High mileage affecting re-sale value? (1 Viewer)

[Southdowners]

I thought I'd post this separately to my question on the 'high mileage?' thread as it's slightly different, although relates to the answers to that thread.

Obviously folk enjoy their vehicles in different ways.

My question is with regard to the re-sale value being affected..

Personally we don't feel bothered by selling on with a 'high' mileage - we bought the vehicles to use as we wish and enjoy what we want to do with them. It's hard to say, having sold two vehicles, whether our 'high mileage' affected their re-sale value. It certainly wasn't mentioned when we traded them in.

A couple of things come to mind though which are that mileage isn't the sole factor in a vehicle's overall condition. Clearly some people drive to a destination and stay put there, perhaps for months. We don't stay in any one place for more than a couple of days - this might change when we retire next April, but even then I don't think we would stay anywhere longer than 5 days or so as we like to travel.

Bearing that in mind, it seems to me that the vehicles in each scenario would deteriorate in different ways. We would clock up miles but the vehicles in one place would clock up wear and tear in the habitation area. I've read here that folk would rather buy a vehicle with reasonable mileage rather than one with a low one and that the engines are designed for heavy use.

Has anyone actually been told that their vehicle has been valued lower because of its mileage?

Same question to those with low mileage and high habitation wear

 

[simsy56]

I really don't get the high milage thing. I would rather have a well looked after, and regularly maintained vehicle than one with very few miles on it.
You have heard folk say........'it's ONLY done 1,000 miles and it's 20 years old'..........or............'it's never been used or slept in, the fridge has never been used, the w.c. has never been flushed'.
e.g. My Volvo F10 truck had a quarter of a million miles on it and ran beautifully..........

Craig

 

[Southdowners]

I agree entirely.

Someone else mentioned a very obvious fact in the other thread. They pointed out that the risk to insurers must be higher with those who don't travel many miles by virtue of the fact that those drivers wouldn't have the experience that high mileage drivers have. I hadn't considered this before but it certainly seems likely.

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[tonyidle]

A dealer will use every tool at his disposal to talk down a trade-in. Far more important are the views expressed in this thread. I don't believe any motorhome, however used, could ever be described as "high mileage" when compared with that term used for, say, a car or even a van used for deliveries etc. When viewing a MH to buy mileage is simply a bargaining point along with paint chips or furniture damage. It is otherwise irrelevant to future use of the vehicle.

A friend has always bought family cars at two or three years old then run each one until non-viable due to cost of parts needed or appearance. He has never had to scrap one because of engine or transmission wear. He's fastidious only in terms of servicing, always done himself. His last two cars, a petrol Vectra and then a Diesel Mondeo, were both scrapped still running well with mileages in excess of 250K. Just think what an engine / transmission designed for commercial use can do.

 

[Southdowners]

A dealer will use every tool at his disposal to talk down a trade-in. Far more important are the views expressed in this thread. I don't believe any motorhome, however used, could ever be described as "high mileage" when compared with that term used for, say, a car or even a van used for deliveries etc. When viewing a MH to buy mileage is simply a bargaining point along with paint chips or furniture damage. It is otherwise irrelevant to future use of the vehicle.
do.

It's a strange one though. When I posted asking if 15,000 per year was viewed as high (insurers said it was) I was expecting the majority here to say they did this figure or more! I was really surprised at the the answers with the majority doing far less.

At the same time though I've read a number of threads here saying that the vehicles are made to do more, should do more and they'd be suspicious of one that hadn't and had been left standing. That being the case, shouldn't dealers playing the 'high mileage card' when valuing a vehicle should be given a wide berth?

 

[MC 55 FUN]

I agree entirely.

Someone else mentioned a very obvious fact in the other thread. They pointed out that the risk to insurers must be higher with those who don't travel many miles by virtue of the fact that those drivers wouldn't have the experience that high mileage drivers have. I hadn't considered this before but it certainly seems likely.

