Mileage is the number of miles an engine has driven from the day it rolled off the assembly line to the present. It is often used to determine the condition of a used engine. While most people prefer a low mileage used engine for their car. Some believe that a low mileage used engine is not good.
In this write-up, we’ll discuss the cases in which low mileage is good or bad and other factors that affect a used engine’s condition.
When’s Low Mileage Good for a Used Engine?
Since no hard and fast rule links mileage to a used engine’s condition. An assessment is based on the general assumption that an average car owner puts about 10,000 to 12,000 miles on an engine every year. So, the average mileage of a used engine after 5 years would be 50,000 to 60,000 miles. Anything below those numbers will be considered low mileage.
Following the same logic, if you find a used engine that is 7 years old and has a mileage of about 75,000 miles, it is a good engine. The low mileage of 75,000 will prove to be good for this used engine as it proves that for 7 years, the engine has been utilized consistently but not enough to cause severe wear & tear.
When’s Low Mileage Bad for a Used Engine?
If the mileage on a used engine is too low, it’s a bad sign. For example, if a used engine has just 5,000 miles after 10 years of life, it indicates that the engine has spent most of its life sitting in a garage. As a result of not being in use for a long time, it is possible that the internal parts of the engine may have dried out or rust may have been deposited in the engine. Hence, in such cases, low mileage is bad for a used engine.
Other Factors That Help Assess a Used Engine’s Condition
Since mileage alone isn’t enough to truly assess a used engine’s condition. There are a few other factors that may help in the process like age & the number of owners.
Age: How old an engine is quite telling of its condition. Combined with the mileage of an engine, it can give you a better insight into the engine’s condition. For example, 15,000 miles of a two-year-old engine are not the same as 15,000 miles of an eight-year-old engine.
The number of owners: Even if the mileage numbers of a used engine are looking good, it is important to know the number of owners an engine has had in its lifetime. Suppose you have a 10-year-old used engine with 90,000 miles on it. However, the engine was owned by 4 different owners. It’s likely that at least one of the owners was careless with the maintenance of the engine.
Conclusion
Low mileage can be good as well as bad for a used engine as there are a few other factors too that are responsible for determining that. Thus, one must consider all the factors and not low mileage alone to seek out the best-used engine.
