3 June 2026
High mileage: what is a commuter car still worth?
A car with 200,000 km is not worthless. What matters is the kind of kilometres covered and how consistently it was serviced.
Not all kilometres are equal
A hundred thousand motorway kilometres wear a car far less than fifty thousand kilometres of short urban trips. The engine reaches operating temperature, the clutch works little and the brakes see fewer cycles. That is precisely the usage profile of a commuter driving into Luxembourg each day.
Conversely, a low-mileage car used only in town, with repeated cold starts, can show more internal wear than a high-mileage motorway example.
What protects value
The service book is the decisive element. Oil changes on schedule, a timing belt replaced on time and recent invoices move the valuation towards the top of the range, regardless of the odometer.
Expensive components matter more than looks: automatic gearbox, turbo, dual-mass flywheel, injectors. A recent invoice on any of these is a tangible argument at inspection.
When to sell
Depreciation accelerates as cars approach psychological thresholds such as 150,000 or 200,000 kilometres, and just before a major service falls due. Selling a few months ahead of either often preserves several hundred euros of value.