As a general rule, most cars over 300,000 kilometres aren't worth your time unless you have experience working on vehicles yourself and the price is tempting enough.
If you find a car with more than 200,000 km on it, don't be too concerned. A vehicle that has gotten regular oil changes, tire rotations, tune-ups, and a little high-mileage maintenance, should still have some life left in it. Well-built trucks and large SUVs should last longer than other vehicles overall.
Generally, the fewer kms a car has driven, the better. But a used car that has higher kms can be a great buy if it has been maintained properly and driven sensibly. Like people, cars need tune-ups and checkups to stay high performance.
Whether a used car is considered high mileage or not depends largely on the year to mileage ratio. Take a five-year-old used vehicle with 100,000 kilometers (or just over 62,000 miles). That works out to 20,000 km per year on average, so not too bad.
Mileage will vary between vehicles, but a decent rule of thumb to follow is that people drive an average of about 12,000 miles a year. Therefore, 120,000 miles would be a good mileage for a used car that's about 10 years old. Determining good mileage for a used car will require a bit of math.
In retaining “like new” quality and inheriting a slower depreciation rate, the best used car age for buying is 2-3 years. In fact, Americans are saving up to $14,000 on a 3-year-old vehicle. For example, a car that may have cost you $30,000 when new would cost around $16,000 after just 3 years.
An average car is believed to last quite smoothly until it covers around 3,00,000 km – 3,50,000 km.
As a general rule, most vehicles begin to seriously degrade at around 150,000 miles. It is considered rare, and therefore outstanding longevity, if a car reaches 200,000 miles on the road. That said, there's more to identifying good versus bad mileage on a used car than just the odometer reading.
Ultimately, car age and mileage both matter when buying a used car. They both affect the vehicle's depreciation rate and they are both interlinked – mileage is taken as being high or low based on a car's age and the older the car, the more miles it's likely to have driven.
It's always worthwhile to assess the service record of any used car, and if it hasn't been consistent, then it could be cause for trouble. Most cars around the 200,000-kilometre mark and above with a reliable service history should be an excellent purchase if the price is right.
Longest-Lasting Cars: Toyota's Land Cruiser Easily Wins the Top Spot. To earn a spot on the Longest Last Cars list at least 2.5 percent of a vehicle must reach 200,000 miles.
A conventional car can last for 200,000 miles. Some well-maintained car models will reach 300,000 or more miles total. The average passenger car age is currently around 12 years in the United States. Choosing a well-built make and model can help extend your car's longevity.
January is the best month to buy a used car, according to a study from car search engine and automotive research firm iSeeCars. For those hunting for a good deal, late fall and early winter are the best times to buy a used car, while late spring and early summer are the worst times.
When buying a used car that's 10-years-old or older, your primary concerns are purchase price and reliability. Don't pay more than that 10-year-old car is worth. And, pick a car with a solid reputation for dependability. No car is really too old if you follow those rules.
Toyota vehicles have exceptional longevity and some of the most reliable engines in the industry. This is due to the company's meticulous approach to design and production. The quality management systems ensure any defects are detected and eliminated before the vehicle is sold to the customer.
The report found that Lexus and Toyota make the most reliable cars, while Jeep and Mercedes-Benz make the ones you can depend on least. But those rankings reflect an average of all the cars each manufacturer builds. There can still be variation within any one brand.
High Mileage Used Cars Can Be a Great Choice for Your Budget
If you're looking at used cars, know that cars with high mileage can still be dependable. A lot of times these cars are in great working condition from reliable manufacturers and may need a few parts replaced or scheduled maintenance.
Cars that have between 150,000 and 200,000 (and more) kilometres are considered high mileage vehicles.
Even when mileage is low, the older a car gets, the less reliable it becomes. Modern cars are much more reliable, even as they age. Five-year-old cars record what is considered a major problem every three years, while 10-year-old cars are more likely to face a problem every 18 to 20 months.
Mileage is generally a better indicator of the car's condition than its age because while time does take a toll on a vehicle, it is the wear and tear of use that causes the most damage.