What Is A Good Mileage On A Used Car

What is a good mileage on a used car? Since Earnhardt Auto is home to many low mileage good used cars for sale, we thought we’d try to answer that question. Let’s talk about how you can assess used car mileage and what else you need to look for.

How To Recognize Average Used Car Mileage

To determine the optimal mileage for any given vehicle, divide the age by the number of years. Basically you are comparing how many miles are on the vehicle versus how old it is.

• If it is ten years old, it could have 250,000 miles on it. That means that it was driven 25,000 miles per year on average. That’s very heavy use.
• The same model with 200,000 miles on it has been driven about 20,000 miles per year. Still very high usage for its age.
• The mileage is only 150,000 miles. Now we’re talking average. If a person drives about 15,000 miles per year, that is considered on the high end of average mileage.
• The mileage is 120,000 miles. That means the owner or owners have driven it only 12,000 miles per year. That’s about as good as one can expect.
• If the mileage is 100,000 miles, that’s below average. It’s only 10,000 miles per year. In most cases this is optimal, but you still need to consider other factors.

Does Low Mileage Always Indicate a Good Buy?

Low mileage indicates a good buy if there has only been one owner. Why was it driven less? It may mean that it wasn’t a commuter car and was only reserved for long trips. It may have been a commuter, but it was never driven out of town. Either way, there’s some indication that it was driven more carefully and probably well maintained.

However, there’s a chance that low mileage may mean that over ten years, there were times when no one drove the vehicle. Perhaps it was between owners, sitting in a lot waiting to sell. What does that mean? Well, it could mean that the vehicle had problems and kept being sold off.

What is the best mileage per year for a used car?

You want to aim for a vehicle with 12,000 a year average mileage, but this isn’t the final say. You should look at maintenance records and the number of owners to determine whether it is a good buy or not. You may find yourself favoring a higher mileage car if you have proof that maintenance was done regularly.

How do you evaluate used car mileage?

When you are looking at similar cars with different mileage, you need to evaluate whether the low mileage car is actually best. To do that, consider these things. Where people drive, the city or highway, is a factor. How people drive is another factor. This brings up how many owners have had the vehicle. Finally, how well the car is maintained is yet another factor. Let’s look at some examples.

• A single owner has a car for four years. In that time, he was on the highway for 60,000 miles as he travelled for his job. There’s a good record of maintenance on the vehicle.
• A single owner has the same model but mileage is average at 48,000. Yet they haven’t kept good records about maintenance.
• A rental car company used the same model for 40,000 miles. It was driven by countless people. The maintenance record is good.

You can see how the different factors level the playing field. All three cars can be equally good by different measures. It comes down to which one do you trust? You may decide the first one with one owner and lots of maintenance is better despite higher car mileage.

What is the average age of today’s old cars?

The average age of an old car today is around 12 years old. As such, the mileage will be 144,000 miles or higher. There are instances where models make it to 200,000 or 250,000 or even 300,000. Thus you want to look at how long the car is predicted to last.

• If buying a car with 50,000 miles, then you would expect another 90,000 miles.
• A car with 100,000 miles, you can expect 40,000 miles or more.
• A well-maintained car with a reputation for long road life may last well past 200,000, and therefore is a good buy even at 150,000 miles.

How should a used car be tested and reconditioned?

Every vehicle should be thoroughly checked by a mechanic before sale. This includes inspecting the brakes, engine, suspension, electrical systems, and much more . At Earnhardt Auto, our 23 dealerships have excellent service departments with well-trained service technicians. We consider it our duty to test and recondition the used vehicles that we sell. Like a good used car shopper, we too look at maintenance records to decide how much a vehicle is worth.

Now that you know more, take a look at our online inventory, including these lower mileage older cars. If you like what you see, act fast. Good deals have a way of driving off the lot. Call or come by the dealership to learn more about the car or cars you like best.