How many miles are to many miles

[Gypsy Lady]

Me and my wife are going to be looking for a half ton truck what are the miles that we should be aiming for

 

[bullfrog]

A lot of things are more important than miles. What do you plan to do with the truck? How much do you plan to spend? How well was the truck maintained? How much money will you keep in reserve for future repairs? You might find a truck in a barn that sat for thirty years with little or no miles that is locked up with rust that would cost more than a new truck to rebuild. The best answer will depend on how much you are willing to let us know about your situation. Best answer with the information given is less than 10 miles 2018 model at the end of the sales year. If you can and are able to do your own mechanical work then we need to know that also. It seems the more reliable older trucks cost more than they are worth now days because of the rising costs to replace them with newer trucks. An older V8 Toyota Tundra with 200,000 miles may cost $5,000 up to $15,000 depending on whether the suspension and timing belt and required maintenance (like replacing the converters) have been done. If they have been done then it is common for them to go 300,000 miles or more. Motors and parts are expensive, a replacement engine is like $10,000 or more from Toyota last I checked. An older Chevy truck if not rusted out and beat to death (square body) can be had for probably less than half that and if it's motor goes a basic crate motor is around $3,000 plus labor to put it in. Parts are cheap but many are low quality so you have to be careful when buying. So if you are careful you can probably buy a not so perfect but usable Chevy truck for less than $3,000 and over the next 100,000 miles put $3,000 to $6,000 dollars of repairs depending on your mechanical skills and have a vehicle that will probably not get as good gas milage and have a few more rattles than the Toyota but get you down the road for a less money. People very seldom sell good trucks with less that 100,000 miles unless they had problems or abused them and could not afford to fix them. One exception to that was a few years back when a lot of people bought new expensive trucks and then lost their high paying jobs, but even then asking prices were over $30,000 for a truck with 15,000 to 35,000 miles.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Multiply the age by about 12,000 miles a year, to get an idea of average miles for the age of the pickup. 

So, if it was ten years old, around 120,000 miles is average.

Some will have a lot more, some will have a lot less. But that's an average. 

Most people drive a lot more, and vehicles with a lot of miles come up for sale more often, so keep that in mind also.

 

[squid]

Once I bought this used Dodge Caravan, it had 140K on it, and I just kept up the fluids and drove it to 200K before selling it for a song...but I also got it for a song too. I think sometimes mileage is over-considered especially if you're getting a good deal and the inspection gives the vehicle a good report.