Selling Cars

Normal Mileages for Cars of Different Ages

Here's a common question: “what should I expect the mileage of a used car to be?"

It's something that seems to confuse used car buyers and sellers alike. Yet mileage is a massive factor in determining how much you can sell your car for.

After all, every time a car goes on the road it suffers wear and tear to the engine parts, the chassis etc. So every mile represents a little more shaved off the durability of the vehicle.

Warrants a look...

Manufacturers usually use an industry standard average of 12,000 miles per year when settings warranties. The thing is – particularly in today's commuter society – that's often a little low. Particularly for larger cars used in company fleets.

Realistically, an average figure might be closer to 15,000 per year. But is that the case for all types of car, regardless of make, size and model? For example, if a small car has been doing 15,000 miles per year, it may have been put under greater stress than a larger car more suited to long journeys.

Size surprises...

A report by Glass's a couple of years back checked out 200,000 used cars and found that their mileage figure varied wildly according to size.

In fact, smaller cars (such as Clios, small Peugeots etc.) were closer to an average of 8,500 miles a year. Which means if you find a small car with around 15,000 yearly miles on the clock, it's probably worth avoiding!

Slightly larger cars like the Astra covered an average of 11,200 miles per year, while the highest annual mileage belonged – predictably – to cars commonly used for company fleets, such as the Avensis. These clocked up an average of around 16,000 miles p/a.

Large and luxury cars typically did less mileage than the workhorse company models. However, another thing to note is that the mileage was often much lower for the first year or two since purchase, then a lot more as it reached 2-3 years old.

There was also a big difference between petrol and diesel engines – with diesel engines covering many more annual miles. We suspect that this might have changed somewhat in the last 18 months as diesel matched and exceeded petrol prices.

The upshot to all this – there's more to mileage than meets the eye. Having an idea of what averages to expect for particular car sizes can help you make a better buying decision. Check the size, the general condition and the service history alongside the mileage to get a better idea of the car's value.

And if you see a five year old small car that's done 60,000 miles - avoid!