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I know, I know, it's an internet forum opinion poll, but hey, let's have it.

Being a bicycle-commuter, truck-less guy right now, before the snow flies, truck shopping is definitely on the horizon.

So excluding the possibility of buying new (God bless ya, those that can afford it), what do you like better?

Over 5-yrs old, but low miles, say under 50,000?
Or under 5-yrs old, but high miles, say over 75,000?

I've gotten cars both ways and can't decide which is better. Seems plain logic to go for the low miles, even if it's older, but plain age in a car seems to have it's problems. And on the other hand, mileage kills so high miles is a gamble, but being newer, potential problems should be further down the road.

Whadyathink?

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I don't know anything about trucks. I know with cars, I've had three used Acuras with fairly high mileage on them that still ran great!!! The bodies on those things will fall off before the engine will go. That's my worthless opinion.
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jrjo that sounds reasonable but if you find something you like, doing a little research on it can help a lot.

I recently had to replace my 38 year old car due to rust and I needed something right away for my work. I found a retired police car that just happened to be from my home town. The dealer had a great price on it so I took it to my mechanic to have it checked out. He didn't find anything wrong with it so that was a plus. I knew it had had good maintenance. It's 12 years old with 134,000 miles on it. My police department doesn't get into any wild high speed chases so the most it saw was a lot of idling. It's built to take that and it will get a lot more of that with me too. The engine in it has a good reputation and often lasts over 400,000 miles but one engine that could have been used in it has a bad rep. so doing some research is mandatory. I've had it nearly a year and am very happy with it. It's my first "drive by wire" car and it took a little getting used to but it drives great. I like the police handling and the heavy duty everything package with extra cooling for power steering, transmission, and radiator is big comfort.

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Low miles rule IMHO
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Start your search early and look for a used truck that was owned by an older person that obviously took care of it. Also look around when you go to the persons house to check out the vehicle - if everything appears to be in a good state of repair then chances are the person took good care of their vehicle. Ask 'em why they're selling it and watch for an possibly evasive answers. Check the back of it for a hitch - if it's got a heavy duty hitch on it, transmission cooler, etc. they may have used it to tow something ridiculously heavy so question them about that too.

Buying a newer used vehicle from someone who couldn't handle the payments means they probably couldn't handle maintaining it properly either. I've never owned a new vehicle and the used vehicles I have owned have treated me quite well.
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depends on the maker.

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You can find older and low mileage. Everything Rob said is correct.

Ask them how many owners it's had and what they expect will need to be replaced next.

We've bought several used and have been very, very lucky.

I always set aside a little extra to make any replacements that might need to be made.

But that can happen with any age, used, that you buy.
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I know I don't like tailgaters.....

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Wow! Will you come with me next time I have to buy a car??
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Sure. With my luck you'll get a beautiful vehicle that will turn into a 'sty II a month later.
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I like the older model/low mileage approach. When I bought my MPV I knew that body style/engine/transmission was tried and proven and parts were a dime a dozen. Many modern models only last a few years until the car makers decide to move on to something 'better'. Chevy Lumina, anyone?
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I dig used cars. I might never buy a new one again. My old car that got totaled last August was several years older than my current used car so when I got this one, it was a pretty righteous upgrade.
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Sometimes they tend to have a "personality" as well.
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More than the vehicle itself, the former owner is the most important IMHO.

An old lady who took care and kept all service records on an older car = :thumbsup:

A newer car that some teenage kid drove like a bat out of hell and maybe never changed the oil on = :thumbsdown:
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If you can get service records that IS great. I have a lot of info on mine from Carfax but I'm sure it was not always serviced by a dealer who enters their work in Carfax. Previously owned by my local police department, some of the work was done by the local Ford dealer so it's in Carfax but probably a lot of it was done by the highway departments garage which I doubt was entered. Since I bought it I had one thing done at the local dealer but my regular mechanic does not send info to Carfax.
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