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Age Versus Mileage

Frogeyepete

Frogeyepete

Well-Known Member
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South East
E51 Owner
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Location
Beckenham, Kent
First Name
Peter
Elgrand
E51
Region
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When buying a second hand car, does anyone have any thoughts about the importance of age versus mileage in determining the price? For example would a 2010 car with 50k miles be worth the same as a 2011 with 55k or 2012 with 60k etc.

Everything else being equal, the way in which a car has been maintained and looked after, there must be some things that deteriorate with age and others with usage. My E51 has been fantastic. Everyone I have spoken to has said, "if it ain't broke don't fix it". I just can't get the idea of getting a newer car out of my head. My wife says that I am like a dog with a bone.........woof!
 
A simple question but the answer isn't so simple, plenty ifs and buts.

Most of the important stuff on a car wears with mileage / useage rather than age but there are plenty age related aspects too.
 
A high motorway miles car isn't necessarily bad in comparison to a low mileage hardly warmed up stop start once a week one. I've had luck with a few high miles versions and they are cheaper. If you are just looking at a few thousand miles between them then I don't think it makes a significant difference.
 
a high mileage rep's car is generally better than a low mileage car of the same year thats done lots of short journeys, i tend to look for cars/bikes with low mileage but its not always a good thing !!!! my E51 is a 2006 with 34.000 miles on it when i got it a few months ago and it could be a bad thing but luckily its a gem :) the age of a vehicle to me is not an issue but mileage and service history is.
 
In all of the cars I've had over the years the cars with higher mileage than average generally have been the more reliable. I think the type of car makes a massive difference though. A small 'city' car with high mileage is more likely to have lived a harder life compared to large executive cars etc. I don't buy with resale in mind so more interested in general condition of the vehicle.
I'm put off by very low mileage just as much as very high mileage. Any car I've had to park up for any length of time has started to develop issues. I don't personally think it does them any good not being used.
 
its always a gamble when buying car's, im lucky being a mechanic BUT ive still got bitten !!!! the mini clubman i bought a year or so ago when i went to look at it, it drove great with no apparent issues but not long after it all went t1ts up :mad: cost me more money to fix it (the garage where just not helpful) then when it was all sorted i sold it and the new owner wrote it off !!!!!!!!! i did all the research before hand and my head said don't buy it but I thought I'd take a chance. lesson learnt :confused:
 
I think a higher mileage engine that has been thrashed up and down motorways would probably be in better condition than a lower mileage engine that had just been used to go down the shops twice a week.

Off on a tangent, but when Concorde was in service it would fly at constant full throttle when at cruising altitude, a fact which I leant from a Concorde pilot. Engines work best when they are producing power.
 
It has to be looked after for it to have high
mileage and high more than likely isn't tampered.
Tires sitting long periods, bearings sitting with two tonne on one spot, belts not moving, seal's not getting oiled, the list goes on and on
We all just use our noise and walk away if something's not quite right
 
My uninformed two penneth, age is irrelevamt compared to miles on the clock. A car's true age is shown ny whats on the clock. I accept a high mileage car has been looked after to get that high mileage, but this isn't always the case. A turd can be polished up for sale.
 
grandapanda said:
My uninformed two penneth, age is irrelevamt compared to miles on the clock. A car's true age is shown ny whats on the clock. I accept a high mileage car has been looked after to get that high mileage, but this isn't always the case. A turd can be polished up for sale.
Click to expand...
yeah but that turd will still smell :D
 
Thanks guys. I guess I was hoping for someone to put some numbers to it. Appreciate that it is almost impossible, but there you go. I can also understand that a car with high mileage that has been driven on long distance journeys is likely to be in better condition than one were it has had the choke operating for a lot of the time. My E51 had 20k miles on the clock when I bought it, and a Japanese stamped-up service history to prove it. Guess I was just lucky. It was parked in the street near my daughters house with a "For Sale" notice in the window. I was going to buy a Bongo! The gods must have been shining on me that day. Having said that, I am a devoit atheist who also believes in Karma. :)
 
Frogeyepete said:
When buying a second hand car, does anyone have any thoughts about the importance of age versus mileage in determining the price?
Click to expand...
Yeah, if you look at a model of car on AutoTrader and plot mileage against price you get a nice, straight line.

Age doesn't seem to be as much of a factor. Nor does equipment levels.

This means bargains can be had with a relatively less-old, high-mileage, well-specced and well-maintained car.

Special mention for bill-shock goes to diesels - EGR valves that'll eventually need cleaning/replacing, DPFs that'll eventually need cleaning/replacing (the regen doesn't remove the ash), turbos and associated equipment that'll be susceptible to increased wear as lines clog with deposits etc.
Frogeyepete said:
My E51 has been fantastic. Everyone I have spoken to has said, "if it ain't broke don't fix it". I just can't get the idea of getting a newer car out of my head.
Click to expand...
Get it professionally valeted and pretend to yourself that it's new 👍
 
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