You can gauge how much intrinsic value a car has by how much differences in mileage influence price. For example, if you had two cars of the same make, model, and year; If the first had 120,000 miles and sold for $10,000 while the other had 60,000 miles sold for $13,000; then, based on the selling prices, the intrinsic value of 60,000 miles is $3000. If the market perceives the average life of this car as 180,000 miles, then the first car's intrinsic value is $3000, the second car's intrinsic value is $6000, and a brand new car had an intrinsic value of about $9000 and an extrinsic value of $21,000 if bought new for $30,000.

Once you have a good gauge of intrinsic value, the next step is to determine what mileage range to buy. This depends on how long you intend to intend to keep the car for and your budget for maintenance. A car with higher miles may fit just as well within your time frame and cost less. For example, if a car model is not expected to last beyond 200,000 miles, and you want to own this car for over 5 years, then you should probably not buy a car with more than 125,000 miles. If you only intend to have the car for 2 years, you can get by with a higher mileage car and pay significantly less initially. The same rule also applies to warrantees. If the car's warranty expires at 100,000 miles and you want to keep it at least 3 years, then you will probably want to buy a car with at most 65,000 miles.

This is a simplistic description of auto pricing as many other factors also influence price. In general, when looking for the right car, remember these three things: first, know exactly what you need; second, know how long you plan to keep it, and third, use not age determines value.

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