Are High-Mileage Used Cars Becoming an Endangered Species?
Are High-Mileage Used Cars Becoming an Endangered Species?
This opinion piece considers the future of selling a 180,000 km vehicle through a registered motor dealer in South Africa.
We often talk about the challenges facing the used motor industry, but there is a serious problem that could fundamentally change the way dealers do business: the future of high-mileage vehicles.
South Africa has an ageing vehicle population, and for many consumers, a vehicle with 150,000 km, 180,000 km or even 200,000 km on the clock represents the only affordable route to vehicle ownership. These vehicles serve an important part of the market. They are not necessarily bad vehicles; many have been properly maintained and still have plenty of useful life left in them. However, the regulatory environment is making the retailing of these vehicles increasingly difficult.
The warranty question
The Consumer Protection Act provides an implied six-month warranty of quality. What it does not provide is a mileage ceiling during this period.
Consider this scenario: a dealer sells a ten-year-old vehicle with 180,000 km. The customer travels another 25,000 km over the following six months. A mechanical component fails and a complaint is lodged. The question is not simply whether the failure occurred within six months. The question should also be what caused the failure, whether the defect existed at the time of sale, what was disclosed to the customer, and whether the failure was reasonably attributable to the vehicle's condition or subsequent use.
Recent decisions by the Consumer Tribunal and the courts have reinforced the consumer's protection, including in cases involving older and high-mileage vehicles. The December 2025 Martin judgment and the more recent October 2026 Hyundai H1 matter should certainly make dealers take notice.
Nobody is suggesting that dealers should be allowed to sell defective vehicles or escape their responsibilities under the CPA, or that consumers should carry the cost of genuine defects. But surely there must be a distinction between selling a defective vehicle and selling an older vehicle with components that have experienced years of normal use? A vehicle with 180,000 km cannot reasonably be compared to one with 60,000 km. Its age, mileage, service history, condition and intended use should form part of any fair assessment.
The unintended consequences
If dealers become increasingly reluctant to retail vehicles with higher mileage because of the financial exposure, what happens to the consumer who can only afford a vehicle in this price category? Are we going to see fewer older vehicles offered by established dealerships? Will these vehicles increasingly find their way into the informal market? And will the consumer ultimately be worse off?
The industry needs to engage with the regulators on this issue. Perhaps it is time to consider a more practical framework for assessing mechanical failures during the six-month period, taking into account mileage at delivery, distance travelled thereafter, vehicle age, disclosed condition and independent technical findings.
Consumer protection must remain a priority. But protecting consumers should not mean ignoring the realities of the product being sold. The concern is that, in trying to protect the consumer buying a high-mileage vehicle, we could eventually make it commercially unviable for registered dealers to sell one. And if that happens, who will really be the winner?