You may have missed it, but last week the office of Fair Trading issued a report saying that consumers could potentially over-pay to the tune of around £580million a year as a result of illegal clocking, which involves adjusting a vehicle to show false mileage.
I think that the figure, if you include people over paying for cars because they don’t know what the mileage should be, is actually far higher. Conventional wisdom says cars do “about 10,000 miles a year.” When I launched our price guide I decided to include real average mileage because different cars have very different patterns.
If you know the real average mileage of the car you want to buy, its much easier to spot suspiciously low mileage cars and by checking their service records, the condition of the interior and the feel of the clutch (very heavy or very high is bad news) anyone can make a good call on whether the car is a genuine low mileage deal or a rip-off of some kind. Here’s what I mean – three 2006 cars with very different average mileages and three very different point to suspect clocking:
Volkswagen Fox
.jpg)
It is good to drive, very roomy at the expense of being able to nip through small gaps. Plus it has a responsive engine range. The interior plastics are really cheap though, so it doesn’t feel like you are in a VW.
Most economical: 1.2 P
Best used buy: 1.4 P
UsedCarExpert.com common faults: 0
Used Car Expert Mileage analysis: A 1.4 litre VW Fox from 2006 will have 26,000 miles on the clock on average. Be suspicious of anything under 20,000 miles.
Jeep Cherokee
.jpg)
Spacious and practical. Doesn't measure up to many rivals and prices are getting softer especially for basic Sport trim mode
Most economical: 2.5 CRD
Best used buy: 3.7 P
UsedCarExpert.com common faults: 11
Used Car Expert Mileage analysis: A 2006 Jeep Cherokee with the 3.7 litre petrol engine will have completed 36,000 miles on average. Be suspicious of anything less than 30,000.
Vauxhall Vectra
.jpg)
Hugely comfy and safe and great value. Ex fleet and company cars that have seriously depreciated over the last few years make huge sense as a value family buy – especially the petrol engines.
Most economical: 1.9 CDTi
Best used buy: 1.9 CDTi
UsedCarExpert.com common faults: 10
Used Car Expert Mileage analysis: A 2006 Vauxhall Vectra with a 1.9 CDTi engine will have a whopping average mileage of 61,000 miles. Be suspicious of anything under 50,000 miles.