What "Value" on mileage

[wadh0070]

I've had a search and can't find any views on what value you might ascribe to mileage.

Now, I know that there are many variables that affect the value of a car (FSH, condition, what someone else will pay etc.) but if there were two identical cars how much difference might mileage (and mileage alone, which includes the wear that you would get on parts that don't get replaced) make to value.

To try and quantify, what about a 1999 S50. If we say a standard 60,000 miler in decent condition is worth £13,500, what might a low mileage (40,000) or higher/high mileage (80,000/100,000) fetch?

Cheers,

Jez

[UJM3]

I would say, going by what cars are advertised at , dunno what they sell for as..

1999

60k 13500
70k 13000
80k 12750
90k 12000
100k 11000 - 11500
100k+ 10,000 - 10,500

40k i would say 15000 - 15500

[Trundler]

When i had my insurance payout offer, the ins. co. used an increment of £50 per 1000 miles to either add or take value away from cars they are assessing, when compared to average miles.

Mine had 81k on the clock when it died, which was above the apparent 73.5k average, and so the offer was reduced accordingly.

[Rags]

hmmmm, surely average mileage per year is 12k.

Your car was therefore well below average.

Anyway, mileage in reality is a load of bollox.

Example, you may have a mint car, ie. amazing paint, well maintained, garaged its whole life, meticulous owner but with 100kmiles.

Or you may have a slightly rougher 40kmile car that sits on a street, covered in tree sap, owner who doesnt really understand the merits of car maintenance and gets it serviced by still rags the car from cold and such like - he may then 'valet' the car in preparation for the sale, but the car is still not as pampered as the above.

I know which car I would buy.

[Trundler]

regardless of the guy's offer and the maths behind it, it was rejected!!
:thumbsup:

[MGR]

When i had my insurance payout offer, the ins. co. used an increment of £50 per 1000 miles to either add or take value away from cars they are assessing, when compared to average miles.
.



All other things being equal then this seems a reasonable sort of figure £500 per 10K - however for me there is more to it in terms of the actual milleage - eg the difference between a 10k and 20k car would maybe be more than a 90k and 100k car.

also depends what is considered average milleage.

I think going on what things are advertised for is a start point but only a start point. the condition of the car can vary massively and things like location also make a difference - i.e. a car in the north of scotland doesnt have the same market as one in central london purely because there are less people willing to travel there to view the car.

I generally agree with what Rags said above. My car now has 10k miles more than when i bought it but the condition the car is in is massively improved - both mechanically and visually as I have spent a lot of time and money getting the car in excellent condition. I would pay more for my car now with 60K on it than I would have done when I bought it with 50K on it and would be right to do so !

but this is not answering the original question......

[ron burgandy]

the first thing anybody asks when looking at a car is "how many miles has it done"?
its a little naive to completeley ignore its mileage, a car is worth with less miles is always going to be worth more than one with shitloads, barring the exception.

i think its a comprise in finding a car with average miles and good condition then a car with 100k+ in excellant condition, or a bad car with 40k+ miles on it.

[h4pry]

Agree with MGR.

Point is, it is far more important to get a car that has been garaged / well maintained rather than attempting to find a low miler. Granted low mileage cars certainly increase your chances of less mechanical headaches to worry about.

However I for one would much prefer to have a higher miler that has had oil changes every 3k with decent oil. My car has just turned 72k and the engine runs so amazingly smooth, I fail to see how a less mileage example could possibly be any better.

[steveH]

Genuine enthusiast owned,well maintained, fullBMWSH, blah, blah low milers no matter what model will command decent premium over average car. That is why it pays to buy the best one can afford and improve it during your stewardship.
what value to put on just mileage is very difficult but suggest the £500.00 per 10k miles mentioned above is 'buyers' guide whereas 'seller' will be looking at more like £1000.00 per 10k.IMO.
similarly to miles the reg. date can make £400.00 difference between half-years!!!

[chopper]

Why are people so paranoid about miles?

Barring the MC, my last few 'practical' cars have always been high milaege ex-company cars that have had an easy life cruising motorways and having every little niggle paid for because it's a company car paid for by a company rather than a personal pocket.

Ok, this is boring but my current 'practical' car is a Citreon C5 estate that I picked up 2 years old with 114k on the clock, after 3 years ownership it's now done 160k and all I have needed to get through an MOT is a number plate bulb or something trivial. Girlfriends low milaege punto has needed head gasket, engine management system and clutch (maybe that's just because fiats are crap?)

Like said earlier, condition, history, previous owners etc should be more important. Day to day use, longer journeys etc probably do good rather than bad.

Must admit, I do try and keep the miles down on the MC, got 92k on the clock now, everyone seems paranoid about the 100k creeping up. It's a shame.

[wadh0070]

Thanks for the responses. I do agree that an enthusiast-owned garaged car has more value than one left on the street but (as MGR noted) that wasn't the point of my question. I've now looked at a couple of cars and have a couple more that I am going to try and visit in the coming week or so (work permitting). But there is such a huge spread of mileage out there, that I wanted to try and gauge what baseline price I should be thinking about, before then amending for condition / condition / condition / condition / service record etc.

Of course the trade off between regular use (keeps things moving freely) and low-mileage (irregular use or short journeys) is one that is really difficult to judge. Particularly for owners earlier than the one you are buying from!

Anyway, thanks again.

Jez

[ian]

These cars are tough and reliable, if well maintained and used with mechanical sympathy.

Mileage covered is not important if the car is "up together". Many commercial aircraft are very old by our standards. They are generally well maintained and reliable. Being "kept hot" for most of their life helps a lot.

What is important is how the car has been used. Lots of short journeys (that may be reflected by "low mileage") will do harm, especially if revved high. This will cause vanos, camshaft and other engine issues. Other parts of the car (exhaust system, gearbox, diff, electrics etc) will likely be "better" on a high mileage car. This car will be regularly warmed through. Look at the rust build up on the discs of any car that has been left standing for a couple of days.

The key issue is not mileage but how a car has been used. Unfortunately, the only objective measure is the mileage indicator - its the subjective indicator that is really important when assessing a potential purchase.