How many miles is too many miles?

I'm looking for a second generation Tacoma, being kind of picky at that. Has to be a double cab, would like a long bed, but will settle for a short bed, must be 4wd. Auto/manual does not matter.

Question is, since these things have been around since 05 the mileage range is ALL over the place, I've seen them from 40k->250k miles. What is a safe area to stay in for what I'm looking for? I can get all the maintenance caught up, hopefully that is not needed, but I figured you guys would know the typical problem mileage areas and what to check for.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Cliff

 

Generally, I'd be concerned with regular maintenance versus total miles. Higher mileage with proper maintenance (hopefully documented) is by far better than lower mileage with inadequate maintenance.

I'd go with the lowest mileage with the best maintenance though.

 

Ditto what Sig said but I'd say under 50,000. At least that's what I told my guy when I got mine about two weeks ago now.

 

As you know, OP, these trucks are expensive and retain their value, which depends on a lot of things, including mileage - what's your budget? Will you be paying cash or taking out a loan? I echo the advice of previous posters - try to buy for the lowest mileage possible within your budget (hopefully with well documented maintenance history). A lot of used car loan sources will give you a better interest rate if you take out a loan for $15k or more - which could be reason enough to buy a more expensive/lower mileage truck. When you finish paying off that loan years in the future, how many miles will the truck you bought have? This may be important to you because you may want to trade it in at some future point to get that awesome 2021 trd pro.

If you're paying cash, then you can probably afford to be a little riskier in your buying process.

 

Thanks for the advice.

It will have a lien on it so I was thinking about putting $5k down and going as high as $25,000 for the truck, leaving a $20k lien on it. Then I could just throw as much extra money at it as possible to try and pay it off while adding on a couple things every now and then. Pricing down here is all over the place it seems, I keep finding access cabs when I need a double!!! Trying to stay away from dealers because of the additional fees and such too. You know what's been grinding my gears now that I think of it, every dealer I've messed with none of them are ever willing to budge on price, like they have the ultimate best price possible, what gives!

 

As others have said, maintenance matters FAR more than miles. I'd rather buy a well-maintained truck with 150,000 miles than one with 20,000 miles and has never had an oil change.

 

I empathize with you on this. When searching for mine, I decided to buy used through a dealer because my loan options were better, I was able to purchase a warranty, and the truck had been inspected/fluids changed/brand new tires. But a dealer is not for everyone, and not all dealers are of the same caliber. The salesman told me that as car buyers have shifted to shopping from home via the internet rather than physically going to the dealers and negotiating, a lot of the price reduction that would have taken place during negotiations has already been applied to the listed online price in many situations, just to get people like me to walk through the door. The salesman certainly has bias because he wants to sell the truck, but perhaps there is a thread of truth in what he said.

 

I just went through the same type of search. At the end of the day, I went with a 2013 TRD long bed w/ 32k miles. Dealer offered free extended warranty and free inspections for life. I negotiated down to a little below Edmunds and VRM auto guide price. Couldnt be happier with the purchase. My advice, get the newest, low mileage Taco you can afford.