Just how many miles is to many miles ?

[GOPAPA]

When buying a used truck... I am looking for a GMC truck to pull a lite weight travel trailer and mostly all I am finding in the 2012 years is over a 100,000 miles on them .

I know that some could be used really rough ,,but what about the ones that the owner puts on 20,000 miles a year which would add up to 120,000 in the 6 years since the 2012 truck was new.

Say if a person drives 75 miles a day going and coming from work

It comes out to around 108,000 miles in 6 years ,,so if it is all mostlly highway miles ,,then shouldn't a person get a whole lot more years out of the truck if you did nothing but take short trips @ 250 miles round trips pulling a travel traier weighting no more that 4500 hundred Lbs. 4-5 times a year ?

I ask this as most all my trucks I have bought were around 30,000 and I traded them off before piling up even close to 100,000 miles on them,

hope to get some good feed back from you who has been there done it.

[fun in dirt]

Yes, I agree it seems to be hard to find a descent used truck nowdays. Everything seems to be way over priced, not well taken care of & lots with 180k+ on them. I've been looking for the past several months for an 2005-07 classic 2wd 4door with no more than 125,000 miles ... proving to be nearly impossible. Lots of Z71s & lots with 200k+ miles out there.

[67ChevyRedneck]

I like to keep used to 50-60K. That's enough miles to get something that's broken in, but not enough miles to horribly affect it if the owner didn't minimal maintenance.

I've actually stopped buying used for DD's. It seems the longer cars are lasting, the lazier people are getting with regular maintenance, even oil changes.

I've even caught myself letting my new truck go to 7K once.

[GOPAPA]

It would be a good deal if I could find a person with a low mile truck I want that would take my 71 for a title swap or close to it.. and then after that trade the 39 for a small Lance RV.. now i"m dreamin,,

[68C15]

my nephew will sell you a truck that averages under 2100 miles per year. Granted it's 52 years old and is a bit lighter than when new. But it runs and drives great. No AC but the heater will cook a ham. The price is a lot less than a 2012.

[mikebte]

Originally Posted by fun in dirt

Yes, I agree it seems to be hard to find a descent used truck nowdays. Everything seems to be way over priced, not well taken care of & lots with 180k+ on them. I've been looking for the past several months for an 2005-07 classic 2wd 4door with no more than 125,000 miles ... proving to be nearly impossible. Lots of Z71s & lots with 200k+ miles out there.

I agree, everything I find is overpriced. Even KBB.com can quote it at 9-12K and the owner is asking 28-30K. Many times its a dealer and the people are financing it and they pay that crazy price.
This is the kind of stuff I find locally. Super nice and low miles, but way to much money. It is lowered and nice and someone could have a nice low miles truck and even lift it back to stock, but unless its what you want, it aint gonna bring that money.

I heard on the news the other day that the national Auto loan debt has exceeded the mortgage debt of 2008. Maybe I should sell my truck and buy it back in the future.

https://tucson.craigslist.org/cto/d/...953005605.html

[cypressbog]

I buy a new truck every 4-5 years. I just traded a 2012 Ram 2500 Crew Cab 4x4 with 45k miles and Curt 16K 5th wheel hitch and got $25,000 as trade in value.

I bought a year end 2018 Ram 1500 that stickered at $49k for $34k and with the trade-in and purchase of 7 year 70k mile bumper to bumper warranty and financed $10k. I've owned it since December and just turned 4000 miles.

[rpmerf]

I've always considered maintenance more important than mileage. I'd take a vehicle with 100K+ that's been to the dealer every 6 months and had every maintenance item done, than a vehicle with 50K that has only had the oil changed twice at jiffy lube and nothing else even looked at. That said, I'm used to owning cars with 200K, even 350K on them.

[FirstOwner69]

Here's a tip for those looking at recent model year Chevy and GMC trucks. Since 2002, my experience has been with Duramax equipped Chevys. I'm not sure exactly when it started. I assume it applies to all Silverados and GMCs, not just diesels.

It's pretty easy to determine how the trucks have been driven since they have an easily accessible engine hour meter. I know my 2006 and my current 2015 have this feature. I don't recall if the 2002 had it. Divide the miles by the engine hours and you'll know the average speed. Don't be surprised if it's from the high 20s to mid 30s. That's pretty normal for most vehicles. When I sold my 2006 with about 122,000 miles, it had an average speed of about 47 MPH. My 2015 with 38,000 miles has averaged about 52 MPH. I'd guess both of these trucks had 90% highway and interstate miles since most miles were at about 68 MPH pulling a fifth wheel trailer.

I'd pay at least equal attention to average speed as miles.

Also, look for a good maintenance record as noted above. I do most routine maintenance myself and keep a pocket size spiral notebook in my vehicles with a record of all maintenance and fuel consumption. A bit OCD I guess, but it helps at resale time.

[Daubs]

When buying used, I always crawl under the vehicle, look hard at engine compartment, give it a good run-down. Miles aren't as important to me as how it's been treated. If I have questions or doubts, I'll take to local garage for the "buyer inspection."

When buying used truck if it has a 5th wheel hitch or I can see snow plow has been mounted, I walk away IMMEDIATELY! I want none of that.

I try to take great care of my vehicles, use all synthetic fluids, change oil ever 3k miles, keep detailed records and all the invoices if i've been to the dealership. Every time I've gone to selling a vehicle, I present all my documentation...I've always gotten good prices...people can tell vehicle was well taken care of.

[GOPAPA]

I just read all the things to look out for and check and do as much as one can ...good advice.. so that brings up another question ,,what about certified vehicles is this a assurred thing that the vehicle is past a test that the same as if i crawled underneath and took it to a machanic or the like? not making fun of all your suggestions ,,just curious as to what some of you think of CERTIFIED...

[1976gmc20]

Originally Posted by GOPAPA

I just read all the things to look out for and check and do as much as one can ...good advice.. so that brings up another question ,,what about certified vehicles is this a assurred thing that the vehicle is past a test that the same as if i crawled underneath and took it to a machanic or the like? not making fun of all your suggestions ,,just curious as to what some of you think of CERTIFIED...

Unless there is a warranty then it's bullsheet