There's pro's & con's to this generalisation, a low mileage vehicle is not on the road as often, therefore the likelihood of an accident is reduced & the Moho drivers' occupation makes a difference too, i.e. an experienced 7.5t truck driver won't have any issues with driving a Moho nor would a bus driver, but the fact that they still work limits their opportunity to use their Moho & consequently they do less mileage in them.

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[Southdowners]

Yes, I agree, of course there are always exceptions.

 

[32143]

We always say we do high mileage when insuring, never been a problem, or noticed a price hike. Assume insurer is fine with it as equals more experience. Ours have always been panel van and our only vehicle which contributes to the mileage, wouldn't put us off buying a mh/camper with higher mileage, current van had 72,000 on clock when we bought it.

Lin

 

[busby]

I really don't get the high milage thing. I would rather have a well looked after, and regularly maintained vehicle than one with very few miles on it.
You have heard folk say........'it's ONLY done 1,000 miles and it's 20 years old'..........or............'it's never been used or slept in, the fridge has never been used, the w.c. has never been flushed'.
e.g. My Volvo F10 truck had a quarter of a million miles on it and ran beautifully..........

Craig

250 k,,thats nowt for a truck,,,,BUSBY,,

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[138go]

It's always the same when you want to trade it in. Sharp intake of breath and

• Ohh thats rather a high milage Sir have you been using it.
• So you haven't used it much whats wrong with it.
• Buyers always think there is something wrong with low milage vehicles.
• We expect 2 - 3000 a year anymore and we cannot sell them.
• Well we maybe able to do something for you but we won't be able to offer you much.

 

[Lenny HB]

It's always the same when you want to trade it in. Sharp intake of breath and

• Ohh thats rather a high milage Sir have you been using it.
• So you haven't used it much whats wrong with it.
• Buyers always think there is something wrong with low milage vehicles.
• We expect 2 - 3000 a year anymore and we cannot sell them.
• Well we maybe able to do something for you but we won't be able to offer you much.

And when you are buying.
No sir that's not high mileage these days.
It's only done 15,000 a year that is below average it's really good buy sir.
And this is the same salesman that told you 10,000 was very high when you were trading in.

 

[BusyBuilder]

When I contacted a southern based MH dealer I was looking at 2011 van with 35,000 miles on it. He must have forgotten himself as he told my wife our van was high mileage, 2009 with 39,000 miles.

As the Scots say, Aye right.

We bought our current van 2012 (62 plate) with 23,000 miles but plane keeping it till I get to 70, so a good 10 years, I won't be bothered about the mileage it accumulates either.

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[Diggerdi]

I don't understand people who don't use a vehicle to keep the mileage down. In my mind you buy something to use it, it's no use to you if you don't. I used to work with someone who purchased a new car but whenever they went anywhere they went in her husband's company car, which she was not allowed to drive. When I queried this she said they didn't want to put too much mileage on her car because it would affect the resale value! Why buy it in the first place?

I wish we could put more miles on our motorhome, it would mean we had the time to go out in it more!

 

[PhilG]

Its relative... as a buyer , i looked very carefully at mileages, and picked up a 2003 A Class with 28000 on the clock, having sold a 7.5T MH with 400000k on it. I paid more ( maybe £5k) for the priviledge, against others that had 70 to 80k on them... that way i can do 10k a year and still be under 100k in 7 years time.

As a seller i realise that my MH is not worth the same as one with half the mileage, all else being equal.

As a user , i dont give a flying &^% , i will get it off the drive as often as i can manage, and get my money's worth.

 

[sylvester1954]

I have commented on this matter in previous posts and the belief that our van has theoretically been devalued because we have used it frequently rather than parked up on the driveway 11 months of the year. As others have already pointed out, these commercial based engines have to be used to keep at peak performance. The problem of a build up of engine particles in diesel engines that have not been run frequently is one example. Another risk of under use is that tyres can crack or deform when the vehicle is left idle for prolonged periods. So we not only get as much camping time as possible but we frequently use our van for a run to the shops etc. We didn't buy the van as an investment so we don't care anymore about the dealers or resale value, we just want to enjoy the good fortune that we are in the position of having such a lovely second home and the time to use it.

