What does “low miles” mean to you?

[Elkins45]

I think we would all agree that a car with only 3000 miles is “low mileage” regardless of year, but what does that term mean to you when dealing with older cars with more use? Do you usually think of it in relative terms (low mileage given the year) or is it an absolute thing where once a car passes X miles it’s no longer low mileage?

Speaking for myself I remember when my dad’s 1967 Impala passed 100k he went out shopping for a new car because he figured that one was close to worn out. Now if a car doesn’t make it well beyond 150k I consider it a poor example that died early. Still, I see used car listings every day with >100k miles advertised as “low mileage” and that seems wrong to me. Even if there's a good chance that 2014 Camry with 141k miles could make it to 400k I still can’t bring myself to consider it a low mileage vehicle.

How would you define the term?

 

[nomas]

To me ...under 50k .

 

[carviewsonic]

60,000 miles or less, for 6 years old or older is my own definition of low miles.

 

[TheOilWizard]

I think mileage is relative to the vehicle's age. A 10 year old vehicle with 75k miles would be considered "low mileage", but a 3 year old vehicle with 75k miles would not. This is only my opinion.

 

[atikovi]

Under 10,000 miles a year for the first 10 years. After that its on a case by case basis. A 2005 Accord with 150K is low mileage, but not a Jaguar.

 

[Tdbo]

I'd call an average 7.5K/year low mileage.
Between 7.5K and 15K/year, I would consider average.

 

[Passport1]

35K miles or < two divorces.

 

[dubber09]

I think mileage is relative to the vehicle's age. A 10 year old vehicle with 75k miles would be considered "low mileage", but a 3 year old vehicle with 75k miles would not. This is only my opinion.

That would be low miles for it's age, not low mileage.

 

[burbguy82]

6k per year (x) years in service would be low to me. But miles are really not an indicator of life left in a system.

 

[bullwinkle]

Service history is the determining factor-it’s possible to abuse a vehicle hard enough in 35K to kill it, while the 170K+ maintained Corolla in my sig has plenty of life left.

 

[BHopkins]

We often hear that average annual mileage for a car is 12k - 15k. But if I was shopping for a car, I really would only consider a car with 8k miles or less per year as the sort of low mileage that would make me feel it is better than another car of similar age.

But I am in agreement with others above. To me, low mileage is only a benefit if everything else is reasonably equal. Driving style, regular service, clean interior and exterior. All those things speak heaps about how long a car can be expected to last. I would take a higher mileage car that has been well cared for, over a super low mileage car that has just been driven.

 

[Nessism1]

When selling my 2006 Nissan Sentra, with about 100k miles a few years ago, the buyer was really excited because they said the car was "low mileage". Perception is everything, I suppose.

 

[350Rocket]

Under 200k on a GMT800 truck that's around 20 years old.

 

[eljefino]

Whomever buys your used car is going to think the mileage isn't that bad for the year and the price.

It's a listing mistake to write that your car has "high miles". Just use a number, round it to the nearest thousand. Less effort!

Low mileage also to me means low mileage for the car. A 2005 Prius with under 200k is a gem, most of those were driven daily all over the place. An RV needs to have less than 30k for me to consider it low mileage. So many of them, regardless of age, seem to have 47k, LOL.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

nothing

 

[Tdbo]

Something else that needs to be factored in the discussion is how the miles were put on.
For instance, I would rather have a vehicle with 75K highway miles, than I would a 30K car that never left the city.

 

[slo town]

35K miles or < two divorces.

Hilarious!

 

[Patman]

It depends on the type of car too. For instance, I saw a for sale ad today that said that a 2019 Corvette Z06 with 12,000 miles was "extra low mileage" but yet in the Corvette world that would not be considered as such. Extra low mileage on that year of Corvette would be more like 5000 miles or less. But if that was a regular passenger car, it would be considered extra low mileage.

 

[andreigbs]

1+ on the city vs open road mileage.

A vehicle doing the urban crawl in Atlanta, LA, or Chicago might have "very low miles" but the wear caused by stop/go/stop/go and potholes left and right is going to be much worse than a vehicle doing a highway commute at steady speed most of the time.

If there is an hour meter available, I'd look at the total engine hours more than just mileage. Also, you can tell when a car has been used and maintained by someone who cares or when it's been used and neglected; everything from smudges to crumbs to smells to rips and tears, dents and everything in between. Those are all red flags for me.

 

[brages]

150k or less

I have four vehicles, 235k to 310k on them