The value of a low mileage car is likely placed upon the components being original, which is important to a Concours or Thoroughbred category. Hardy any of our cars nowadays include all of the factory OEM components. To make a very low mileage car into a daily driver would mean replacing all rubber stuff, including gaskets, weatherstrips, etc., detracting from the value of a low mileage car.

Other good stuff of a reasonably low mileage car is probably an unadulterated engine, one that hasn't been bored out yet.

 

Hello.Personally,given a choice between a car that has been sitting in a barn for 32 years and a car with a gazillion miles on it,but just had a top-notch,from the ground up restoration,i'd have to go with car B.But an actual super low mileage car is good for a piece of reference material as far as paint splotches,stickers and decals.I thoroughly enjoy walking around one,but there's no way I'd put it on the freeway.They are,to me,fascinating pieces of history.But,everybody has their own opinion.

 

This brings up a question i had thought about posting. Is there any way to tell if the odometer has turned over? Because mine says 46,000+, but if it has turned over once or even twice, that would definatley explain the condition of my car. First let me say that it has been stored for 16 years so no miles since then. The entire rear clip(quarters, tail panel, frame rails, ect.) needs replaced, and the floors are basically gone. So are the front frame rails. If my car has 146,000 miles, that would much better expain the condition.

 

As I've rediscovered with my blue '68 Cougar, your car could have ended up in the same condition by being driven in the snow belt for 46K miles, then parked for the next 16 years. Once the beginnings of the rust is there, it will continue eating away at the car even if it is no longer exposed to the elements. A lot of damage can be done in 16 years, especially if the storage location is also damp.

 

Hello.Me again.There are ways to tell the aproximate mileage of a car.Time ages things in a way that's different from wear.The best indicator is the steering wheel wear.If it hasn't been replaced.Pedal pad wear is also a good one.an additional 100k makes things look different.Shifter handles,things like that.Anyone can develop an eye for things like that,once you realize what it is you're looking for.

 

I have owned our 69' since the late 70's. It was driven daily for many years and frequently for many more. We stored the car for six years from 92 thru 97.

I can attest without reservation that the six years of storage did far more harm to the car than all the years we drove it on a regular basis.

Time is not kind to idle autos.

 

I think milage is only important or cars in original condition. You could dig a car out of a landfill that has 20,000 original miles and fully restore it and honestly only have 20,000 original miles but the fact that is had been totaled for 34 years is an important detail.

Past that milage on a 35 year old car is meaningless. Soo what if the engine has only 50,000 original miles on it, the engine may well have sat for 20 years. The same is true for a car with 1 million miles. It doesn't matter if the alternator was replaced once or 10 times. The mileage has no indication of how old the current alternator is. You must eveluate how the car is today.

 

My Mach sat for 12 years in my garage..when I restored it..all I did to the engine was redo the heads..it cranked right over and ran perfectly..compression is great at 170 pounds..but the little engine sucks up oil at the rate of one quart per 500 miles..oil rings are probably gone..victims of a long sleep..but it is on it's way to a complete rebuild

 

I mess around with triumph sports cars along with Mustangs.
They tend to have low milage by mustang standards,most are run 5-10thousand miles the first year. Then they are driven progressively less each year till parked for the long term
40,50,60 thousand miles in 35 years is not unusual. When buying or selling sportscars mileage is almost a sidebar to the transaction as to condition and completness.
Mustangs tended to have the wheels run off them over 35 years. Some would be surprised how far their pride has traveled over the years.

 

Nothing personal but your car looks like mine...perhaps IT has turned over a time or two *LOL*.

I've heard that the numbers don't line up after it flips over once. Until then all the numbers look pretty much so in line.

My favorites are the adds for the original "16k" miles and such. Sure there are some low mileage cars out there but they were either put on a 1/4 mile at a time or granny's car that never really got used and stored in a barn after 6-10 years with low miles on it b/c it didn't run anymore. I'm happy with mine either way, just wish I could drive it.

 

I agree with both sides of the argument. I think that the neglect of a car, driving it too little and not doing proper maintenance, is far worse than a properly maintained high mileage one. I would also think that even a thirty three year old car with only 45,000 original miles on it needs a thorough going over to make it new again.

That being said, if one were to offer either a nicely restored 45,000 original mile car or the same car with an unknown amount of miles on it, I think that the low original mileage car would bring more money. Especially if the mileage is documented.

As vintage iron gets scarcer (yeah, even certain chevy's) and the original parts escalate into the heavens, these low mileage cars will be commanding big premiums. In the big picture, any properly restored car should bring a good dollar and a properly restored low mileage one even more. Either way, they are meant to be driven and enjoyed.

On another note, I do think that lying or misrepresenting a car (yes I am speaking of mileage) in this hobby is disgraceful. And, the "I didn't know because that's what I was told when I bought it" isn't a good excuse. It takes about two weeks to run a VIN at most DMV's and get some title history on a car. That's how I found out I got screwed. In my case I had a valid state title in my hand that read 43,xxx "actual miles" on it and it just wasn't true. Someone had changed an "Odometer Exempt" DMV Document to read "Actual Mileage"

I did, however, learn a big lesson. Don't believe anything a PO tells you unless it is in writting AND you can verify it. Caveat Emptor! That and turn your lawyer loose on them. In another week, that's what I am doing.

O.K. I am done venting.

 

Yes, the mileage issue is a pet peeve of mine too. It makes no logical sense to think a 35 year old car only has 25,000 miles...or what ever, unless you have actual records.
SVDC...I think you will find you will be out of luck yet again.. Mileage disclosure is EXEPMT past 10 years. Since the gov. has decided that after ten years, it is difficult to verify actual miles. So you will be out of luck. In this case, and most cases it is the "pie-in-the-sky" attitude of the buyer, that usually hammers the mileage issue. I have sold several old mustangs, and EVERY one, the prospective buyers asks what the mileage is befor they ask the condition. It's funny, cause I tell them "I don't know", then they ask for the odometer, then they ask...is it original? Many times buyers want to believe it has " low miles" but for what purpose?????

 

To my way of thinking it is the quality of the miles (maintained vs. neglected) as much as the quantity