mileage

Conventional wisdom says cars do "about 10,000 miles a year." When I launched our price guide I decided to include real average mileage because different cars have very different patterns.

According to Mileage Check, "Recent evidence shows that over 62 per cent of all cars imported into Cyprus have been clocked on arrival."

If you find any inconsistencies, go back to the seller (if it's a dealer) and tell him you've been sold a car with an incorrect mileage.

The difference in values of high and low mileage vehicles can amount to thousands of pounds.

The imperatives of conducting combat logistics patrols trump accurate data collection, and this may cause irregular reporting of repair costs at specific mileages. For the M915 vehicle type, too few data points existed at the time the data were collected.

For example, a 2001 registered BMW 530i Sport would normally sit on a forecourt at pounds 22, 400 with average mileage, but double the mileage to 70, 000 and the buyer saves an astonishing pounds 4, 600 as the price drops to pounds 17, 800.

Gartner noted that recent data from a Consumer Reports "real-world" driving test revealed that the gas mileages of such HEVs as the Honda Civic Hybrid and the Toyota Prius were 60 percent less than the EPA estimates, with the vehicles achieving an average of 26 miles per gallon (mpg) and 35 mpg, respectively, in the city.

"Cars are now built better than ever and are designed to withstand increasingly high mileages," said HPI director Martin Brassell.

Federation Chief executive, David Evans said: "For too long the reputable end of the used car market has been saddled with the image that it trades in vehicles with false mileages just to rip off customers."

This is the claim made by HPI National Mileage Register, which says that there are discrepancies among one in every 12 vehicles checked on its register of 125 million mileage records.

Just one car out of 146 checked to verify their displayed mileage raised alarm bells - a Vauxhall Frontera which did not have a mileage consistent with its age and use.

At the other end of the scale, cars in Lincoln and Coventry fetch PS12,445 and PS13,078 respectively, but the mileages are typically higher than the UK average.

The following scheme could be considered: Instead of annual vehicle excise duty (VED) being based on vehicle emissions, this could be supplemented or replaced by a tiered list of payments, based on a schedule of annual mileages, eg 0-5,000 miles - lowest charge p/a; 5,000-10,000 miles - a higher charge p/a etc, which the vehicle owner registers on the VED form.

It's not unusual for mileages to me tampered with to increase the vehicle's resale value

We investigate every case and verify the mileages with those traders that might have supplied the mileages.