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[nicholsong]

I cannot understand how mileage correlates with how much one is using the MH and getting enjoyment - we get enjoyment from ours parked in a beautiful wild spot looking at the view and downing a glass of beer or wine. Driving time is wasting good leisure/drinking time

At the moment, because of family commitments, our time is limited so we do move on frequently but normally not far each time, once we have reached our chosen 'cruising' area.

Geoff

 

[Lizi]

What bits of the van will 'suffer' from being used? We bought a high milage van which had been well looked after but I am not sure we knew what to look out for on the various receipts etc. It has needed break pipes replaced (not surpring maybe though I don't know enough about it). Now we have ben told shock absorbers need replaced or will go soon. We also fixed the air con and some welding underneath. dealer fixed heating under warranty. What else could we expect to replace soon? Cam belt had been done a year before purchase and new tyres.

I suppose it is not surprising that after 80k things would need done though our 100k miles car (Berlingo) has only had break pads and cam done in all the years we have had it. The inside is in very good condition. What else should we look out for neding done soon? Or is it as much luck as anything?

 

[Allanm]

I don't understand people who don't use a vehicle to keep the mileage down....................When I queried this she said they didn't want to put too much mileage on her car because it would affect the resale value! Why buy it in the first place?
I wish we could put more miles on our motorhome, it would mean we had the time to go out in it more!

Is this the same as people taking the carpets out and putting them in the attic till they come to sell the vehicle?

We bought ours to use, not keep like a show home. When we sold our 3 year old van with 25000 miles on it, the dealer didn’t bat an eyelid. All they were worried about was that there was no damp anywhere. The mechanic who checked it over said it was nice to see a van that had been used as it was designed

But, talking of dealers, I bought a used automatic car from a dealer many years ago. He was extolling the virtues of an automatic box saying that they were sought after and always commanded a higher price.
2 years later I took it back to the same dealer to part ex it. The same salesman, with a sharp intake of breath said, “Oh, it’s an auto, they have always been difficult to sell on, no one want them....”
I sold it privately next day.

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[Ivory55]

250 k,,thats nowt for a truck,,,,BUSBY,,

Yes but it never left the IOM, think how many laps he had to do. Haha

 

[Steve and Kat]

My logistics business has run many van based variants over the last 13 years I've owned it.. It's not unusual to see 500,000 miles on a Sprinter van, 350,000 on a Transit Van, 300,000 on an Iveco, 350,000 on a Fiat Ducato... Our Vauxhall Combo's don't get changed unless they've done 250,000.. As for Lorries, they will do millions of miles if looked after... I just don't get the mileage thing with dealers when it comes to Motorhomes...

All our vans engines are built to be used... Sitting in a field doing diddly squat each year doing 500 to 1000 miles a year is just plain ridiculous for a van based engine... However, I do understand that people just don't need / want to drive for 1,000's of miles and 100% respect their choice.. but any dealer questioning a, say, 5 year Motorhome with 50,000 miles on it and saying it's high, needs their heads examined...

 

[two]

Why focus on the transmission so much? You'll spend most of your time inside it. Look at the cushions and mattresses, if you want to be comfortable in it. And, if the furniture is becoming tatty, you may not be able to do much about that.
Knowing that it's done ??k miles is of little value as you will not know how those miles have been achieved: a few long trips, or many shorter ones. More important than the distance travelled is a measure of how well the mechanics have been looked after during that time. Unfortunately, the time time spent actually living in it (whist stationary) is never provided, yet that might be a better indicator of how well-used a used motorhome is.

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[ChaosToo]

My MH is my daily driver. Currently putting 300 miles a week on it.....