How Many Miles Can a Car Last? (2024)

FAQs

How Many Miles Can a Car Last? ›

It's possible for some properly maintained, well-built cars to reach 300,000 miles. Typically, a conventional vehicle lasts for 200,000 miles. The average automobile age in the United States has increased over the past several decades.

Standard cars in this day and age are expected to keep running up to 200,000 miles, while cars with electric engines are expected to last for up to 300,000 miles. Keeping a car that long has a lot of benefits, including the fact that it could save you a great deal of money.

What is a good mileage on a used car? Typically, a vehicle with 75,000 – 100,000 miles on the odometer is a good deal, but with recent advances in vehicle technology, cars with over 100,000 miles can help drivers save and last for many years to come on Toms River roads.

Typically, putting 13,000 to 14,000 miles on your car per year is viewed as “average.” A car that is driven more than that is considered high-mileage. With proper maintenance, cars can have a life expectancy of about 200,000 miles.

Read the owner's manual, stick to the servicing schedule, check your driving habits, and you can drive a modern used car or truck of a further 500,000 miles. Almost all modern vehicles have a similar cost of ownership for the first 100,000-200,000 miles. The expensive repairs kick in after that.

What is considered high mileage on a car? Often, 100,000 miles is considered a cut-off point for used cars because older vehicles often start requiring more expensive and frequent maintenance when mileage exceeds 100,000.

Traditional wisdom used to warn car buyers to keep away from vehicles with over 100,000 miles. Put simply, though, the 100,000 mile-marker is no longer a good indicator for buying used. If a vehicle has been properly maintained, it can last several hundred thousand miles.

Cars older than eight to 10 years will be a riskier option, depending on the driving and maintenance history, while vehicles over 15 to 20 are usually nearing the end of their service lives.

Depending on the car's value, repairing it might be worth the money to keep it going for a few more years. However, most modern gasoline-powered vehicles will start to struggle after the 200,000-mile mark. Electric cars can usually make it up to 300,000 miles before they're considered well used.

Buying a used car with over 150,000 miles can be a viable option, provided you take the right precautions and do your due diligence. While these vehicles come with a lower upfront cost and often have well-documented maintenance records, they also require more maintenance and may lack the latest technology.

What's the oldest used car you should consider? ›

For reliability, you probably want to avoid anything that is too old as age will decrease a vehicle's overall reliability. Mileage will also play an important role in determining a vehicle's reliability. For vehicles with more than 150,000 miles on the odometer, try to find something newer than the late '90s.

To determine whether a car has reasonable mileage, you can simply multiply 12,000 by its age. That means good mileage for a car that's 5 years old is 60,000. Significantly more or fewer miles could indicate a problem or trouble in the future.

Typically, a car will last from 200,000 to 300,000 miles. Or, in terms of time, from 15 to 22 years. If those numbers raised your eyebrows, let us add that multiple variables impact a car's life expectancy. An electric vehicle (EV) will last at least as long as a car with an internal combustion engine (ICE).

Finding a four-year-old car with 50,000 miles on it can be a great deal, as it means that the driver used it a little less than average, and it could have more life left in it. However, you should be a bit wary of vehicles that are a decade old with only 50,000 miles to show for it.

Certain brands have a track record for producing vehicles that can easily surpass the 100,000-mile mark without breaking a sweat. However, truly ANY car can be reliable if it's been well-maintained and doesn't have a history of major issues.

It is extremely unusual for cars to last over 500,000 miles (804,672 kilometers). It's less unusual for cars to go over 300,000 miles (482,803 kilometers) without encountering major repairs though.

Although it may have been well maintained, the purchase of a vehicle with over 200,000 miles on the odometer might lead to significant maintenance costs. At this point, the car is likely nearing the end of its useful life, and you may soon need to either invest a significant sum in repairs or replace it entirely.

Did you know there is only a 11.8% chance of a typical vehicle lasting for 250,000 miles? However, breaking the barriers of conventional longevity, a 2023 study by iSeeCars.com unearthed a lineup of 23 of the best vehicle models that are defying the odds and are most likely to surpass a quarter-million miles.