Which is More Important for a Used Car: Mileage or Age?
2 Answers
Mileage is more important. Below are the relevant details: Speedometer and Odometer: The speedometer indicates the vehicle's speed in km/h (kilometers per hour). The odometer actually consists of two meters: one is the speedometer, and the other is the odometer. The odometer is generally located directly in front of the driver's position. Working Principle: The odometer is a digital instrument that operates through the engagement of the counter drum's transmission gear with the worm gear on the speedometer's rotating shaft, causing the counter drum to rotate. Its characteristic is that when the upper-level drum completes one full rotation, the lower-level drum rotates 1/10 of a turn. Similar to the speedometer, modern odometers also include electronic versions, which obtain mileage data from speed sensors. The accumulated mileage data in electronic odometers is stored in non-volatile memory, allowing the data to be preserved even when the power is off.
I've been driving for over a decade and feel mileage is more crucial. Take my old Volkswagen for example - it was 10 years old when purchased but had only 70,000 km on it, and the chassis still felt rock-solid. High mileage means critical components like engine pistons and transmission gears are nearing their wear limits, especially for vehicles that frequently run long distances where actual wear far exceeds age-related deterioration. Of course, older vehicles do suffer from rubber component degradation - things like cracked door seals causing drafts or brittle radiator gaskets leading to leaks, which require repairs. When choosing a used car, it's best to avoid vehicles exceeding 15,000 km per year, otherwise you'll spend more time fixing than driving. Always check maintenance records too - a well-maintained car with regular oil changes at 8 years/80,000 km will outperform a 5-year-old car with 200,000 km any day.
