I’m buying a car and there are some decent one so I’m finding in my budget but the mileage is high? - the cars have good service history and little advisories after MOT but the high mileage.
Thanks in advance for any answers
?
Yes. It is a VERY BIG factor.
RAGHAVENDRAN
It is a very important factor. 🤘
Kherova
You are right that it isn't that simple; that a high mileage car is worse than a low mileage one. If you have a high mileage car who's owner is a cautious driver who does all the preventative maintenance on time, and another with low miles driven by a crazy teen, you probably want the high mileage one. So do take maintenance and owner profile into consideration. Model of car matters too, as some age better than others.
You can't just ignore mileage though. Parts wear down over time. As cars climb higher in miles, the amount of things that all begin to wear out increase. When a car is newer, a part might go bad and you replace it. Older cars, you can often see many things starting to fail all nearly the same time (just because they are all starting to reach their natural failure point). That is the risk you run; having just fixed something, and having to turn right around and fix something else, and so on.
oldprof
Here's the science. All mechanical systems, like a car, have an expected failure rate called the mean time between failures (MTBF).
The quality cars that are typically high-priced ones (but not always) will have longer MTBFs than the cheaper ones. And those quality cars will sell on resale at a higher cost because they are expected to last longer than the cheap ones.
My point is this...high mileage on a quality car is less of an issue than high mileage on a cheap car. But even so, high mileage should not be ignored, it is a factor to consider for both quality and cheap cars.
Were I you, I'd get a Consumers Report and see what they say about the cars you are looking at. CR is pretty good at assessing used cars.
?
Mileage is certainly a big factor but the actual condition of the car is more important, regardless of mileage. A low mileage car that has been driven hard, poorly maintained, and possibly wrecked and poorly repaired is a poor purchase choice. In contrast, a high mileage car in great condition that has been well cared for and never been wrecked can be much better buy.
So how do you know which cars are in the best condition? Unless you are a mechanic, you should get a qualified mechanic to inspect any used car you think you want to buy -- regardless of mileage. Mileage alone is simply not enough.