Average car mileage per year in the UK

The average car in England covered 7,100 miles in 2025, according to the Department for Transport's National Travel Survey. That is a useful starting point, but it is not the best yardstick for a used car. A better one is the typical mileage of cars of the same age at their MOT, and better still is the car's own mileage record across its MOT tests. A car is not good or bad because it is above or below average. What matters is whether the miles make sense and whether the car has been looked after for the miles it has done.

The latest figure

The DfT's National Travel Survey asks households in England about their cars, including how many miles each car did in the past year. Table NTS0901, updated on 10 September 2026, gives these averages for 2025:

A few things to keep in mind:

• It covers England. The survey has been weighted to England only since 2013.
• It is an estimate. The DfT notes that the annual mileage is estimated by the respondent, so it is not an odometer reading.
• It has fallen over time. The same table puts the all-car average at 9,200 miles in 2002 and 7,600 miles in 2019. It dropped to 5,400 miles in 2021, during the pandemic, and was 7,100 miles in both 2024 and 2025.

By trip purpose, the 2025 all-car average breaks down into about 500 miles of business use, 2,200 miles of commuting and 4,500 miles of other private use. The DfT rounds these to the nearest hundred.

Why the old "10,000 miles a year" rule is out of date

Many people still judge used cars against a rule of thumb of 10,000 or 12,000 miles a year. In the survey, the average for all cars has not reached 10,000 miles in any year since the table began in 2002. The highest was 9,200 miles. Against today's figure, a car that has done 10,000 miles a year is above average, not typical.

That does not make it a worse car. It means you should not read a lower mileage as unusual, or a higher one as normal, just because of an old rule.

A better yardstick: mileage by age at the MOT

An average across all cars mixes new cars with old ones. Cars tend to do more miles a year when they are younger and fewer as they get older. In DVSA's anonymised MOT records for 2022 to 2025, the median car had about 22,800 miles at 3 years old, about 75,000 at 10 years and about 100,200 at 15 years, so the yearly miles fall off with age. A single yearly average can mislead you about a car of a particular age.

A fairer comparison is what cars of the same age actually show on the odometer at their MOT. Our MOT pages do this from DVSA's anonymised MOT test records. Each published model page shows the median mileage at test for each age from 3 years old, and the median for all cars of that age. We only show a figure where there are at least 1,000 tests behind it, so the numbers are not driven by a handful of cars.

The median is the middle value: half the cars of that age had done fewer miles and half had done more. It is less pulled about by a few very high mileage cars than an average would be.

Use it like this:

1. Find the model's page under MOT data by make and model.
2. Look up the median mileage at the car's age.
3. Compare the car's mileage with that figure.

A car well above the median has worked harder than most of its kind. A car well below it has had an easy life, or has spent time off the road, or its mileage needs a second look.

The car's own MOT mileage record matters most

The GOV.UK MOT history service shows the mileage recorded at each MOT test for cars tested in Great Britain. That record is the strongest evidence you have about a specific car.

What to look for:

• A steady pattern. Mileage rising by a broadly similar amount each year is reassuring.
• Big changes in yearly mileage. A car that did very high mileage and then very little may have changed owner or use. Ask about it.
• Any drop in mileage between tests. The odometer should never go backwards. A fall can be a recording error, but it can also be a sign of clocking. Our guide to clocked cars explains what to do.
• Gaps between tests. A missing year can mean the car was off the road or declared SORN. Ask why.

Then match the MOT mileages to the service history and invoices. If a service stamp shows a higher mileage than a later MOT, something is wrong. Our guide to reading MOT history walks through it.

Is high mileage a problem?

Not on its own. Steady motorway miles are generally gentler on parts like the clutch and brakes than the same number of miles in stop-start town traffic. A car with high mileage and a full service history can be a better buy than a low-mileage car that has sat unused or missed its servicing.

What higher mileage does mean is more wear on parts that wear with use, such as the clutch, suspension, brakes and, on some engines, the timing belt. Ask for invoices for the work due at that mileage. Our guide to high mileage cars covers what to check. Mileage is also a fair point in the price talk, which our guide to negotiating a used car price covers.

And very low mileage needs checks too. A car that has done far fewer miles than its age suggests may have stood for long periods, which can be hard on tyres, brakes, batteries and seals.

Matching the car to your own mileage

The national figures also help you think about your own driving. If you do well above average mileage, much of it on long runs, a diesel may suit you. If you do mostly short trips, a petrol, hybrid or electric car is often the calmer choice. Our guide to whether to buy a used diesel goes into that decision.

Frequently asked questions

What is the average mileage per year in the UK?

There is no single UK figure in the survey. The latest DfT National Travel Survey figure is 7,100 miles per car in 2025, for cars in England. Diesel cars averaged 8,000 miles and petrol cars 6,200 miles.

Is 10,000 miles a year a lot?

It is above today's average. The DfT's figure for all cars in England was 7,100 miles in 2025, and it has not been as high as 10,000 miles in any year since 2002.

What is a good mileage for a used car?

There is no single good number. Compare the car with the median mileage for its age on our MOT pages, check that its MOT mileage record rises steadily, and make sure the servicing matches the miles.

How can I check a car's mileage history?

Use the GOV.UK MOT history service, which shows the mileage recorded at each MOT test. Then match those readings to the service book and invoices.

Is low mileage always better?

No. Very low mileage can mean the car stood for long periods, which brings its own problems. A well-serviced car with sensible, steady mileage is often the safer choice.