Thinking of buying a car :

Skoda Octavia 1.8 tsi PETROL manual hatchback, September 2009. It has 35000 miles

Is this a lot of miles for a PETROL car of this age ? ( not even 3 years old )

The rule of thumb used to be average mileage was 1k per month, so 12k for each year....3 year old car would have an "average" mileage of 36k.

I don't know if this is still the case or not. My vRS was purchased April 2011, it reached 19k over the weekend. So 19k miles in 14 months.

As long as it has been well looked after and has a stamp in the service book, miles shouldn't really matter.

i dont think anyone could ever really say 36000 miles is high. Overall these engine should throw 200,000 out if serviced well.

The general average mileage as above is around 12-13k a year, so the car seems to have had an average life for it's age.

I'd be more inclined personally to buy a dealer looked after car than an indie or non dealer garage, but thats me.

Thanks for replies

And sorry just on your above averages of 12,000 miles a year...........is this the average for a petrol or a diesel car ?

Edited 11 June, 201214 yr by obi604

Mine's February 2010, now showing 70k miles. That's not a high mileage IMO.

Average mileage for the purposes of dealers valuing vehicles in glasses guide is around the 15000 mark now

The question is how many miles do you do? If like me you you only do 3-4k a year, when you come to sell it then the mileage will be below average and, in theory, worth more. If you do 20k a year the highe mileage to start with will kill the value.

That being said, I was only offered book trade in price for my S40 when I bought the Octavia. The Volvo is 7 years old with 29k miles.

The question is how many miles do you do? If like me you you only do 3-4k a year, when you come to sell it then the mileage will be below average and, in theory, worth more. If you do 20k a year the highe mileage to start with will kill the value.

That being said, I was only offered book trade in price for my S40 when I bought the Octavia. The Volvo is 7 years old with 29k miles.

I do about 7000 miles a year.

So even though you only did about 4000 miles a year in your car, when you went to sell it, you didnt really get more money for it due to the very low mileage

Meh nothing to bother about as long as it's been serviced at schedule. My VRS was over 36k at 3yr, that's only 12k a year. Average is 10-15k depending on on who you ask. If you're trading in average is 10k a year, when you're buying it's 15k

My VRS is coming up on 60k at 5yr. Engine still runs like it did the day I got it. I wouldn't bat an eyelid at that mileage.

Now if it had had 3-4 owners in that mileage....

Edited 12 June, 201214 yr by Aspman

If you look at the newer end and look at asking prices, try plotting some.

You get around £1k off for 10k-15k but it varies a lot when there are few examples around

once cars get older or higher mileage that differencial drops and condition/history determines price. .

I think anything around 12k-15k is average(ish) and not something to be too concerned about

Remember a 3yo 36k car could have had only one service if on variable with a second one due soon

Also likely to be on the cusp for tyres brakes depending on how it has been used

One way to get a car significantly cheaper is by the mileage...

Most seem obsessed doing a quick calculation of 10 thousand per year to gauge mileage... anything over and they take a sharp intake of breath!

Not sure what is termed "average mileage" these days...

The recent advances in engines, oils and fuels mean that if the car has service history then mileage is less of a concern IMHO

However.... im always wary of the old chestnut.. "High motorway miles" lol!

My 1.8 Tsi is nearing 70,000 miles and after 3 services the oil still looks clean and the drives perfectly!

One way to get a car significantly cheaper is by the mileage...

Most seem obsessed doing a quick calculation of 10 thousand per year to gauge mileage... anything over and they take a sharp intake of breath!

Not sure what is termed "average mileage" these days...

The recent advances in engines, oils and fuels mean that if the car has service history then mileage is less of a concern IMHO

However.... im always wary of the old chestnut.. "High motorway miles" lol!

My 1.8 Tsi is nearing 70,000 miles and after 3 services the oil still looks clean and the drives perfectly!

Hey PC1212, thanks for reply

What do you mean by : im always wary of the old chestnut.. "High motorway miles"

I do about 7000 miles a year.

So even though you only did about 4000 miles a year in your car, when you went to sell it, you didnt really get more money for it due to the very low mileage

No. Pants isn't it...

I'm sure with a private sale it would be a big incentive but on a trade in it meant nothing.

