How Many Miles Are Too Many on a Used Car? That Depends

Shopping for used vehicles can be an overwhelming and frustrating experience versus purchasing new. With new vehicles, customers can easily access the manufacturer suggested retail price (MSRP) for the model they're interested in and count on an odometer reading of near-zero, ensuring no road wear or maintenance history.

This is not the case with a used vehicle. With used vehicles, customers must consider everything from mileage to age to vehicle repair history. These factors, along with others such as market demand and luxury features, will factor into the sticker price. These variables lead to a wide disparity of prices, even among vehicles of the same make, model, and year.

When shopping for a used vehicle, start by understanding your budget, and research repair and maintenance costs for the particular year, make, and model you're considering. Maintenance costs are rarely steady and predictable, particularly as a vehicle ages and racks up mileage, so doing your homework on which vehicles have the potential to be maintenance headaches as they age will pay off.

Mileage alone can tell you a lot about a vehicle's history. For example, if a car is only a few years old but has more than 100,000 miles, that could signal that it may have been a rental car in its previous life or has a lot of wear and tear. In these cases, maintenance history is incredibly valuable. Be sure to get the vehicle's CARFAX Report to know the history of the car you're buying. This will also tell you whether or not the car was involved in any accidents, required any major repairs, or has any outstanding recall items that may be red flags.

Additionally, while high mileage may be a deal-breaker for some makes and models, high mileage may not impact sticker price as much with other makes and models, like select pickup trucks. Pickups such as Ford's F150 or the Toyota Tundra tend to be in constant high demand, which helps them retain their value even with odometer readings over 100,000 miles. They are also manufactured to handle more strenuous use, so mileage will not be a deal-breaking factor as long as the vehicle was properly maintained.

For any car purchase, especially a used one, you should always proceed with caution, carefully inspecting the vehicle inside and out, including taking it to an experienced mechanic for inspection. Taking the vehicle for a long test drive is also a must before you sign on the dotted line.

Another important step: Research service intervals for the year, make, and model of vehicle you're considering. For example, even if the used car you're considering may have low mileage, check whether upcoming service intervals indicate significant maintenance items will be due soon. After all, you don't want to be on the hook for a costly repair shortly after you purchase the vehicle.

So, how many miles is too many on a used car? That number depends on all of these factors. While 100,000 miles used to be considered the high-mileage threshold, some modern cars can go reliably beyond that threshold with proper care and maintenance. Mileage is always critical in the purchase decision, but it's not the only thing that matters.