How important is service history and mileage for reselling?

How important is service history and mileage for reselling?

Author
Discussion

chouffemymanifold

Original Poster:

8 posts

18 months

Saturday 7th September
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I've only ever bought sheds so not cared much about resale value. I know it's not that much compared to what a lot pay for a car but I'm looking to spend about £12k on a CRV and will probably sell in a few years.

How important is service history and mileage (with the view to sell it on later)? Personally I'd like FSH to show it's been cared for and as long as it's got FSH I don't particularly care about mileage. However judging by prices higher mileage cars, especially once it hits what seems like a 100k cliff, fall off in value quite quickly. Seems like adding 10k miles to a 60k car is better than adding 10k miles to a 95k car.

Anyone here a dealer perhaps or know something about this?

Thanks

Belle427

9,742 posts

240 months

Saturday 7th September
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Id say its very important to the average non car savvy buyer as once they see the magical 100k number it puts most off.

fflump

1,760 posts

45 months

Saturday 7th September
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If you are planning on selling it in a few years it most definitely helps to have FSH and a mileage that is not over or approaching six figures. Not logical but we are not a rational species by and large.

Of course there are other things important too Wendy you buy like age and condition of tyres, brakes, clutch etc

chouffemymanifold

Original Poster:

8 posts

18 months

Monday 9th September
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Belle427 said:
Id say its very important to the average non car savvy buyer as once they see the magical 100k number it puts most off.
fflump said:
If you are planning on selling it in a few years it most definitely helps to have FSH and a mileage that is not over or approaching six figures. Not logical but we are not a rational species by and large.

Of course there are other things important too Wendy you buy like age and condition of tyres, brakes, clutch etc
Thanks, yep I'll look for something 70k ish with FSH then. I keep forgetting the vast majority of car buyers, esp. for something mundane like a CRV, are not petrol heads and are scared of high miles.

Pistom

5,577 posts

166 months

Monday 9th September
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If you're worried about depreciation, why not just buy a car with more than 100K in the first place?

Some of the most unreliable cars I've known have been low mileage cars with the added cost of the premium you pay for the perception that lower mileage is better.


Heathwood

2,798 posts

209 months

Monday 9th September
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Pistom said:
If you're worried about depreciation, why not just buy a car with more than 100K in the first place?

Some of the most unreliable cars I've known have been low mileage cars with the added cost of the premium you pay for the perception that lower mileage is better.
I’d agree with this. From a depreciation point of view, you don’t really want to be the owner taking a car through 100k miles if you intend to sell soon.

Old Merc

3,560 posts

174 months

Monday 9th September
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The most important thing is who you’re buying the car from. If it’s private be very careful, if it’s a dealer check their history and reviews.
Loads of stamps in the service book does not mean much. A nice pile of genuine invoices is what you want to see.
You can see a nice one owner car with 50K on the clock, but all it’s had is simple servicing. It will soon need new tyres, cam belt, clutch or what ever??
Or you can get a 100K car that’s had everything replaced recently.

Pistom

5,577 posts

166 months

Monday 9th September
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Sorry - I've no idea what kind of CRV you'll get for £12K but another consideration is if you don't have service history - that's almost certainly going it invalidate any manufacturer warranty.

When buying cars which would otherwise be covered, it's really important that you're anal about checking this.

I was in a garage the other day where a woman was trying to claim for manufacturer warranty work for a known common issue but she was told - sorry - manufacturer has rejected it as it wasn't serviced on time 12 months ago. She was trying to argue that's not her fault as she didn't own the car at the time but of course that makes no difference. As the buyer, it's your responsibility to check that the warranty is still valid.

Mr Tidy

24,327 posts

134 months

Monday 9th September
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Heathwood said:
Pistom said:
If you're worried about depreciation, why not just buy a car with more than 100K in the first place?

