Does It Matter How Many Owners a Car Has Had?

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Today, I'm talking about the number of owners a car has had. Everyone wants a 'one owner' but in reality, does it even matter?

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[johnstephens]

There was an elderly person living near me who had a Mini from new. We always knew when she was going out because she revved it like she was about to take part in an RAC Rally, but then rode the clutch ... although I'm not sure she actually knew what the clutch was for because she also crunched the gears. I don't think she ever went much further than the doctors or Tesco so the AA were regular visitors in winter. She had a dog leaving its mark all over the back seat and made clipping the kerb and knocking the door mirrors/bumpers into a performance art. When she put it up for sale, there it was: 'Low mlg. One careful lady owner from new'. No thanks! 🤣

[Globetrotter-]

I totally agree on that analysis. I'd also add that 'low-mileage' older cars can often mean that it has been sitting in dealers forecourts or owners car parks for years, being pelted by the elements and not being driven. Any vehicle needs to have regular miles put under the bonnet to oil and lubricate the engine and moving parts. It is a rare egg that has been kept inside a heated garage, driven only on sunny days, oiled and waxed regularly and cherished by one owner.

[cb]

I’m the 8th owner of a Jag XF S but it is quite clear the car has been extremely well maintained by some if not all of its owners. Service history checks out. I will also look after this for the 9th owner!

[GSE]

Had a 3.0L Legacy which the first owner had for 13 years, he did an average of 4000 miles a year and got it serviced only with Subaru specialists. Within a year it cost me over a grand to replace the exhaust because his low mileage had rusted the cats (all 3 of them) from the inside. Low miles and one owner isn't always a good thing.

[mick]

Absolutely spot on. Someone asked me the "how many owners has it had?“ question and I asked them if they were planning to drive it or marry it.

[stephenbibby]

Really good information Matt. I bought an eight year old SLK last year that had four previous owners. It did worry me a bit as I had never bought a car with so many previous owners. But when I thought about it this was a two seater car that wasn’t particularly practical. People buy them for a couple of years of top down summer fun then pass them on . As long as there’s a good documented service history you should be ok .

[robi]

Cars are often sold with FULL SERVICE HISTORY but when you look through what was actually done you find spark plug change has been missed, brake fluid change missed, no record of clutch fluid ever being changed, and if not at main dealer it'll be anybody's guess what parts were used.

[SylvainOfGandahar]

Excellent info there - I bought a first-owner car myself. It had relatively low mileage, but it later turned out that the owner had barely driven it for years and began to park it on grass causing it to rust. His son covered up the rust damage so well as he was a construction worker that even the guys at the shop did notice what was going on with the car. Meanwhile the rust was eating away at it until it broke through everywhere totaling the entire bucket. First owner - does not mean anything - not even an owner keeping it for 10 years - he usually neglected it - as I noticed with another car. Thanks for the vid!

[jonathanr]

Like high mileage cars - personal experience has taught me that you should not be afraid of high mileage cars. Always look beyond the number of owners and mileage. Great video.

[squeakers]

It depends on the history and how it's been looked after. My father has a car that had 9 owners and 140k miles but there was all the paperwork of it going to different specialists for each of its services and jobs but that's unlikely to happen. If it's a cheaper car, barely any history and many owners, it just takes one of the owners to have completely abused it.

[malcolmlane-ley]

This is a really interesting subject you've raised and it's certainly made me have a rethink before I change my car. For the many of us who trawl Autotrader researching our next purchase it is interesting that I have also added in some prejudices of my own like checking it's not got cheap tyres, the interior photographed from the driver's seat with the steering wheel at 90 degrees from centre (no attention to detail) or people claiming they are private sellers who seem to have a penchant for adidas jogging pants with trainers or flip flops
(some dodgy looking types from the local car wash) in a Range Rover? Really? Then there's how shiny is the steering wheel is and which radio station they listen to!

[andrewtodd]

My daughter's first car, an 8 year old Toyota Aygo, had one previous owner, which meant it didn't have 5 new drivers destroying the gearbox and clutch. With a full service history, it has proved to be an excellent car.

[byebyebadman]

Regardless of how many owners it's had, service history is number one on my list. A well serviced car is usually on point.

[fionnofearghail]

Spot on analysis Matt. You've put it into words better than I've ever been able to when discussing this with friends. My focus is always on how long the previous owner had it for. Also, love the term "man maths" - I've definitely been guilty of persuading myself this way on a few purchases. No regrets, just lessons learned!

[neilscott]

I largely agree, with the exception some types of lower end premium car (e.g. A5, most AMG-line Mercs, etc). Three or four owners in under five years screams repeated PCP deals by younger drivers who may have ragged them and can’t really afford to maintain them. It would make me more keen to inspect the service history, but still wouldn’t necessarily put me off.

[BMackQ]

Unfortunately dealers don’t help, as they advise this as a “feature” or a deal breaker. Common issue is that in terms of many users, there are going to be giving the car away before they need to service it, especially since these cars you mentioned are not cheap to service … and the next buyer buys it (and sometimes one of them lies to sell it easier). So it’s all debatable… you’ve given extreme examples, but I do agree (at least partially) with you.

[littleblackcloud]

I think it's a really useful tool in spotting a lemon. My two worst cars, reliability wise (A Golf GTI and a mk3 Megane) both had 5+ owners. I use it as a sign of a troublesome motor.

[nickyboam]

I used to be in the trade many years ago I learned that every time a car changes hands the new owner spends money on it.
I have a Mégane cabriolet 2002 02reg. It shows 8 owners. It's been right through my family. Myself several times, my wife, both my daughter's. I originally bought it as a summer toy. So it's officially an 8 owners car that has actually only had two

[chriscox]

I’m so glad I’m following you and this channel, you are so right. I was just looking at a 9 owner car and almost dismissed it… but it is in the “sports category” you were talking about. (I sold my Audi TT a few years ago cause my back went 😫, I loved that car 😂)

[HerbertDuckshort]

Way back in the day when I was in the RAF in Germany cars were tax free for service personnel. A colleague of mine bought a second hand, low mileage metallic bronze Chevy Camaro muscle car. It was a complete beast and a gorgeous lump of metal. He drove back home to the U.K. for a week’s leave and when he got back to Germany he sold it. I asked him what was wrong with car? You’ve only had it a month? He told me it was a great car but he’d only bought it for one reason. He was from quite a rough estate in Glasgow where, when he was a kid, all the neighbours used to tell him he was useless and would never amount to much. He said “I just wanted to see the look on their faces when I drove down the street and parked it outside my Mum’s. It was brilliant!”. After he’d sold it he bought a beige Ford Sierra 1.6 . People eh?