The question is how many miles do you do? If like me you you only do 3-4k a year, when you come to sell it then the mileage will be below average and, in theory, worth more. If you do 20k a year the highe mileage to start with will kill the value.

That being said, I was only offered book trade in price for my S40 when I bought the Octavia. The Volvo is 7 years old with 29k miles.

A low miles motor is likely to have a number of mechanical issues from not being used. Some parts never get up tu temp properly, so engines can have high wear.

Hey PC1212, thanks for reply

What do you mean by : im always wary of  the old chestnut.. "High motorway miles"

High milers are likely to have been dealer serviced and the engines mostly running at an even rpm on the motorway so are considered by many motoring journalists safer than a low mile car. Generally you can also get newer for much less.

Thanks gadgetman

So from your point of view, a 2.5 year old PETROL car with 35,000 miles is not too high of a mileage and is in fact probably better due to regular usage on proper roads.......... as opposed to start/stop driving

Personally speaking yes.

i bought a tfsi vrs with 140k on it,the mileage did phase me as when i drove the car the engine felt responsive and everything was in order including a full dealer service history,the only issue i do have is the amount of stone chips on the bumper/bonnet,beside that i have had no issues with the car in a nearly a year of ownership as i read up on the common engine/chassis faults before buying

Mileage means little these days as long as its not intergalactic, its more looking at the general condition to see it its been looked after & has a decent service history. A few stone chips etc are IMo nice to see as it points more to a genuine car

Often a car thats used well & regularly will be more reliable in later life than one that only does a few miles every day

Some cars are still clocked, especially pre the first MOT. Look at the service book, if that looks like it could have all been stamped up on the same day thats another pointer. Thats why receipts for services are always worth seeing . If you are worried ask to chat with the previous owner, his details will be on the log book that the dealer has

As for Octys in particular you will see they are a favourite of many taxi drivers & those do many many miles, Ive always run ours to high mileage before selling with few issues, last one was on 165000, current one has 60,000 on it in 2 years

Edited 13 June, 201214 yr by Stuart_J

A young car with bigger than average miles can be a bargain if you're not doing big miles yourself. It'll slowly come back to average over time.

Big miles on a young car almost always means motorway miles which are easy on the car. The exceptions to be careful about (but not rule out) would be things like Scouts, Subarus and other small 4x4 cars. They might have been vets / farmers cars and have done their miles up and down farm tracks.

" mostly/mainly motorway miles"..

unless I had proof of the cars usage history, its just waffle lulling you to think that the car has had a steady life at 70 mph...

When in fact it might have been a airport taxi or unmarked Police CID car!

How about "Maintained regardless of cost" which means its been serviced and had some bits replaced!

"First to see will buy" .... really well I saw but did not buy!

It all depends on how savvy you are when buying a car, I saved a lot of cash 2 grand buying a 3 1/2 year old car with 62,000 miles rather than average miles of 36K.

Things still go wrong with low mileage cars so why not save a few bob and have the cash ready just in case ??

I get ya PC1212

Although sometimes when you ask a garage for a cars usage history, they tend to look at you funny as if to say " how the hell would I know how and where the car was driven over the last 3 years "

If you can have a look at the V5 see who the car was first registered to... if it says "So and so vehicle solutions", You could google them see what they do

Many of the companies on the V5 are just fronts for Emergency services and big companies... it might pay off?

Allthough not applicable to the 1.8 chain cam, with the diesel needing the cam belt at 4 years a higher mileage may have got/need theirs done on mileage, so you get a fresh 4 years, even on an <4 year old.

If a car has been sitting on the motorway it will have had a changes of tyres but the brakes discs have been done more than once that may hint that not all the miles were motoorway.

When we bought our 306 in 2000, we also looked at a BMW that had high mileage for the age but very cheap, the service history had 3 changes of brake discs as well as loads of other stuff(lease printout of all work) alternate work had been done in Edinburgh some in london .

those motorway miles had been very hard on the running gear.

Mileage is less important than the duty cycle, or inother words how hard a life it had had, hence the motorway miles term which infers the car has not been stressed much. Every gear change, every clutch pressed, wheel turned etc is wear on the components, a taxi with 50k on it is likely to be worn more than a reps car with 150k on it.