Can comeone explain to me the advantages of low mile vehicles?

[dpuckett]

Especially when they are 13-17 years old? I have seen many recent posts and threads regarding a 1990 D250 with only 40K original miles; a 93 with 70K, etc, etc. Why do people pay top dollar for these vehicles? If it were <5 years old, I can kind of understand, but there is a point when the years are harder on a vehicle than the miles, kind of the reverse of the old Chris Ldoux song (It Aint the Years, It's the Miles).



I had an 88 F250 I bought in 01 with 105K mi. The fuel system needed completely rebuilt, the brakes were shot and needed everything new in the hydraulic end, oil in everything was black as tar. Same with the 84 Mazda we bought in 98 with 120K- it was simply too old and stuff had rotted or seized up.



I just dont get it. Why on earth would you pay $10-20K for a vehicle that will likely need as much as if not more work than one that you get for $3-8K with 4-6x the miles? Neither one are anywhere near the end of their life expectancy, and for the difference in purchase price, you can fix what needs fixed on the higher mile one, plus upgrade everything in the process, and end up with a better running truck than the 40K garage ornament.



Daniel

 

[Greenleaf]

a better running truck than the 40K garage ornament.



Daniel

ROF... ... LOL



Your too much.



Stay clear of a low mileage vehicle.

 

[JLEONARD]

Daniel,

If you lived in the rust belt it might be apparent to you.

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

HMMmmmm - I wonder if Daniel prefers his women with High - or Low miles on them... :-laf



Gotta watch it, SOME of those parts might have seized up from lack of use...

 

[dpuckett]

Gary- I prefer both with some mileage on them, as long as they aint been used hard and put away wet. :-laf



The rust belt issue is something to consider. But, if it is parked outside, and gets driven in snow, would it matter? And, things rust with just water and dust- I have seen plenty of rotted fenderwells around here, and they never get snow, so there is no salt on the roads.



DP

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

Gary- I prefer both with some mileage on them, as long as they aint been used hard and put away wet. :-laf



The rust belt issue is something to consider. But, if it is parked outside, and gets driven in snow, would it matter? And, things rust with just water and dust- I have seen plenty of rotted fenderwells around here, and they never get snow, so there is no salt on the roads.



DP

WELL, my main point was intended that pretty much the same basic issues of little or lots of use/mileage applies to many things in life - and it isn't rocket science , nor does it take an Einstein to check things out to see if a specific "low miles" item is worth the cost or not.



Shucks, simply lifting the hood and checking the oil in some of the lead post complaints would have pretty well revealed true condition and value...

 

[MEby]

Originally Posted by dpuckett

I just dont get it. Why on earth would you pay $10-20K for a vehicle that will likely need as much as if not more work than one that you get for $3-8K with 4-6x the miles? Neither one are anywhere near the end of their life expectancy, and for the difference in purchase price, you can fix what needs fixed on the higher mile one, plus upgrade everything in the process, and end up with a better running truck than the 40K garage ornament.



Daniel[/QUOTE]







all depends on how well they were taken care of. If they had been taken care of you shouldnt have to fix a lot. I have owned several low mile vehicles, 1 was taken care of and 2 were not. The one that was taken care of I drove 30,000 miles with zero issues. The other two were nessesarly bad, just a lot of work and some money to bring them up to par

 

[PToombs]

Rust belt issues? Want some pics of my cab? Did you forget at SOP last year I was hoping it wouldn't fall off on the way home? #@$%!

Hopefully a low mileage truck won't have a shifter that slips out between gears, shims falling out of the diff, cracked frame behind the steering box, etc.

 

[sdstriper]

Mileage is relatively unimportant to me. But I do like one owner vehicles, I'll take a one owner high miler anyday.

 

[Simplysmn]

how about a 2 owner truck that has been rebuilt from head to toe several times I am on my 3rd body 4th engine and lost count on trannies before swappin to a diesel drivetrain

 

[DonTX]

The two in my signature are great examples. The Executive with 40k has been a royal pain in the butt since I bought it. It quit 5 times on me during the 200 mile trip home, and went downhill ever since. After a new IP, rebuilt injectors and other such stuff, I really wish it had been driven. The truck on the other hand, had what most would call "lots" of miles on it, but had been very carefully cared for. I have not done a thing to it yet, except upgrade cosmetics.

In answer to your original question, lots depends on whether the new owner can do his own maintenance or not. When I was young, the high mile vehicles were my stock in trade. Now pushing 70 with health problems, I need no maintenance items on anything I buy.

 

["Mad Max"]

My thoughts: I found my latest '93 hiding in Phoenix with 93k on the clock. The truck was immaculate - interior was cherry, body - cherry, and the engine looked and ran like new. The pump was never touched - the truck was essentially nicely broken in and virgin. I prefer trucks to have never been 'tuned up', so I can be sure I have a nice solid clean unmodified truck to start with. I am very careful with my upgrades and I am good at doing them, but I am very particular about the quality of the work, so I wanted to find a real nice clean truck without big mods to have a very good baseline, and that's what I found. I think it's got a lot to to with knowing what has not been done to it so you don't have to go in and figure it out, determine what to do, and go from there.

