer then four years for a new car or more then three years for a used car.

Hoped it helped.

Answer 2

You're kidding, aren't you? No?

Mileage is the distance between point A and point B. Every vehicle has an odometer which measures that mileage, and it accumulates on the meter so you can see how far the vehicle has been driven. This comes in handy for maintenance, if you are supposed to change the oil every 5,000 miles for example, you would make a note when you change it, add 5000 to that figure, and know when the mileage reached that point it would be time to change it again.

Most new cars come with a maintenance schedule, some even have a light that tells you when it's time for maintenance. Again, that is based on miles and will be outlined in your book when you buy a new car.

As to used cars, the average life span of a vehicle is about 10 years, but mileage plays a part. The more miles on the vehicle, the more wear there is on the engine and the greater the chance it will need repair in the near future.

The lower miles would be more desirable of course, you can expect to see around 120,000 miles on a ten year old vehicle, average. (Figure 1,000 miles a month, 12,000 a year).

Since used cars are sold as is for the most part, once you find a vehicle you are interested in, the best thing you can do is have your mechanic check it over for you. Spending a bit to do that before the sale can save you a lot after the sale.

Answer 3

Mileage is the amount of miles the car has traveled. You can see the mileage number on a meter in the cars dashboard. When buying a car you should always look for cars with low miles, this means the car is probably new, the more miles the more likely the car doesn't perform as well or will run into problems, and the less you will be able to use the car (the less miles the car has the longer the car's life will probably last) . The reason you have to get your car checked when it has a certain amount of miles is because when a car has traveled many miles, it may not perform as well or may have been exposed to certain things. You should get your oil changed every 3,000 miles and get your car checked every six months, this way any small problem detected early can be fixed before it gets bigger.

Also don't get confused between mileage and MPG (miles per gallon) MPG means the amount of miles a car travels on a gallon. You want a car with high MPG because this means that the car is fuel efficient meaning that it travels many miles with little gas, a car with low MPG will cost you alot of money in gas.

Answer 4

Always look for low mileage when buying a car. Mileage is the actual distance covered by the car in miles.

Certain things need checking on a car after a certain number of miles have been done (this gives some indication of the wear and tear on parts) For instance, I have just had a new cam belt fitted to my car as it had done just over 40,000 miles and thats the recommended replacement time.

Answer 5

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RE:
What is mileage?
I am very undereducated when it comes to the car and mileage thing. . what is mileage? And I heard when a car has a certain amount of miles on it you have to get it checked or something, and when it comes to buying cars, what do you look for, low miles or high miles?

Answer 6

Mileage is how far the car has driven. When buying a car you want to get as low a mileage as possible, but the more mileage it has done the cheaper the car will be.

Answer 7

Hey nice avatar!

Mileage is how far a car has travelled. In other words how many miles it has done.
When you buy a car, you should look for low miles coz that means the car is in good condition and is less likely to breakdown. Low miles on a car means More on the price tag!

Answer 8

What Is Mileage

Answer 9

Mileage can refer to two things: the number of miles the car will travel on a gallon of fuel (for city and for highway travel), or the miles shown on the odometer (usually combined with the speedometer in the dashboard).

Figure out the car's age in years (to one decimal place), bearing in mind that a 2004 car, for example, was probably first sold in late 2003, and divide that into the number of miles on the odometer, and you have the number of miles per year (average) that the car has been driven.

You always look for low odometer mileage, of course, with the upper limit being about 15,000 miles per year. Many things need to be checked when buying a used car, and it is best to take your choice to an independent mechanic whom you trust, to give it a thorough inspection.

Answer 10

Mileage is simply the average fuel consumption per distance traveled. Meaning that a certain vehicle will get approximately 20 mpg(miles per gallon). It takes about 1 gallon of fuel to travel 20 miles. Obviously this varies a lot and has a lot of determining factors, such as terrain, engine, and even tire pressure. Anything above 20 is pretty good.