What Is Good Mileage for a Used Car? (2024)

FAQs

What Is Good Mileage for a Used Car? ›

As a general rule, you should assume that the average car owner puts 12,000 miles on a car each year. To determine whether a car has reasonable mileage, you can simply multiply 12,000 by its age. That means good mileage for a car that's 5 years old is 60,000.

There's no rule to how many miles on a used car is too much, but by attempting to stick to the 12,000 miles per year rule is a great place to start. Find out how old the car is, multiple the number of years by 12,000, and if the number on the odometer is significantly higher than that, some concern might be warranted.

This is the average fuel economy the car gets in city driving conditions. If you do a lot of city driving, you'll want to look for a car that gets good city mpg as well as highway mpg. A car that gets at least 25 mpg in the city is considered good gas mileage.

Traditional wisdom used to warn car buyers to keep away from vehicles with over 100,000 miles. Put simply, though, the 100,000 mile-marker is no longer a good indicator for buying used. If a vehicle has been properly maintained, it can last several hundred thousand miles.

If you would like to drive your next used car for five years, for example, you'll want to find a car that has at least another 75,000 miles of expected life ahead of it. With that in mind, a good mileage range for a used car would be between 75,000 and 100,000 miles, since many cars last beyond the 150,000-mile point.

On average, a car should have around 10,000 miles per year. So, for an easy way to calculate how many miles on a used car is too much, just multiply its age by 10,000. For example, a five-year-old car would ideally have 50,000 miles or less on its odometer.

How many miles does a car last? A conventional car can last for 200,000 miles. Some well-maintained car models will reach 300,000 or more miles total.

Still, mechanics typically use the phrase 'high mileage' when a car has 100,000 miles or more on the odometer. That sort of mileage can put a lot of owners off and many cars don't come with warranty cover for more than 100,000 miles.

Is it worth keeping a car with 200k miles? ›

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.

Service History - If a car has made it to 100k miles, you can expect that it will have a lengthy service history. That is a LOT of data to ultimately help you decide if it's been a reliable car. A well-maintained car with 100k miles and no major issues is a great sign that it's reliable for another 100k.

A car with 50,000 miles in good condition will provide years of adventures if taken in for regular maintenance visits. But if you find a well-maintained car with 100,000 miles, it may last another four or five years with proper care – and you'll probably get a great deal on the price.

We suggest you consider a 4- to 6-year-old vehicle with less than 50,000 miles. But it's essential to consider how an owner drove the car, whether city, highway, or a mix of miles, and how well the driver cared for the car. It is also important to be wary of used cars with unusually low mileage.

If it has more than that, the vehicle may have incurred too much wear and tear. That means, then, that a used car that is four years old should ideally have no more than 48,000 to 60,000 miles on it.

Finding a four-year-old car with 50,000 miles on it can be a great deal, as it means that the driver used it a little less than average, and it could have more life left in it. However, you should be a bit wary of vehicles that are a decade old with only 50,000 miles to show for it.

In general, most modern cars can cross 200,000 miles without any major issues, provided the vehicle is being well-maintained. Considering that an average person drives 10,000-20,000 miles per year, this will account for roughly 15 years of service. Here are some factors to consider when assessing used car mileage.

So, what is considered high mileage for a used car that is five years old? It should have no more than 60,000 to 75,000 miles on the odometer. If it has more than that, the car has likely gone through a lot of wear and tear in a short amount of time, and may not last much longer without needing serious repairs.

So, a car that is five years old would have about 75,000 miles to be considered “average.” Anything significantly more, and a car is considered to be “high mileage.” Anything significantly less, and it's a “low mileage” car.