Covid Commute

I drive about 70 miles a day round trip to my office job, 95% of which is on major interstate highway roads.

Before Covid, driving during rush hour was a nightmare. It would sometimes take 1.5 to 2 hrs one way and I’d be lucky to get above 40mph at any time during the ride. It was basically stop and go the whole way.

Post Covid, my commute is much different. There is almost never any traffic and everyone is traveling well above the posted speed limit all the time. In fact, if you are driving the speed limit, you are a hazard to yourself and others. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say I reach 90mph, for extended periods of time, during my drive every day. My current one way drive is time is now about 40 minutes.

I purchased my Tacoma when all this began, so it only knows the post Covid commute.

All of this got me thinking. If you were buying used, which truck would you prefer?

The daily driver with 26k that has racked up the mileage in a slow traffic jammed commute every day or the one that reached 90mph almost daily on the same commute without any traffic.

I have my thoughts on this, but I’m very curious what others think. What say you?

 

As long as you change the oil and the brakes whenever its needed, it really doesn't matter.

 

Stop and go traffic is always harder on the vehicle than smooth sailing. 90 mph with a 6 speed tranny isn’t hard on it (only hard on your wallet if you get caught).

 

The manufacturer maintenance schedule in this scenario would be the same. The only difference is the driving conditions.

 

highway miles over city miles any day.

 

Traffic in my area remains a shit show as per usual. And any time there is actual heavy traffic or a wreck, post-covid people can’t apparently cope anymore and start doing all sorts of dumb maneuvers just to get ahead. Like driving in the emergency lane on the left hand side of the highway type shit. I’d be lucky to have your driving conditions.

 

I’d prefer the truck that had 26k miles of 90 mph. The more important part for me is if maintenance is done regularly. Then I’d have less of preference.

 

Yes, this is true here too. If traffic does appear, people loose the sh!t pretty quickly. How quick we forget.

 

Over the years, I have purchased 2 or 3 vehicles that were fairly new, 1-3 years old, but fairly high mileage (75 - 120K miles). I figured these were highway warriors but sold at steep discounts because of the mileage. Has worked-out great for me. It's always a crap-shoot with a used vehicle but a newer vehicle, with high mileage, is as safe, or safer bet as a 10 year old vehicle with ultra-low mileage, in my book.

 

Highway miles are always less stress on a vehicle than stop and go (even if the stop and go happens on a highway).