How many miles should you drive before replacing your car?

Posted by icsadmin

Have you ever looked at a used car and discovered it has hundreds of thousands of miles on it? Have you ever wondered about the stories behind all those miles, especially when you discover that some of those cars have only had a single owner?

There comes a time after year and years of use when you need to change your car, but when is that moment and how do you measure it?

There are cars that truly capture our hearts and become one with the family. They are the companion that was with you when you met your wife or husband before they were just that. The same car that took your child to their first day at nursery. The car that can commute you to work and back for years. Eventually, the mileage adds up into the hundreds of thousands and you are forced to replace it to your sadness.

More miles means less value

Used cars are valued by how much depreciation has affected it. The older the car and the more miles it has travelled, the more the value of the car will depreciate. This is why you see twenty-year-old BMW saloon with two hundred thousand miles on the clock being sold for as little as £300.

This means that the longer you hold onto a car and the more miles you collect, the less your car will be worth when it comes to giving it up. You have to decide how many miles the car is worth driving before it depreciates enough to be near useless.

Many people use their cars to part exchange for new cars when it comes to upgrading. However, if you do drive hundreds of thousands of miles, regardless of how well the car runs, you will be offered far less money because of the depreciated value.

Maintenance costs matter

Many car manufacturers now have longer warranties than ever before. KIA started this trend by offering seven-year warranties to cover their cars. This means that if there is a mechanical failure whilst the car is under warranty, the manufacturer is obligated to repair it. However, the longer you keep the car and the more you drive it, the more likely it is to suffer mechanical difficulty outside of the warranty period.

This means that the closer to the hundreds of thousands of miles mark, the more likely your car will suffer difficulty. It also means you are more likely to be out of warranty, thereby causing you to pay for the repairs yourself, thereby emptying your bank account.

The more miles you drive, the more you use it, the closer you get to those difficulties becoming a reality. You may love the car, but the more you drive it, the more likely it will bite you back. When the car bites the hand that feeds it, it is time for it to go.

Out of date

Unless you are driving huge amounts of miles a year. Reaching the hundreds of thousands of miles marker means you have owned this car for many years. This means that the car is likely out of date compared with all the modern cars. It won’t have modern infotainment systems, or updated engines that reduce carbon emissions. This means you will likely be paying higher on road tax than you would do if you bought a car now.

Whilst it may seem like a good idea to keep your old car for years because of all the memories and the history together, but in the end, it could cost you far more in terms of money and safety to keep it rather than to simply replace it. Also, after many years of use with high mileage amounts, the car won’t be worth much when it comes to part exchange.

If you do fancy a new car and wish to part exchange before it is too late, enquire with us. Our dedicated team will help you choose the car and car lease deal available to match your needs. Car leasing is a cheap and affordable way of getting the car you desire for the price you want before the mileage gets too high on your current car that it is close to worthless.