What Mileage Should I Sell My Car At?

Did you know that most of the newer cars that are out on the road today are designed to last for at least 200,000 miles? As long as you keep up with the necessary maintenance on a newer vehicle, you shouldn’t have to worry about selling it before it reaches the 200,000-mile mark if you don’t want to.

With that being said, plenty of people don’t necessarily want to keep a car, truck, or SUV for 200,000 miles. But they aren’t sure what mileage they should sell their vehicles at to get the most bang for their buck. Are you currently asking yourself, “What mileage should I sell my car at?” Continue reading to find out the answer.

Zero Miles to 30,000 Miles

Odometer by Merry Michalsen is licensed with CC BY-ND 2.0

If your car falls somewhere into this mileage range, you’re probably not going to want to sell it. Why? Well, when you buy a new car and begin driving it, it’s usually going to depreciate quite a bit. It isn’t uncommon at all for a new car to depreciate by about 20% during its first year. That number can then climb all the way up to 40% within a car’s first five years.

Because all this depreciation will be going on, your new car might be worth a lot less than you initially paid for it. As a result, it isn’t going to make much sense if you sell it when it’s still so new. You’ll be able to get a pretty penny for it, especially if it’s still in great shape. But since depreciation will have set in, you might not get any offers that would justify selling it just yet. Your best bet will be to keep your car and take great care of it until it stops depreciating.

30,000 Miles to 60,000 Miles

While selling your car when it still has between zero and 30,000 miles on it probably won’t be a smart decision, selling it within this window could be a much better idea. Once your car has between 30,000 and 60,000 miles on it, you’ll have to begin making minor repairs to the vehicle, and there might even be one or two major repairs that get thrown into the mix.

At the same time, you’ll find that depreciation has slowed down, and your car will be worth a lot more than you might expect. Potential buyers will also see that you don’t have a ton of mileage on your car and may be more attracted to it than they would be otherwise. It’s why you might want to kick the tires of the idea of selling it at this time.

Somewhere in between the 50,000-mile and 60,000-mile mark seems to be the sweet spot for selling used cars. Once your car reaches 60,000 miles, you might have to start dealing with more major repairs than you had to tackle before. You can avoid them while still making a nice profit when you sell your car at this point.

60,000 Miles to 100,000 Miles

If you don’t maintain a car well throughout its early life, you’ll begin to experience problems once it passes the 60,000-mile mark. For this reason, you should do whatever it takes to keep up with all the necessary maintenance that your automaker recommends up until this point. You should also start to consider selling your vehicle more seriously if you haven’t done it already.

There’s still going to be plenty of value packed into a car that has between 60,000 miles and 100,000 miles on it. Most people know that today’s vehicles can last up to 200,000 miles, if not longer, so they aren’t hesitant to scoop up used cars that haven’t even hit the halfway point yet. Your car will likely be at least five years old when you reach this mileage mark, so you might be willing to part ways with it when it falls into this window.

More Than 100,000 Miles

Even though many cars last for more than 200,000 miles these days, the 100,000-mile mark is a psychological barrier for a lot of people. They have a tough time wrapping their heads around the idea of paying good money for a car that has hit 100,000 miles, even if a vehicle owner has the maintenance records to prove that it’s been well taken care of over time.

If nothing else, you might have to deal with people trying to lowball you when you go to sell a car with over 100,000 miles. That might be reason enough to sell it sooner.

How To Get the Most Money When Selling a Car

No matter how many miles your vehicle might have on it, you should always aim to get the most money possible when selling it. You might be able to do it by holding a private sale for your car, truck, or SUV. But a better idea would be selling your car to a dealership that specializes in purchasing used vehicles.

When you take this approach, you won’t have to worry about listing your car for sale, marketing or detailing it, or all the other things you do to make your vehicle more appealing. All you’ll need to do is obtain an offer from a dealership and then decide if you’d like to accept it. It should enable you to make the most money possible when selling your car.

Contact Us To Sell or Trade Your Vehicle in San Antonio, TX

Are you interested in selling your car in San Antonio or possibly even trading it in? Either way, Red McCombs Toyota is always here to help. We’d love to make you a fair offer for your vehicle and then help you get behind the wheel of a new one. We’ll make trading in or selling your vehicle a stress-free experience from beginning to end.

Reach out to us today to see how easy it is to trade or sell your vehicle. Our team is ready and waiting.