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Does Replacing The Engine Reset Your Mileage? 

No.

Replacing your engine does not, in fact, reset your car’s mileage. Your car’s odometer is not connected to its engine; it is, instead, connected to the front wheel hub.

Changes made to your engine will not affect the odometer reading at all and any change made to the odometer can only be accomplished through illegal tampering.

How Wear And Tear Affect A Car’s Value

Wear and tear is the effect use has on any particular item, like your car in this case. It factors into the depreciation of your vehicle’s value over time.

The longer a car is on the road, the more wear and tear it can be assumed to have experienced. Under that assumption, we can conclude that not only is a car’s engine affected by wear and tear, but every one of its components as well.

Let’s take a quick look at the value of certain components before and after they experience wear and tear:

Component

Brand New

After Wear & Tear

Transmission

$1,800-$3,400

$800-$1,500

Engine

$2,500-$4,000

$400-$700

Catalytic Converter

$1,000-$2,000

$25-$1,1000

These are only a few of a vehicle’s major components that are subject to the wear and tear of use. 

Your vehicle’s body is constantly exposed to the elements; rust can eat through the surface and the frame and wiring can deteriorate or even be eaten through by vermin.

Engine Hours vs. Mileage

Your engine’s operating time is monitored by an engine meter that activates whenever it turns or and deactivates whenever it shuts off.

By analyzing the data provided by an engine meter, the engine’s “hours to miles” formula can approximate the amount of miles traveled since the meter was last zeroed.

To calculate the engine to miles:

  • Retrieve the data for how many hours the engine has run from the engine meter.
  • Multiple those hours by 60 in order to get an approximation for the miles the engine has accumulated.
  • The final formula: Engine Hours x 60 = Approximate Mileage

Despite the rule of thumb that “a car drives an average of 12,000 miles each year,” an engine’s age does not directly correlate to a car’s mileage.

Mileage is a completely separate measurement represented by a vehicle’s odometer.

What Is Odometer Rollback?

Odometer rollback (or odometer fraud) is the resetting, disconnection, or alteration of a vehicle’s odometer with the goal of changing the number of miles indicated.

It’s estimated that 450,000 vehicle owners are odometer rollback victims each year, with over one billion dollars worth of increased annual costs for consumers who purchased those vehicles.

Odometer rollback is a criminal act and it’s in your best interest to know how to protect yourself against this fraudulent practice.

If you’re looking to sell your high mileage vehicle, you don’t have to commit a crime to get a great price for it.

Selling A Car With High Mileage

Blown engine

You can sell your car to CarBrain on your time — get a quote any time of day and make your sale when you feel ready.

It’s an easy, 3-step process:

Step 1: Get your free quote using our website. Enter a few pieces of basic information about your car and you’ll receive a free quote within 90 seconds that is valid for one week.

Step 2: Schedule your pickup within 24-48 hours! If you’re happy with your quote, you’ll be ready to schedule your vehicle retrieval within 24-48 hours. The cost of towing is complimentary, so you’ll never have to worry about hidden or additional fees.

Step 3: Completing your sale is easy. After a quick inspection and transferring your title, you’ll receive the amount you were quoted directly in your hands.

We’ll get you paid fast, then pick up your car where it sits at no cost to you. It’s as easy as that! Get your guaranteed offer today!

About Author
Rudy Rodriguez
Automotive Expert
Rudy brings 9 years of industry expertise to the table. From decoding salvage market nuances to steering CarBrain's insights.
Rudy Rodriguez

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I reset my mileage if I replace my engine?

No. You cannot reset your mileage if you replace your engine. That is considered odometer fraud and is illegal.

What are engine hours and how are they different from mileage?

Engine hours are the measured time of an engine’s activation and deactivation. They are different from mileage in that mileage is the distance a vehicle travels and is measured by the odometer. Engine hours simply account for when the engine is on and off; the engine can run, while the car doesn’t travel a single inch.
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