Why Low Mileage Cars are a Total Rip-off

There is no way you can possibly convince me that these vehicles are worth what they've sold for at recent auctions. Let's take a look at some of these sales results and get into a spirited debate over whether or not the "low mileage" charm should have as much impact on price as it seems to.

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[nichole]

“You’re not into cars, you’re into money” ohhhh that was cathartic for me to hear. Thank you Doug, I’ve been enjoying your content and your dealer inventory too.

[ericswires]

Buying super low mileage car would mean you would be expected to not drive it in order to preserve the value. I want to have a car I can drive

[winguard]

All I will say is that cars are meant to be driven. My lowest-mile car is at 160k, the rest are 250k+. I'd be a bit concerned if someone didn't drive their Honda CRX (with reference to thumbnail). Think about all the seals and gaskets that'll dry out from sitting unused that you'll have to replace if you want it back on the road.

[kevinrowley]

In 2010 I bought a '99 Carrera 4 Aero with 14K miles on it. The car still smelled new on the inside. The dealer who sold it to me is a friend of mine. About 9 months later I met him for lunch at a restaurant, having driven the 996 in a pouring rainstorm to get there. He proceeded to give me all kinds of crap for driving that car on that day and telling me I would be sorry when it came time to sell it. My response was: "I buy cars to drive them, not look at them. If I can't drive the car, for whatever reason, it becomes worthless to me. And, I never buy a car with a plan to sell it. I leave that to car salesmen."

[brianackland]

Agreed, but wine collectors are way worse. Actually, these are often the same people. 😬

[thumprrr]

The original owner who bought that 92 CRX-Si is an idiot.
If he or she would have invested that $12, 000 into an S&P 500 index fund they would now have over $325, 000.
They didn’t get the enjoyment of driving the car.
This is coming from a former 2x CRX-Si owner. 1988 and 1992

[Zzus]

Every Gasket will leak if you ever decide to drive it 😂

[brianm.]

The argument of wanting to experience a car new does not work here. Even with 90 miles on the clock it's still 20 years old. No sweat on the steering wheel because it hasn't been driven much? The leather has still degraded over that 20 year span. Even if the car was being maintained to immaculate standards, it's still not the same as new. It's an aging item that has product all over it to mask that age. I would rather have a car with mileage on the clock, because a sitting car is a deteriorating car. If a car is ran over it's lifespan a good amount it will outlast a car that's been sitting it's entire lifetime and will be far more reliable. That doesn't mean I want a car with 200k miles. But I also don't want a 20 year car with 90 miles.

[SkylineFTW]

Exactly. What you said about how cars as an art require being driven to truly appreciate them. You want one to look at? Get a painting of your favorite car. The painting doesn't get chips in the paint driving on back roads. It doesn't get dings from shopping cart bumps. It doesn't need oil changes. Leave the cars for the people who actually drive them.

Also the Corvette has been a supercar in at least some configurstions since the C4 ZR1 in 1990. It's been competitive with performance since then and that's all that matters (the same applies for the Dodge Viper).

[PHLster]

If you want the nostalgia, 90’s and early 2000’s cars with 50-120k miles and maybe 3 owners can still feel and drive “like new.”

[What.its.like.]

I'm with you low mileage cars it's weird. They bring the most money because of low mileage, but they usually have the most problems because nobody drives them., which in my experience is like the worst thing that you can do to a car because everything just wears out faster because of dry rot, because the fluids going through the rubber hoses helps the rubber last longer

Every single low mileage car I've had I've had issues with so so I don't even buy low mileage cars anymore than I'm gonna drive

For example, museum cars they look absolutely amazing but I've heard there are terrors because they just sit and then when you want to drive it. All these issues arise.

[ConnorRangatira]

I’m with you on this one. I’d rather have a drivers car with some miles where I can just enjoy the car and not stress about every mile.

[timbatura]

I've always appreciated your self-awareness about your feelings on car trends & fandoms. You're the real McCoy!

[TehArtfulDodger]

Becoming Ed Bolian, this is the slip at the start of the slope.
Next its gonna be im over all original paint cars.
Next Im over clean carfax cars.
Welcome to the dark side we hoon cars here

[Affalterbach]

Car with <10, 000 miles, age > 10 years. Has all the every 6/12/24/48 month maintenance been completed ?

[nicholascortez]

The issue is then keeping them locked away eventually kills the value because no one after a certain pony has contact with them and no nostalgia.

This was a discussion in a wagon group I'm in about 1940s Woody's which historically were super expensive (like north of 100K), one recently sold for 50-60K and it was a very low mile pristine example. The people that dream of those cars are dead or dying off, they were locked away never to be seen by people younger than the owners.

[johnhufnagel]

I get the rant. Stupid low mileage, is stupid. DRIVE THE DAMN CAR. And don't get me started about how much WORK they need to have done to them to actually DRIVE them safely.

[BMWVX]

Sorry Ethan, Doug is on point with this one.
I’m looking for a high mile Z8 (as I want to drive the damn thing) and so many owners (past and present) have missed the point of that car… such a shame!

[nes]

I had this happen with a hobby of mine.

I actively had to ask myself "who gets to use this stuff? Should I sell it and buy used so I will use it?"

Its odd "destroying" things at first. However my enjoyment level has skyrocketed.

[richardsharma]

Whenever Doug does an impression, I crack the hell up 😂