Cars

[Devinetiles]

What’s the best mileage range for a used car purchase?

[bednobs]

Impossible to say. Cars generally add mileage till their engine is uneconomical to repair. 

[calda49]

The average motorist does 10000 - 12000miles per year, so a good rule of thumb is to divide the age of the car by the mileage done to see if it is above/below average. Also if the full service /repair history is available it can give pointers.

[bhg481]

It's anybody's guess. Some things wear out with mileage (engine, gearbox, clutch etc), some things wear out with age (upholstery, bodywork etc). Low mileage cars might have an engine which is full of carbon deposits or in excellent condition depending on whether it was used daily travelling 2 miles or weekly travelling more miles. A high mileage car's engine might be worn out or (like mine) in excellent condition after many thousands of miles because it's always be serviced in good time and top-quality oil used and hardly ever used for short trips. I always feel that automatics are a safer second-hand buy than manuals because it's impossible to mistreat the engine and, on top of that, they're usually driven by people who are less inclines to drive around like idiots. The choice is yours.

[Old_Geezer]

Zero ?

[mjwman]

Low milage is always preferable but not always desirable. 

An old low milage elderly persons shopping car may look nice but engine or clutch wear could be high resuling in expensive repairs.
On the other hand, a young, say up to 3 year old, ex-company car could have tens of thousands of miles on it but they would have been unstressed motorway miles and the engine will be regularly serviced and lokely to be in top condition.