The age of the car.
The mileage.
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Which would be a more important issue to you when buying a car?
The condition of the car. The miles on the car affect that more than the age, within reason. If it gets old enough it can have problems just due to age.
Luck of the draw and how well it was maintained are the two biggest factors. How it was driven also makes a difference.
When I used to buy and sell cars I would only buy from people who had money, which means I mostly would only buy from certain parts of the city. You don't have time to check out every car out there, so you have to improve your odds for the ones you do have time to check. People with money are FAR more likely to take better care of the car.
I also would not buy cars that had signs of being driven by a young person. For example I wouldn't buy cars with college stickers or anything else that might indicate they were young.
Unfortunately very few cars are sold by private parties any more. When buying from dealers the cars are not only way more expensive, but you usually have no idea who the previous owner was, or how well they kept up the car. Even most "private" sellers are really dealers pretending to be private sellers. However, if you take your time, buying from a private party is still the best way to go.
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The age, The older the better. See I only buy cars from 1984 and older
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They're both kind of important. Obviously mileage is more important because it's the overall wear on a car. But plastic parts, seals, etc degrade overtime whether they're in use or not so that does have to be taken into consideration. Also if a car is say 20 years. Old but only 20k miles on it for example. That's could be a red flag! Why did it sit for so long?
When purchasing a car I try to look for one that has about 12k miles for ever year of age. That's avg. Usage of miles. Lower is good but not ridiculously low. Try to buy from a reputable dealer if you're going that route. If they value their business they're not going to knowingly sell you a lemon.
And if you can avoid it don't buy right now. This is probably the absolute worst time I've ever seen to buy a car. -
Definitely age.
Rust is the biggest killer of cars, and that's down to age rather than mileage. Any modern car will easily manage over 200K miles.
A newish car with high mileage has likely just done a lot of motorway miles or longer commutes, which isn't a bad thing at all. Short journeys and stop-start driving in town/traffic are what cause problems - engines and turbos wear faster before they warm up; anti-pollution devices like EGR valves and DPFs get clogged; clutches, flywheels and gearboxes are put under more stress; and so on. Cars that have just sat for a while without being used, also develop problems.
The usual advice though, is to buy on condition, rather than age or mileage. -
Depending on the vehicle, some lose half their value in the first three years from the showroom. Most lease companies only allow 12,000 miles per year before they punish you for going over.
If you don't drive that much, hence don't put a lot of miles on the car, you should be okay on the trade-in. Leasing a 2 or 3-year-old vehicle can work out okay, depending on the vehicle. Always look at the year of the vehicle, how many miles, and divide the mileage by the years. If it's over 12,000, you start out behind the 8-ball. -
I've bought a lot of cars that are older but low miles at a ceartain auction I've went to. Who wants to buy a vehicle Thats still nice and shiny but has reached its mechanical limits. I see pickups all the time that are less than ten years old that have 2-3 hundred thousand miles on them. Don't understand they still want thousands of dollars for same with hondas
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Well living in Canada I'm better off to buy a 5 year old truck with high kms, than a 10 year old with lower kms. It's because vehicles here rust like crazy because of the salt they use on the roads in the winter.
Rust is a big deal and it's way easier to maintain a newer vehicle, than trying to change brakes, calipers, ball joints, wheel bearings etc. on a vehicle that's 10+ years old. They break a lot of extra things trying to change rusted parts and it gets expensive really quick. -
Condition & history of the vehicle such as accidents & damage, etc & after that mileage & age of the vehicle. A vehicle can have low mileage because the owner left it in a barn & forgot about it for 20 years & never started the engine. The age of the vehicle might not matter if the owner took care of the vehicle & over the years replaced everything & it’s running like it just left the lot it was bought on.
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Mileage but if it is ultra low mileage that could be a problem. My truck is 12 years old and I only put around 5,000 miles a year on it but I drive it weekly, a car that sits for a long time will have issues. They are designed to be on the move. This is why motorhomes are known to have tons of issues because they sit all winter or do not drive that often.
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Flower, neither of the factors you show are important to me. I will never buy another ICE car (Internal Combustion engine)
I take that back! Mileage might be a factor for me in buying another TESLA although if I bought used (doubtful) mileage might be a factor for Battery life. I have one ICE car, and only rarely drive it. 
The mileage and how well or not well the pervious owner has taken care of the car. The latter is probably the most important one as well or not well they took care of the car will determine how long the car last for you.
And that you take care of the car well as the owner is just as important-
Mileage, duh? But honestly low mileage is determined by the age of the car compared to usage so without age the mileage is pretty irrelevant.
10,000 miles on a car in a few months or a few years? Big difference on depreciation on a resale value. -
The mileage. Something could be new but worn out due to so much usage.
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Mileage and make/model.
Age doesn't tell you much.
Wouldn't you rather have a 1990 Honda Accord with zero miles over a 2020 Honda Accord with 250k miles? - 517 opinions shared on Shopping & Gifts topic.
I would sooner have a 5 year old car with low mileage then a newer car with 150000 miles on the odometer.
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It could be a low mileage older car, which has been through less driving Riggers. I definitely would prefer a lower mileage older car over a high mileage newer car.
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I look at the mileage, but then depending on where the car came from, I am looking at other things as well. I started to lease vehicles, because I do not drive much anymore and the maintenance is paid for by the dealership
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I wouldn't know, I've always had only new cars... I think that mileage should matter more? As it details the usage of the vehicle.
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Definitely the mileage…if it’s never or hardly ever been driven, it’s almost new despite the year of the car.
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If you're buying a used car the brand is the most important
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They're both important. More important is how the used car has been maintained. Does it even have maintenance records?
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I'd say the mileage, because that's what actually "uses up" the car.
That being said, in a perfect scenario I'd be getting a 2015-2019
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