I'm a dealer - how much should I deduct for mileage use on a rejected car?
I had a customer reject a car (numerous things wrong with it mechanically, I had already repaired it once but the faults reappeared and they were no longer confident in the car). The car is in good cosmetic condition and I should be able to sell the car at the same price as I sold it. They also put on 4 new tyres. It is 17 years old with 111,000 miles on the clock. I was wondering how much I should deduct from the refund for milage as they did do roughly 4000 miles in the 3 months they had it before it was returned?
Asked on 6 October 2025 by Draven Clarke
Answered by
David Ross
The Consumer Rights Act does not specify a calculation that should be applied in situations such as this, but it should be fair to both parties and reflect the use that the customer has had from the vehicle as well as its value - 4000 miles and three months would be more costly on a vehicle that is worth £20,000 compared to one that is worth £2000.
Business Companion has provided a suggested calculation method that takes into account the age of the vehicle, reflecting that the cost of the use will diminish as the car ages, which you can view here - www.businesscompanion.info/focus/car-traders-and-c...l Their calculation requires you to start with the value of the car when it was new and apply an average mileage of 12,000 per annum, but based on a nominal new value of £37,800, the mileage rate for a car between 10 and 12 years old would be 10.5p per mile.
Business Companion has provided a suggested calculation method that takes into account the age of the vehicle, reflecting that the cost of the use will diminish as the car ages, which you can view here - www.businesscompanion.info/focus/car-traders-and-c...l Their calculation requires you to start with the value of the car when it was new and apply an average mileage of 12,000 per annum, but based on a nominal new value of £37,800, the mileage rate for a car between 10 and 12 years old would be 10.5p per mile.
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