Low miles

[M138]

What is the point of buying a car and then avoid using it because of increasing the mileage?

[siskiuslide]

They want to retain value by not adding mileage

[TREMAiNE]

Ultimately, to retain value.

When particularly special cars appreciate a lot, it's understandable why owners do this - many are not driving enthusiasts, so to them, the collection itself is the enjoyable experience, or the profit.

I saw someone selling a 2016 MX-5 the other day with 5,000 mile on it. To me that's a little sad. A lot of depreciation for a car that's barely been used and enjoyed.

My Morgan does about 500 miles a year, being a 2019 car, in total it has around 5,500 miles. I don't intentionally keep the miles down (I did over 2,000 in my first year of ownership), but it's a car that is very weather-dependent and also it is a bit of a pain in the a*se to use it, get it out the garage, make sure the weather will hold out (it has no roof.) I must admit, where I use it so sparingly, it still feels incredibly special after nearly 3 years of ownership and the first time I've not been bored of a car after this period of time, so maybe some people limit their mileage for that reason.

My dad is lucky enough to have a Ferrari Portofino. In the last 18 months, all it's done is go in for its service. For him, he just doesn't have the time to use it. If the weather is nice, he typically veers towards his Harley. He loves the Ferrari, he would never sell it (except for another one) and he isn't intentionally keeping the mileage down but life gets in the way. This is probably the case for a lot of people who run multiple cars.

Edited by TREMAiNE on Saturday 7th June 15:22

[ChocolateFrog]

A significant % will just be clocked.

Like a moths to a flame most people will prioritise mileage over condition and as long as that's the case there will be a roaring trade in mileage correction.

Or yes, just believe that people do 1500 miles a year in their new cars.

[ChocolateFrog]

There's enough legitimate mileage correction business to keep about 2 blokes employed in the UK.

[M138]

siskiuslide said:

They want to retain value by not adding mileage

I know that but a Ferrari or a Porsche should be able to handle 50000 miles with no trouble if it has the oil changed regularly, suspension parts changed when needed etc. The synthetic oils available now are far superior to mineral oils of the past.

[alscar]

Depends as well on how many cars someone may have so a time issue as opposed to thinking about values.

[Trevor555]

A bit like a favourite watch.

Wear it for special occasions, keep it in nice condition.

[Dave.]

M138 said:

siskiuslide said:

They want to retain value by not adding mileage

I know that but a Ferrari or a Porsche should be able to handle 50000 miles with no trouble if it has the oil changed regularly, suspension parts changed when needed etc. The synthetic oils available now are far superior to mineral oils of the past.

That's kind of irrelevant though, the one with 5k miles will always be worth more than the one with 50k on it (all else being equal, etc etc).

[JagYouAre]

I suppose one question would be whether the reduction in depreciation by not using a vehicle much would be more or less than the running costs/depreciation of the additional vehicle you would need to cover the miles you need to do.

For me the answer is probably not, so I use my 911 as a daily driver and to hell with the 20k miles I’ve put on it in the last two years. I’ll probably keep it till it dies anyway.

For a very special car it would be different I’ve no doubt and mileage could make a big difference. Though I do think we have an unhealthy obsession with it in this country, elsewhere it seems to be a secondary consideration in my experience.

[Jamescrs]

I have a R53 Mini in my garage at home that has averaged under 1k a year over the last 5 years but it's that way simply because I keep it for track car use and I don't have much interest in driving it for any other purpose despite it being road legal, insured, MOT etc.
Most of the miles it does drive are at either Cadwell or Oulton circuits

[M138]

JagYouAre said:

IThough I do think we have an unhealthy obsession with it in this country, elsewhere it seems to be a secondary consideration in my experience.

I think it started at the auction houses in America.
I know low mileage is preferable but we’ve reached a point where it’s ludicrous and as pointed out ripe for mileage correction companies.
As some cars get older, Triumph Stag for example, you would tend to look at condition rather than mileage.

[Earthdweller]

My mother when she retired bought a brand new Corsa 1.2

It was garaged, had a full service every year at Vauxhall and pretty much never went out in the rain

After 10 years she decided she wanted a new car ... a Fiat 500

We sold the Corsa to her next door neighbour it had 8000 miles on the clock and still looked and smelt like new

You might wonder but it was her lifeline, freedom and independence

Ii suspect there are very many cars like that out there

[Lester H]

M138 said:

What is the point of buying a car and then avoid using it because of increasing the mileage?

Unfortunately, with true exotics, potential buyers want super low mileage. Other than that, I would say use your car and keep the mileage sensible. If you deny yourself the pleasure of driving it, you will get a bit more for it, but the dealer will, of course, mark it up. I doubt if there are many scenarios which warrant buying an additional runabout car to preserve the mileage on your main driver. It’s not so much the purchase price as the additions like tax and insurance.

[Lester H]

M138 said:

JagYouAre said:

IThough I do think we have an unhealthy obsession with it in this country, elsewhere it seems to be a secondary consideration in my experience.

I think it started at the auction houses in America.
I know low mileage is preferable but we ve reached a point where it s ludicrous and as pointed out ripe for mileage correction companies.
As some cars get older, Triumph Stag for example, you would tend to look at condition rather than mileage.

With much older cars, like the Stag - a classic, but not exotic- it will be ,in most cases, very difficult to verify the mileage, as the poster says, you will buy on condition. However, there is much potential for mileage fiddling on older cars. If you thumb through some of the glossy monthly classic car mags, you will see what I mean.

[irc]

A former colleague who was otherwise totally honest used to lease cars on low mileage allowances and get them "corrected" before handing them back.

Makes me wonder what percentage of these 5k per annum lease cars are doing double or more before the first MOT?

[M138]

irc said:

A former colleague who was otherwise totally honest used to lease cars on low mileage allowances and get them "corrected" before handing them back.

Makes me wonder what percentage of these 5k per annum lease cars are doing double or more before the first MOT?

Must happen to a lot of cars.
After the first MOT on high end cars just call in the mileage correction man in just before MOT time.

[Baldchap]

In my case it's keeping them in nice condition on one hand and having the time and opportunity to use them properly on the other. I don't worry about retaining value because whether I admit it to myself or not, cars aren't good investments as a rule.

[valiant]

irc said:

A former colleague who was otherwise totally honest used to lease cars on low mileage allowances and get them "corrected" before handing them back.

Makes me wonder what percentage of these 5k per annum lease cars are doing double or more before the first MOT?

Especially the type of cars that suit the mini cab and Uber Lux circuit as well...

[addey]

Cycled past a car sales place today with a 2016 Citroen C1 on the forecourt with "only 1000 miles" emblazoned across the windscreen! Just looked it up online and sure enough it's only done 1116 miles in 9 years!