Mileage V Age which would you value?
Discussion
More idle musing than I’m rushing off to buy. But all things being equal what would the collective opinion be on these two cars. Both the same model, and engine, both being sold by reputable dealers.
Car 1 - £7300 2017/17. 101,000 miles ex lease car with a full service history. Very good spec with everything I’d want on a car. At a franchise dealer of another manufacturer.
Car 2 - £8500 2014/64. 36,500 miles one previous owner, full service history. Only loses heated seats over the newer car but everything else is right. Being sold by a main dealer. Oh and £30 VED versus £150 on the newer car.
I’ve deliberately left out what the car is as I don’t need suggestions for alternatives or anyone to validate/criticise what I like. I’m just curious to know if people place more value on the age or mileages covered
Car 1 - £7300 2017/17. 101,000 miles ex lease car with a full service history. Very good spec with everything I’d want on a car. At a franchise dealer of another manufacturer.
Car 2 - £8500 2014/64. 36,500 miles one previous owner, full service history. Only loses heated seats over the newer car but everything else is right. Being sold by a main dealer. Oh and £30 VED versus £150 on the newer car.
I’ve deliberately left out what the car is as I don’t need suggestions for alternatives or anyone to validate/criticise what I like. I’m just curious to know if people place more value on the age or mileages covered
All things being equal, and rust not really a factor these days, I’d go for the (much) lower mileage car.
In your example, one of the cars has travelled 1/3 of the distance, so should have much more life in it.
If you run it for a few years, you’ll still have a low mileage example and will get a better resale value.
It does kind of depend on the engine though.
The low mileage one has done ~5k a year, which is fine for some, but lots of stop start round town Diesel engines might struggle(?).
The other has most likely gone up and down a motorway.
In your example, one of the cars has travelled 1/3 of the distance, so should have much more life in it.
If you run it for a few years, you’ll still have a low mileage example and will get a better resale value.
It does kind of depend on the engine though.
The low mileage one has done ~5k a year, which is fine for some, but lots of stop start round town Diesel engines might struggle(?).
The other has most likely gone up and down a motorway.
Probably should have said that they’re both diesels.
I’d add 15-20k a year to anything I bought so should avoid blocked dpf issues I guess it depends how the clutch has been looked after on the low mileage one too.
My current shed seems to have coped with a lot of miles under the bonnet the things I’ve had to spend money on have been worn out suspension components which seem age not mileage related
I’d add 15-20k a year to anything I bought so should avoid blocked dpf issues I guess it depends how the clutch has been looked after on the low mileage one too.
My current shed seems to have coped with a lot of miles under the bonnet the things I’ve had to spend money on have been worn out suspension components which seem age not mileage related
I'd go for whatever car is best condition
I previously owned an ex company car.
Had 105k miles when I bought it at 4 years old.
Was fully maintained by the company by a main dealer and including always use of premium tyres etc etc.
Mechanically it was perfect and sitting on the motorway for hours on end meant it didn't get the stupid bumps and dings a town car may have had.
But you need to inspect each car on its own merjts.
Mileage to me doesn't matter it is overall condition and how it drives etc.
I previously owned an ex company car.
Had 105k miles when I bought it at 4 years old.
Was fully maintained by the company by a main dealer and including always use of premium tyres etc etc.
Mechanically it was perfect and sitting on the motorway for hours on end meant it didn't get the stupid bumps and dings a town car may have had.
But you need to inspect each car on its own merjts.
Mileage to me doesn't matter it is overall condition and how it drives etc.
ZX10R NIN said:
Is the 2014 car ULEZ compliant if it is buy that if not look for something else with mileage in between the two.
Does the whole ULEZ thing make a huge difference if you don’t live in London or travel to a ULEZ zone? I see it mentioned in adverts but have genuinely no clue how it might affect someone living in the north east who commutes via the A1MSalmonofdoubt said:
Does the whole ULEZ thing make a huge difference if you don’t live in London or travel to a ULEZ zone? I see it mentioned in adverts but have genuinely no clue how it might affect someone living in the north east who commutes via the A1M
It's about how long you plan on keeping the car, with councils all over England looking to bring in their own ULEZ areas so buying a compliant car makes sense as you'll be able to keep it longer & it'll be worth more than a non compliant car.duncs said:
Depends on how long you are intending to keep the car - if you are adding 15-20K pa to the higher mileage one then it won't be long before the mileage really hits the value hard.