Whatever truck I would find I knew I would most likely have to install a good converter very soon and increase the fuel so I can tow my big honkin' trailer through the Rockies without having to slow down to 45 mph on the hills - basic upgrades. My '93 is cherry. I paid $9k for it and I still feel that while the price was a tad high the truck was well worth it. Nothing was broken - not a thing. It was well kept and not driven hard. It doesn't leak anywhere.

Low mileage rigs are worth more because they're that much less 'used', pure and simple.



Now, my first rig had 207k on it when I found it, and it was also very, very clean. The pump was virgin. BUT, the rear axle was shot completely to hell, as were the brakes and steering gear - $2000 in repairs. Wouldn't hold an alignment for very long. The newer one - drives straight and perfect - no repairs. I'd hapilly have paid $2k less for my '93 if it had 180k miles on it and was as nice, but finding one with 93k on the clock meant that the odds of major driveline repairs in the near future were probably very close to 'zero', and that was very worth it to me.

- M2

 

[bgilbert]

My trucks are like my women, I'll take what I can get:-laf!

 

[Niki]

Daniel,

If you lived in the rust belt it might be apparent to you.

My two lowest mileage firstgens(80 and 83K) were both rotten.

On to the miles though- I'm well aware that the Cummins will last forever, the truck definitely will not! Your typical 200K dodge has bad door hinges, worn out interior, loose steering, and if its a 4x4, cracked steering box or frame, loose rivets in leafspring hangers, and on and on. Everything you take apart has a groove in it on the sealing surfaces from tons of miles, etc. I know there are exceptions, but this is what I've found from owning 10 and looking at probably 100. The worst is poorly done past repairs. Don't forget the great electrical system on these also.



I know what you're referring to w/ these ebay trucks. I don't know who pays the money these things bid up to. The worst part is, now everyone that has your typical high mile first gen with a million problems thinks he's sitting on a gold mine.

 

[JLEONARD]

But, if it is parked outside, and gets driven in snow, would it matter?

No it would not matter. In this case it would be better to have some miles on it. But living in the humid northeast I have had many vehicles rust out from being parked on grass or gravel. That is a killer for sure around here. "Rust never sleeps".

 

[Greenleaf]

Truck Shopping Made Easy;



Simply pop the hood and look for the injection pump. If it has more than one/two wires connected to it, walk away and look for another.

 

[dpuckett]

Now he tells me.



All other points well taken. I still prefer 1-2 owner vehicles that have seen an average of 10-15k/year towing up to the rated GCVW- these, in my experience have had enough miles put on them and were worked hard enough to be well lubed, but are also usually maintained well enough to last a long time for someone of my conservative natured driving style.



My 91 had 5 great injectors of 6 after 250K showing on the clock. It was also a western truck- no rust, and I believe I was the 3rd owner. Got 22mpg hwy with 4. 10 gears. I eventually had to do a lot to it, AFTER moving back here, but that is another story altogether.



DP

 

[Moab4x4]

I'm well aware that the Cummins will last forever, the truck definitely will not!

My two examples are on the extremes i'm afraid. My limited experience of disassembling two trucks sure makes this apparent. the 92 odometer broke at 187k and it probably had 250k hard miles. Lots of dirt roads in its life. The core support had 17 stress cracks in it. Oilfield fleet truck in the four corners are of the desert southwest. Rust was the only thing not an issue.

The 93 with 84k well taken care truck was amazing to take apart and see how good a low miles well taken care of truck can be. Pristine electrical and interior was nice not to mention a nice strong stock drivetrain.

M2 has a good point there. Is this the truck to tow the project or be the project?
Ken

 

[JTCHess]

Boy, do I feel guilty. My truck has only 78,000 miles on it and I'd like to say that I keep it in top notch condition. Change the oil annually (AMSOIL), change out the coolant every other year. Flush the break fluid every three or four years. Get the parts of the exterior painted when the original paint starts failing (have done the roof, hood, and 1 ton dually fenders so far). WD40 all the nooks and crainies annually, both underneath and in the cab roof, to prevent any surprises with rust. Drive the truck at least once a month. Why do I need such a truck? Simple, it is my RV so to speak as I use it to pull my 30ft 5th wheel. Don't necessarily need the diesel, and with the price of diesel 20 to 30 cents higher then gas here in Northern Va, sometimes I wish I had a gasser. I know the engine will last a million miles, but I have had the truck for 10 years and put 20,000 miles on it. I don't need to worry about a million miles as I'll be long dead before that happens.



John

 

[Hendricks]

miles just mean i can buy the truck cheaper to a certain point, so long as you can verify how well it was taken care of.