Some of the most unreliable cars I've known have been low mileage cars with the added cost of the premium you pay for the perception that lower mileage is better.
I’d agree with this. From a depreciation point of view, you don’t really want to be the owner taking a car through 100k miles if you intend to sell soon.
That's my way of thinking too. I bought both my last two daily drivers after they had gone past 100K miles.

Summit_Detailing

2,009 posts

200 months

Tuesday 10th September
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I've just purchased a 2017 CRV diesel for my partner who has just started a new job which involves a 170 mile roundtrip - the car in question has 125k miles and has full Honda history.

My thought process was it won't make much difference to the value by adding a chunk of miles as it cost less than £6k, the alternative was a car with half the mileage but more than double the price, which of course will drop quickly by adding big miles.

I'm not aware of any other country who views 100k+ mileage with such contempt.

Chamon_Lee

3,903 posts

154 months

Wednesday 11th September
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People keep saying how its not a big deal when a car hits 100k but it can be and usually is. When a car hits 100k its usually at a certain age too and also at that millage it can be run down too. I had never previously run a car at 100k miles until now.

I have a car I purchased at 22k and its just ticked over 102k miles and around 9 years old, the amount of things that have came due at the 90-100k miles its just off putting so my advice would be to a perspective buying is to buy at 70-80k miles or 110k miles and don't bother with anything inbetween!

Old Merc

3,560 posts

174 months

Wednesday 11th September
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My 1997 Mercedes SL320 R129 has 101,000 on the clock, if I was to sell it that mileage would not mean a thing, could be considered as low mileage for a 27 year old car..
All the major units are in perfect condition, nothing needs doing.

PurpleTurtle

7,592 posts

151 months

Wednesday 11th September
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The engine in the CRV will go forever if serviced at the the recommended intervals, so I would be looking for a service history to show those done.

Absolutely bulletproof engines in them, certainly the petrol ones.

Once you get north of 100k miles you might well be into needing a new clutch, suspension refresh, and things like the A/C starting to play up.

We've got a 2004 FRV on 142,000 miles which I am on a mission to get to 150,000. It's still a good solid car, the engine runs as good as it did at 60,000 mils but the A/C keeps giving issues and I'm loathe to shell out any more on it knowing that the car will be scrap in a year or two.

PoorCarCollector

128 posts

27 months

Wednesday 11th September
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Chamon_Lee said:
People keep saying how its not a big deal when a car hits 100k but it can be and usually is. When a car hits 100k its usually at a certain age too and also at that millage it can be run down too. I had never previously run a car at 100k miles until now.

I have a car I purchased at 22k and its just ticked over 102k miles and around 9 years old, the amount of things that have came due at the 90-100k miles its just off putting so my advice would be to a perspective buying is to buy at 70-80k miles or 110k miles and don't bother with anything inbetween!
What terrible advice, just because of 1 car you've owned, all other cars must go wrong at 80-109,000m !!!

Or are you talking about a windmill? (millage)

FMOB

1,994 posts

19 months

Wednesday 11th September
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My thoughts having just bought a used car privately.

1. Mileage wasn't a major concern but is really based on how well the vehicle wears the miles, if it hits 100k miles and is falling apart then it is an issue. If you know you will do lots of miles then buying a car over the 100k miles if reliable makes sense.
2. Service history, receipts are the key here, the 3 owner car I bought had absolutely everything including all receipts from 1st owner i.e. receipts backing up the service book, MOT history and who did the servicing.

Other than that it is down to condition, any obvious work needed and price negotiation.

Mogul

2,989 posts

230 months

Wednesday 11th September
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The challenge is finding a cost effective solution to keep older higher miles cars on the road.

Our 10yr old family shed needed a clutch/flywheel at the same time as a cambelt/waterpump.

Half a days work for a mechanic with access to a ramp / tools plus ~£400 of parts (at trade price, incl VAT) but a local garage quoted based on 6-8hrs of labour and retail pricing on the parts so around £2k incl VAT…

If the car had suffered “£2k” worth of accident damage, it would have been a write-off.