There's no single cut-off
Part of our guide to buying a used car. No mileage figure is automatically too high. On its own the number doesn't tell you much.
80,000 miles is unremarkable on a 10-year-old motorway commuter car. On a 2-year-old one it's a genuine concern.
The average car covers a little over 7,000 miles a year. That's England's figure and the standard benchmark the UK motor trade uses.
Multiply a car's age by that figure for a rough expected mileage. Then read the rest of this page before treating any single number as a verdict.
The quick rule of thumb — age × average annual mileage
The Department for Transport's National Travel Survey (table NTS0901) puts the England average at around 7,100 miles per car per year in its 2024 figures.
DfT publishes this at England level rather than full-UK. That's because Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland run their own separate transport surveys. It's still the figure the UK motor trade treats as the de facto national benchmark.
Multiply the car's age by that figure and you get a rough expected mileage. A 5-year-old car might reasonably show about 35,000 miles, a 10-year-old car around 71,000.
It's a benchmark, not a rule. This is a fleet-wide average. Plenty of genuine, honestly-driven cars sit well above or below it, depending on how they were actually used.
What counts as high mileage, by age
A car well above the age-adjusted average isn't automatically a problem. It's still worth knowing when a figure is genuinely unusual rather than just higher than the fleet average.
Newer cars skew higher. They tend to rack up more miles than the all-ages average suggests. RAC Foundation analysis of MOT test data puts the average annual mileage for cars under three years old at around 8,460 miles.
That sits noticeably above the 7,100 all-ages figure. It's largely because newer cars are disproportionately company and lease vehicles doing longer commutes.
The widely-quoted 100,000-mile mark matters more as a perception threshold than a mechanical one, as the next section covers. It's worth knowing where the "is this a lot" instinct kicks in for most buyers. That's because it affects resale value and finance terms even when the car itself is mechanically fine.
Is 100,000+ miles a dealbreaker?
Not on its own. A well-maintained modern engine can comfortably run well past 150,000-200,000 miles. What matters far more than the number is whether the servicing was kept up. A few practical things are worth checking around the 100k mark, though:
- Cambelt (timing belt) replacement is a major service item. It's often due around this mileage on many cars, and commonly age-based too, roughly every 5-10 years depending on the manufacturer. Ask whether it's been done. UK garage pricing typically runs £300-£1,000 including parts and labour. That depends on the car, and on whether a water pump is replaced at the same time. Premium marques often cost more. A failed cambelt on an interference engine can cause serious engine damage.
- Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) condition is worth asking about on diesels, particularly if the car's history suggests mostly short, low-speed trips. More on that below.
- Finance and warranty options can become more limited above 100,000 miles or after a certain age. That's purely a lender or insurer risk-appetite matter, not a reflection of the car's actual condition. Worth checking before you fall for a specific car, not after.
None of this is financial advice. Check the specific terms available to you before assuming a mileage figure rules a car in or out.
Why the type of mileage matters as much as the number
Steady motorway miles generally cause less wear on the engine, clutch and brakes than the same number of stop-start urban miles. That's general mechanical consensus rather than a precisely quantified rule. Treat it as a pattern.
Look at a car's likely usage alongside the raw figure. Say a previous keeper was a sales rep covering long distances. That puts different wear on the car than the same mileage racked up on the school run.
Service history notes and the pattern of MOT advisories over time show this better than the mileage figure alone. Worn brake pads and discs coming up repeatedly point to more urban use. A clean, consistent record over high motorway-style mileage is often a healthier sign than a lower figure with a patchy history.
How to check whether a car's mileage is genuinely consistent with its age
Everything above assumes the mileage on the clock is genuine. That's a different question from whether it's reasonable. This page is about the second one.
Maybe you think a figure has been altered, rather than just being higher or lower than average. See our guide to mileage clocking instead.
Want to check a specific car's reading against its age? Our free car check pulls the full MOT history from just the registration, including the mileage recorded at every test, alongside the car's tax status.
Look at the year-by-year trend, not just today's single reading. A steady, plausible climb across several tests tells you far more than one number in an advert ever can.
Sometimes the MOT or service history is thin. Say a younger car with few tests, or one that's changed hands more than once. In that case, our Comprehensive check cross-references the mileage against a wider set of industry records.
That helps where the free check's MOT trail alone doesn't give you enough history to judge. You can see exactly what one covers in this sample report.
Can a car have too little mileage?
Yes. Very low mileage isn't automatically a green flag.
A car that's sat unused for long periods can develop its own problems. Seals and rubber components perish rather than wear, and fluids degrade sitting still rather than circulating.
On diesels specifically, a DPF needs sustained higher-speed running to regenerate properly. One driven mostly on short trips, or left standing for long stretches, is more prone to DPF issues than one doing regular, longer runs.
If a car's mileage looks unusually low for its age, ask directly how and how often it was actually driven, and whether it's had genuinely long periods of storage.
What matters more than the number
A clean, consistent service history tells you more about a car's real condition than its mileage figure alone. So does a sensible pattern of MOT advisories over time. Mileage is a useful starting filter. It isn't the final word.
A dedicated guide to what good service history looks like goes into this in more depth. So does a companion guide to common faults by car age.
FAQs
What mileage is considered too high for a used car?
There's no fixed cut-off. As a rough starting point, multiply the car's age by the UK average of around 7,100 miles a year. A figure well above that isn't automatically a problem. But it's worth knowing when a reading is unusual rather than just above average. And it's worth checking the car's history rather than judging on mileage alone.
Is 100,000 miles too many for a used car?
Not on its own. Modern engines can comfortably run well past 150,000-200,000 miles with proper maintenance. The 100,000-mile mark matters more for resale value and finance-approval perception than as a mechanical limit. Check the cambelt history and DPF condition (on diesels) around that mileage. But don't treat the number itself as a dealbreaker.
What's a good average mileage per year for a car in the UK?
Around 7,100 miles a year, according to the DfT National Travel Survey (England, 2024 figures). It's the figure the UK motor trade treats as the standard benchmark, since the devolved nations don't publish an equivalent. Newer cars tend to average noticeably higher. They average around 8,460 miles a year for cars under three years old. That's because they're often company or lease vehicles doing longer commutes.
Does high mileage matter more than a car's age?
Neither on its own tells the full story. They only mean something together. A service history showing consistent maintenance matters more than either. A high-mileage car maintained properly is often a safer bet than a low-mileage car that's sat unused and neglected.
Can a used car have too little mileage?
Yes. Very low mileage can mean a car that's sat unused for long stretches. That brings its own problems: perished seals, degraded fluids, and on diesels, a higher risk of DPF issues from insufficient sustained running. Ask directly how and how often the car was actually driven.
How do I know if a car's mileage is genuine, not just plausible for its age?
Run our free car check and look at the year-by-year mileage trend across the MOT history, not just today's reading. A steady, consistent climb is the best free evidence of a genuine figure. If something looks off, our guide to spotting mileage clocking covers the specific red flags.