As a rule, the average driver drives between 10 and 30 thousand kilometers per year. Therefore, a three-year-old car with a mileage of 30 thousand kilometers is almost ideal.
Most likely, the owner of such car in Cyprus will be a middle manager, moving mainly around the city between home, store, work, and rare outings to the nearest suburbs. But, apart from "white collars" girls and housewives, hunters and builders also drive on the island. While the former are most likely to drive on smooth roads, the latter can travel through difficult terrain due to their work or hobbies.
In order not to get into trouble and buy a decent used car, you need to know at least a little bit about what mileage is considered high and what is normal on the island. It will not be superfluous to know where the driver moved: in the forests, mountains, smooth roads, or pits.
Let's get to the bottom of it!
What factors affect the wear and tear of the car?
How much or little the used car has overcome on its way will depend on:
- the brand and country of manufacture;
- the roads the car has traveled on;
- the operating conditions;
- the driving style and the level of care taken by its owner.
There is no clearly defined boundary, with what mileage it is better to buy a car, nor what exactly mileage can be called "normal". When choosing a used car you can compare the year of release with the mileage, but it often happens when a young and inexperienced driver for 20 thousand kilometers gets into so many accidents that it becomes impossible to drive the car, so it is bought based on an artificial factor because the mileage is small! You can also meet a perfectionist, who blew all the dust from the "swallow", and watched over it better than his wife, and his 15-year-old car looks and feels as if it just came off the assembly line!
Where was the car produced?
In recent years, Chinese car manufacturers have been stepping on the heels of European and Japanese companies. However, while they are flooding the Russian market, the inhabitants of Cyprus are in no hurry to transfer to such cars. And they are right to do so. Chinese cars are still not so reliable to buy them with high mileage. Most often "Chinese" serve without problems exactly as long as the manufacturer's warranty lasts. As a rule, electronics is the first to "die", then the body and undercarriage.
Things are quite different with German or Japanese manufacturers. The same Toyota, Mazda or BMW, which are very popular among Cypriots, are ready to run thousands of kilometers with proper care. That is, with the owner, who followed the maintenance, changed all fluids on time, poured products of proven manufacturers, monitored corrosion and other things.
On what roads was the used car driven?
New cars, which started their way from the doors of official Cypriot dealers, require less attention and expenses than foreign cars brought from abroad. Nevertheless, if you manage to find a used car, delivered, for example, from Japan or England, then even 40 thousand kilometers a year should not scare you: where the roads are smooth, the car runs longer.
If you are looking for an off-roader, check with the owner, on what forest passes he drove. Do not believe he bought a powerful huge "American" only to park on the curb, for this is enough, and the capabilities of the crossover. It is unlikely that the owner of an offroad "jeep" will willingly share information that he is an avid hunter or fisherman and every weekend conquered the mountains of Troodos on the car which is being sol, so be careful.
Remember: 10 thousand kilometers on the highway is much different from 10 thousand kilometers in city traffic jams or in the fields and forests of Cyprus!
How to roughly calculate the " normal" mileage for Cyprus.
Follow these useful tips when buying a used car to avoid unpleasant "surprises":
- If the car looks like "seen the views", and on the odometer proudly paints the figure of 40 thousand kilometers, it is not superfluous to clarify with the owner, how he managed to do so.
- Off-road, not carried out in time service works, inattention of the owner to the car, and "dashing" style of driving will affect even a small mileage of the car.
- Learn everything about the brand and model of the car before you buy it from second hand: how many years of warranty the manufacturer gave, what are its positive and negative reviews, read forums and blogs, find out what nodes are the first to fall into disrepair. This will allow you to choose a reliable car and know what to pay attention to when buying a used car from hand.
- Choose a car whose appearance, mileage, and condition are worth as much as the seller is asking for. Strongly underestimated or overestimated price - a reason to think about, the mileage may be twisted.
- Pay attention to the odometer, but do not believe it blindly. Each case may have a justification. A low mileage may not be "normal" if the driver has not been conscientious. However, just as a hundred kilometers may not be a bad conviction. For example, if the former owner was a housewife, who part-time cab driver, taking every day from morning to night children to clubs in different parts of the city, then the indicator on the odometer, which exceeded a hundred kilometers for a five-year-old car will be normal mileage.
How to avoid deception?
The first thing to do is to go to a proven service that you trust. Statistics show that every third car has twisted mileage. In this case, it is not uncommon when the mileage is twisted not once, but two, three, and even more times. By the way, the seller of the car may not know that the former owners have already twisted the mileage. Therefore, do not take their word for it, check the history of the car before buying.
For a large selection of cars visit the the DOMCar website
Photos: pixabay.com