This.Car 1 might be on 160k miles in 3 years.
Car 2 will be ~90k.
Resale on Car 1 will be poor.
ZX10R NIN said:
It's about how long you plan on keeping the car, with councils all over England looking to bring in their own ULEZ areas so buying a compliant car makes sense as you'll be able to keep it longer & it'll be worth more than a non compliant car.
That makes a lot of sense. I think if I do buy a sensible car that’s more than shed money it would be to last me a good few years. Potentially long enough that resale wouldn’t really matter. Though it becoming obsolete would be a pain320d is all you need said:
I'd go for whatever car is best condition
I previously owned an ex company car.
Had 105k miles when I bought it at 4 years old.
Was fully maintained by the company by a main dealer and including always use of premium tyres etc etc.
Mechanically it was perfect and sitting on the motorway for hours on end meant it didn't get the stupid bumps and dings a town car may have had.
But you need to inspect each car on its own merjts.
Mileage to me doesn't matter it is overall condition and how it drives etc.
Previous tyres being premium adds nothing. You have no idea that the high mileage was motorway based. Mechanically perfect is impossible to determine without a teardown.
I previously owned an ex company car.
Had 105k miles when I bought it at 4 years old.
Was fully maintained by the company by a main dealer and including always use of premium tyres etc etc.
Mechanically it was perfect and sitting on the motorway for hours on end meant it didn't get the stupid bumps and dings a town car may have had.
But you need to inspect each car on its own merjts.
Mileage to me doesn't matter it is overall condition and how it drives etc.
Previous tyres being premium adds nothing. You have no idea that the high mileage was motorway based. Mechanically perfect is impossible to determine without a teardown.
You may be right but I fully inspected it.
All suspension bushes were in excellent condition. The dampers had no leaks or misting. Even the bump stops were in good condition.
Engine ran well and had no fault codes present and pulled smoothly, cleanly and returned the expected economy
All of the interior functions worked. The leather was unmarked.
Any servicing was carried out at main dealers. It had anything it needed - dpf sensors etc.
It could have genuinely been a 40k car on the condition.
Also the owner commuted 5 days a week from Bournemouth to Oxford. So pretty sure a vast majority of it's mileage was on the motorway in my particular case
Generally a higher mileage car will be doing longer journeys which tend to be on the motorway.
Of course Taxis may be an exemption to the rule but this wasn't an Audi TT diesel. Not really a Taxi car
I always am happy to consider higher mileage cars because I look at the overall condition of the car not the numbers on the dash.
Regarding premium tyres it is a big bonus to me because generally I think rightly or wrongly if someone uses budget tyres then they probably have skimped on other areas.
All suspension bushes were in excellent condition. The dampers had no leaks or misting. Even the bump stops were in good condition.
Engine ran well and had no fault codes present and pulled smoothly, cleanly and returned the expected economy
All of the interior functions worked. The leather was unmarked.
Any servicing was carried out at main dealers. It had anything it needed - dpf sensors etc.
It could have genuinely been a 40k car on the condition.
Also the owner commuted 5 days a week from Bournemouth to Oxford. So pretty sure a vast majority of it's mileage was on the motorway in my particular case
Generally a higher mileage car will be doing longer journeys which tend to be on the motorway.
Of course Taxis may be an exemption to the rule but this wasn't an Audi TT diesel. Not really a Taxi car
I always am happy to consider higher mileage cars because I look at the overall condition of the car not the numbers on the dash.
Regarding premium tyres it is a big bonus to me because generally I think rightly or wrongly if someone uses budget tyres then they probably have skimped on other areas.
Edited by 320d is all you need on Sunday 27th December 14:13
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