How many miles can you put on a Toyota?

You can usually get 200,000 miles out of about anything these days. Of course it all depends on how well the car was taken care of, the driving conditions, environment, etc. A car driven on a lot of short trips in the rust belt, that never gets washed, that gets too few oil changes, etc. will not last as long as a well-maintained car with highway miles in a desert climate. Driving only 3,000 miles a year is actually not that great for a car, especially if it’s only short trips. The oil never gets hot enough to stay clean and prevent sludge. The exhaust system may not get hot enough for long enough to cook off all the moisture in it. The coolant, unless changed yearly, will slowly rot the system components. And transmission seals can dry out and leak, internally and externally if the fluid doesn’t get circulated enough to keep them wet.

Toyotas are generally accepted as being reliable cars, but any car over 10 years old is going to start costing you money. If your Toyota has an engine that’s prone to sludging, and you only change the oil once a year, based on mileage, it’s likely you have some sludge.

One thing for sure is if the body is in good shape, and you don’t have too many problems, is that it will almost certainly be cheaper to fix your existing problems than to buy a new car or another used one with someone else’s unknown problems.