How Does This Used 2022 Hyundai Tucson Have 273,000 Miles On The Clock?

If you’re a regular driver, you might put 10,000 miles on your car a year. If you’re really busy, maybe 20,000. But could you do 90,000 miles, or more? Because it appears one Hyundai owner is out there doing just that.

This Craigslist post comes to us from the Mileage Impossible group on Facebook. The car in question is a 2022 Hyundai Tucson Hybrid Limited, posted by “Bob,” and it’s up for sale for just $12,995. That’s wildly cheap, given Kelley Bluebook suggests you should be paying closer to $25,000 for such a vehicle. But, oh wait—there it is. This one has 273,000 miles on the clock. But why!? More on that in a second.

Let’s be generous. Given it’s a 2022 model, it could have been sold sometime mid-way through 2021. The car industry is just weird like that. Thus, somehow, the owner has driven 273,000 miles in just three years. It’s no typo or joke, either. So let’s crunch the numbers on this exceptional beast.

The ad states one simple reason for the huge mileage. “I drove the Tucson from Phoenix to the California boarder [sic] 5 days a week.” Okay Bob, that’s great. Any particular reason why? Well, he doesn’t say, but I’ve reached out to him to ask. I’m super curious as to what had Bob and his Hyundai out on the road racking up so many miles.

Let’s run the numbers given what we have. Don’t trip over the wording—he drove the Tucson (vehicle) from Phoenix, Arizona to the border with California, and he did so five times a week. Based on the location, the most direct path would see Bob driving from Phoenix, AZ to Blythe, CA. That’s a distance of 150 miles, or a 300 mile round trip—given he’s repeating this feat five times a week. Oh, and the round trip time is around four and a half hours, in case you were wondering.

300 miles times five trips equals 1500 miles a week, or 78000 miles a year. Multiply that by three years and you get 234,000 miles in total. This suggests that Bob did indeed buy this vehicle at some point in 2021. However, it also suggests Bob is still doing a lot of other driving, too, given there’s a further 40,000 miles or so that are going unaccounted for. That, or he’s driving to a different spot on the California border. That’s entirely valid, as Bob is allowed to drive where he likes.

So what of the condition of the vehicle? Well, Bob tells us he’s the original owner, and that the car is in great shape. He’s done all the maintenance on time, including the 100,000 mile service as the 100,000 mile and 200,000 mile marks passed by. He also says been changing the oil every three weeks—a sage move given the mileage he’s racking up. As per the ad, Bob says the car has “no issues at all” and that “the car drives like new and is in excellent condition aesthetically.”

The photos aren’t particularly sharp, but they seem to support Bob’s claims. The exterior looks clean and shiny, without a whole lot of rock chips or scuffs that you might expect from 272,000 miles of driving.  Tires appear happy and with plenty of tread.

The interior, too, looks fresh and clean. The carpets in the back seem to be factory fresh. The dash and console are a little dusty, as is typical for the piano black finish, but the buttons all look tidy, and none of the markings are rubbed off or worn. What about under the hood? It’s free of dirt and grime. You could easily believe that’s the engine bay of a 20,000-mile car.

Let’s just remember, here. This thing has 273,000 miles on the clock. Over three years, that’s an average of 91,000 miles a year, or 1,750 miles per week. Now, we’ve all probably driven 1,750 miles in one week. That’s not exceptional. But to do so every week, for three years straight? There has to be some evidence of that somewhere on the vehicle, right?!

The only piece of wear or use I could really find was on the rear doors. Both have some kind of water spots or dust or something on the top of the door card.

I don’t know quite what we’re looking at there. Is it a scuff? Or just some surface marks? It’s possible this was just left behind by a careless detailer, who washed the windows without wiping away the drips on the interior sill. In any case, it’s really the only hair out of place I could find on this whole car.

Overall, though, the condition is really good. With the caveat, of course, that I’m going off photos, and haven’t seen the car in person. It’s also worth noting this is a nice spec. The Limited model comes with lots of bells and whistles. It’s a 1.6-liter turbo hybrid with all-wheel-drive, and it’s even got that awesome Hyundai feature where the blind-spot cam pops up in your dash when you change lanes. It’s glorious.

Ultimately, I’m hoping Bob gets back to me with some background here. I’d love to know what has him bouncing back and forth to California so often! My money was initially on delivery of some sort, but the car looks far to clean to have been hauling much cargo. I’m really at a loss. All I know is there’s a story here, and that Hyundai is one of the main characters. What could it be…

Update: Bob got back to us in the comments! Nothing about why he’s been driving so much, but he’s told us why he sold the car.

Hey everyone!
I’m Bob, the owner of the Tucson.
Some people are asking why I’m selling the Tucson.
Well, the battery under the back seat needed to be replaced.
The battery was nationally backordered, and the ETA was 2 months.
So, I needed a car and bought a 2024 Nissan Pathfinder Platinum.
Of course, the battery showed up the next week and was installed in the Tucson.

I believe the car can get to 500,000 miles if maintained properly.
There aren’t any issues at all.

The Tucson replaced a Murano that was getting 17 mpg/the Tucson’s EPA 37/36 mpg
It has saved me allot at the pump.

It’s been a great car.

Image credits: all images via Craigslist, except Google Maps via screenshot